CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy In Middle East Reporting in America, has placed full-page ads in five major newspapers — The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and USA Today — outlining basic facts and reminding readers that Israel is rightfully and legally entitled to defend herself.
Titled ‘’Israelis & Gazans can live in peace But not under Hamas’rule’’, the ad recalls that in 2005 Israel unilaterally withdrew all of its citizens and soldiers from the Gaza Strip, hoping to leave in peace and prosperity with her Palestinian neighbors. That ‘’Hamas forces Gazans to act as human shields, deliberately causing Palestinian civilian deaths to provoke international pressure on Israel’’ and that Israel’s blockade of Gaza ‘’was only enacted after thousands of rocket attacks. It is used primarily to prevent materials for building rockets and tunnels from entering into Gaza. All other goods enter Gaza daily on dozens of trucks. Egypt, on the other hand, has hermetically closed the passage between Egypt and Gaza.’’
It also says : ‘’Israel provides extensive humanitarian support for civilians in Gaza. Even as Hamas sends thousands of rockets into Israel, Israel sends water, electricity and other humanitarian assistance into Gaza.’’
The ad also publishes statements about Israel’s right to defend herself made by world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot.
‘’Full, accurate and complete coverage of the crisis is essential for public understanding of the realities and, ultimately, for the achievement of a stable peace,’’ says CAMERA.