David Landau, editor of Ha'aretz, calls for the rape of Israel

Last Wednesday, New York's Jewish Week, reported that the editor of Israel's self-described "newspaper of record", David Landau, asked the US secretary of state to rape his country and told her that his erotic fantasy is to watch America rape Israel.

CAMERA reports:

At a private meeting of some 20 journalists with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in September, 2007, Ha'aretz Editor David Landau urged the U.S. to "rape" Israel — to force a settlement on the country. In a December 26 story on the incident, Jewish Week editor Gary Rosenblatt quoted Landau saying: "'I told [Rice] that it had always been my wet dream to address the secretary of state' on these vital matters."

Despite expressions of dismay by other commentators -- including Jerusalem Post columnist Isi Leibler, who termed Landau's conduct "unconscionable" and "unacceptable," and leading broadcast and print journalist Ehud Yaari who called the comments "embarrassing" -- Landau told Rosenblatt he is actually pleased with his performance.

The Ha'aretz editor's objectionable statements are indicative of a striking lack of judgement generally by an individual who has also refused to correct serious factual errors in his newspaper, falsehoods that cast Israel as racist, oppressive and unjust in its treatment of Arabs.

In response to repeated calls by CAMERA for redress of inaccurate reporting, Landau has taken the highly unprofessional measure of insisting his staff not address the organization's inquiries regardless of the merit of the issue.

Together with Ha'aretz's like-minded publisher, Amos Shocken, Landau has promoted an extreme political position, characterizing Israel as "apartheid" in both the news and editorial pages. Moreover, a number of the paper's contributors go so far as to participate in radical anti-Israel activity outside the country, and figures such as Danny Rubenstein and Gideon Levy denounce Israel in extreme statements at one-sided United Nations meetings.

The promulgation of the apartheid slander, like Landau's comment to Rice, is part of the use of the paper as a tool to cudgel Israel down Ha'aretz's preferred political path.

Readers in Israel and around the globe, as well as other journalists who cite the publication, may want to consider the bizarre views expressed by senior figures guiding the paper and the disconnect with an Israeli mainstream that does not seek to be "raped" but, as with any normal, self-respecting people, seeks an equitable and prudent resolution of a difficult conflict.

David Landau also supports the New Israel Fund, which allocates grants to such anti-Israeli NGOs as Hamoked, I'lam, and Ittijah.

As you might recall, NGOs' promote politically and ideologically motivated anti-Israel agendas and they lend a false credibility to the notion that Palestine is even a real nation. Don't be scammed. NGO's, like the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Ford Foundation, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) New Israel Fund, Miftah, Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHR-I), LAW, Christian Aid, and the Advocacy Project each collect funds for a variety of projects and areas from generous donors, philanthropic institutions, and government budgets, but they themselves are not democratic institutions and have no democratic accountability. An NGO is only accountable to its particular funding organizations and members.

Click here to read more about the New Israel Fund. Click here to read on NGO's and Islamic NGOs. Click here to read more about David Landau and if you are a subscriber to the print edition, send a note to Ha'aretz and request that your subscription be cancelled at once.