Said Arikat is the Washington Bureau Chief of the Al Quds daily newspaper and ...is a long-time Washington-based journalist.True to his newspaper’s self-assumed role as trumpeting an ideological presentation of pro-Palestinianism, Arikat has, to his credit, maneuvered himself into an ideal position through his presence at US State Department press briefings.There, he never fails to present the various spokespersons at the podium with carefully worded questions that usually trumpet a propaganda angle, inserting doubtful “facts.” He always leads those spokespersons to utter conclusions that would both aid the cause of Palestine while deviously demonizing Israel.
If anything, Medad understates the issue. Every day, it seems, the State Department spokesperson calls on this relatively obscure reporter, and every day Said Arikat uses that opportunity to put rabid anti-Israel lies - and sometimes, antisemitic lies - on the official public record, pretending that he is simply asking questions.
I've noted before how Arikat once implied that Israel controls members of Congress and has them do their bidding. I've also written about how he (and others) have tried to leverage US support for Ukraine's self-defense as being the same thing as Palestinian terror attacks, using the word "resistance" for both of them.
But Arikat's propaganda is inserted into most briefings.
When the US says it is against collective punishment, Arikat asks whether Israel closing its borders on election day is "collective punishment."
He framed a question about Israel killing six known terrorists in Nablus as "Ned, the past few days have witnessed an increased assault by the Israeli occupational army into towns and villages, killing a number of people, killing six people last night alone in a home."
Or, this cunning question, knowing that the US considers the West Bank to be occupied, Arikat tries to extend that: "Do you dispute that the Palestinians are militarily occupied, that Israel has annexed Palestinian land? Do you dispute that? Do you dispute that they have forcibly removed populations? "
These examples are only from the past month.
The State Department spokesperson usually ignores or correctly responds to these, but the fact remains that not only are these questions on the record, but the other reporters in the room and those watching the live webcasts hear one-sided anti-Israel propaganda, brought to them by the US State Department.
Arikat has every right to be there and to ask questions, even to spout lies. But, as Medad points out:
What is lacking at these press briefings, these challenges of American foreign policy and the prejudicial framing of the stories, is the voice of Israeli journalists and American Jewish media representatives. No one is there to politely, but authoritatively, ask questions predicated on the true circumstances.They could request information on acts – or lack thereof – on the part of Mahmoud Abbas’s regime. They could ask why the Taylor Force Act is basically a dead letter. Or why President Biden, on his recent trip to Jerusalem’s Augusta Victoria Hospital, refused an Israeli escort, or whether the hundreds of millions of dollars his administration has pledged actually accomplish anything positive.There are major Jewish media outlets, such as the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, and the Jewish News Syndicate, as well as national and Washington local Jewish weeklies like the Algemeiner, The Jewish Press and The Jewish Week.There are Israeli newspapers, and radio and television correspondents based there. Can’t they regularly send a reporter, or pool a reporter, to cover the State Department beat? Even a college intern?
That is the question. The State Department should be asked about what they are doing to bring Ahlam Tamimi to justice and why they fund Jordan despite their obligations to extradite her. They should be pressed on responding to Mahmoud Abbas' praise of the most obscene terrorists. They should be asked to comment on daily incitement in official Palestinian media, including antisemitism.
I'm sure that a Jewish philanthropist could fund the salary of a reporter to attend State Department briefings and ask tough questions from the other side. It is an easy and obvious thing to do. So why isn't it happening?
