A Tale of Two Sickies

It’s been very interesting to compare the approach  to public information between Ariel Sharon’s medical team and that of  last year’s  mortal crisis of his enemy, Yassir Arafat.

Arafat was whisked off to France with an “undisclosed ailment” . Doctors treated him in  absolute secrecy, gave almost no medical evidence of his condition apart from the very vague and allowed a controversy to blow up after his death when the cause  of  his passing was hidden from the public.  Perhaps the persistent media reports that Arafat, who like many Middle Easterners found it hard to distinguish between riding a camel and  plonking a peachy  male rump and thus   died of AIDS , were not wholly unfounded.

Compare with the  detailed medical briefings, almost to the point of breach of patient confidentiality, with Sharon’s medical team. Surely this can have nothing to do with the fact that Israel is the only democracy in the region, with a full and vibrant free press?

Meanwhile the   MSM has been hammering away at the meta-lie that Sharon’s visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque started the Intifada. Typical of these comments are Scotland's The Sunday Herald who state , “he ignited the Intafada  of 2000 with his provocative visit….”. My guess is  over 70% of Europeans believe this  trash, proof indeed that propaganda can work well in democracies.

A  better view of the truth can be found in members’ of Araft’s government own words:

“Whoever  thinks that the Intifada broke out because of the despised Sharon's visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque is  wrong.. . . This Intifada was planned in advance, ever since President  Arafat's return from the Camp David  negotiations, where he turned the table upside down on President  Clinton.” (Palestinian Communications Minister Imad Al-Faluji,  3 March 2001. Translated by MEMRI )