The making of a new Arab lie

The UK-based Hamas newspaper Palestine Info claims that the Bashiti family owns the land that the Hurva synagogue is on.

Subhi Shoaib Bashiti claims that his grandfather, Hasan al-Bashiti, bought the land - in 1880.

Of course, the Hurva had been rebuilt already well before then, with its first rededication occurring in 1864. The land had been unquestionably owned by the Jewish community since 1819. It is absurd to believe that the Jews would have sold the land the synagogue was on in 1880.

Like terrorism, lying about subjects like these is a form of asymmetric warfare. It is easy to make up the lies; it is often much harder to defend against them all. The liars just have to succeed once to make the lying worthwhile.