Israeli Newspaper Condemns Inappropriate Blog Post Entitled, ‘When Genocide Is Permissible’
Friday, The Times of Israel removed a blog post entitled, “When Genocide Is Permissible.” The Inquisitr previously reported that the blog post was gone from the Israeli newspaper’s website. Now, The Times of Israel has issued a statement condemning the blog post written by Yochanon Gordon.
The Times of Israel called the post “both damnable and ignorant” and accused the post of blatantly breaching The Times of Israel’s editorial guidelines. Moreover, the Israeli newspaper has discontinued the writer’s blog completely.
The statement, in part, denounced Yochanon Gordon’s controversial blog post by stating:
“The Times of Israel maintains an open blog platform: Once we have accepted bloggers, we allow them to post their own items. This trust has rarely been abused. We are angry and appalled that it was in this case, and will take steps to prevent a recurrence. We will not countenance blog posts that incite to violence or criminal acts.”
Despite removing the post, significant backlash persists against The Times of Israel. Twitter already exploded with tweets, including the hashtag #genocide from recent events in Gaza. Now, many social media users believe The Times of Israel supports a genocide of the Palestinian people.
Glimpse inside warped zionist mind “When #Genocide Is Permissible” https://t.co/NBrEpCdT4c Hitler didn’t think IntLaw applied to him either
— Michael Lee (@MichaelLee2009) August 1, 2014
Israeli newspaper w a Nazi op-ed ‘when #genocide is permissible’ http://t.co/72zVxlcXDh in case anyone had doubts as 2 what Zionist is abt. — Bint Filasteen (@NotOccupying) August 1, 2014
For example, alternative news source Addicting Info presented the removal of the blog post as a response to backlash and stated, “After a wave of uproar from the international social media community, the post was taken down.” Public commentary about Gordon’s blog post persists, though the newspaper’s condemnation of the genocide post is hardly mentioned on social media newsfeeds.
Addicting Info wrote, “But with 86% of Israelis opposing a ceasefire that would bring the massacre in Gaza to an end, it is only this brave minority of Israelis who stand apart from the fascist crowd.”
That writer pointed out that some civilians in Israel are in the same camp as Gordon, “Teens post sun-drenched selfies, no different to so many others filling Instagram… except for the fact they are holding placards calling for ‘Death to All Arabs,’ or the one below, which reads: ‘Hating Arabs is Not Racism, It’s Moral Values.'” Some social media users are calling the removal of the blog post a violation against the writer, saying he is entitled to his opinion.
The Israeli newspaper boldly condemned the author’s written words, and explained the scenario that allowed publication of the blog post permitting genocide. It is quite common, The Times of Israel explained, in online publishing for writers and bloggers to be given access to write, edit, and post their own content with no approval from editors before the content goes live. This is generally permitted once a writer has proved their abilities and established trust with the online publisher. As the Israeli paper explained, the trust is rarely abused. During times of heated emotions and political opinions, some writers have been known to take advantage of this trust and publish content. Though the blog post’s author has apologized for the post, it is unclear if the alleged abuse of trust was intentional.
Do you believe Gordon’s post explaining a scenario in which he feels “genocide is permissible” was a violation of of trust? Do you believe The Times of Israel was right to remove the author’s genocide tolerant blog post?
