Yesterday, readers of the New York Times opinion page saw a fierce indictment of Israel’s judicial system from Marwan Barghouti, without at any point being informed of the author’s violent past. “Marwan Barghouti is a Palestinian leader and parliamentarian,” reads the author description underneath the article “Why We Are on Hunger Strike in Israel’s Prisons.” Nowhere is there any reference to Barghouti’s leadership of the Palestinian terror group Tanzim, or his multiple murder convictions.
Barghouti is evidently keen to portray himself as a political prisoner, and grossly misrepresents the cause of his incarceration:
Israel has tried to brand us all as terrorists to legitimize its violations, including mass arbitrary arrests, torture, punitive measures and severe restrictions. As part of Israel’s effort to undermine the Palestinian struggle for freedom, an Israeli court sentenced me to five life sentences and 40 years in prison in a political show trial that was denounced by international observers.
In reality, Barghouti’s imprisonment was not “political,” unless directing terror attacks now qualifies as a legitimate form of political expression.
Barghouti also uses a rhetorical sleight-of-hand to lambast Israel’s supposedly corrupt military courts — and thereby to cast doubt on his sentence — when he cites their conviction rate despite having been convicted for his murders in civilian court. Unsurprisingly, Barghouti makes no reference to his role in organizing the second intifada, in which Palestinian militants killed almost 1,000 Israeli citizens despite the generous peace deal offered to Yasser Arafat.
Opinion polls indicate that Barghouti enjoys widespread support in his quest to replace Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
UPDATE:
After a wave of outrage, the New York Times added the following editor’s note this evening:
This article explained the writer’s prison sentence but neglected to provide sufficient context by stating the offenses of which he was convicted. They were five counts of murder and membership in a terrorist organization. Mr. Barghouti declined to offer a defense at his trial and refused to recognize the Israeli court’s jurisdiction and legitimacy.