Wednesday, July 15, 2009

News of the Riverdale Bomb Plot-- or is it not the news?

Jonathan Mark of the New York Jewish Week comments on the Riverdale bomb plot. His take? The major media is out to lunch covering the story and has been replaced by alternative media such as the Village Voice, The Nation, The Amsterdam News, and on Air America. We could expand the list by adding The Worker and the countless bloggers who believe the would-be bombers were entrapped by the FBI.

As is usual in “entrapment” stories, Jews aren’t interviewed for their understanding of entrapment, or how the Riverdale plot seared Jewish sensitivities.

The Voice might have spoken to Samuel G. Freedman. A writer for The New York Times, he has written with great sensitivity about ethnic profiling and the humiliation felt by one Muslim girl when she was stopped by airport security. Freedman told The Jewish Week, “The fact is, you can’t be entrapped unless you participate in your own entrapment. There’s a big difference between profiling, say, a high school girl, and profiling people who are demonstrably criminal with histories of violence. There’s a huge, huge difference there.”


As Mark well understands the story is far from over. Read the The Chill is Gone.

1 comment:

The Expatriate said...

Jonathan Mark's article constitutes an extended whine about how his and his comrades' viewpoints weren't represented in the Voice article.

Here's a hint, folks. Liberal publications aren't going to consider themselves obligated to represent every conservative objection to their viewpoint. Jonathan Mark has his own paper, and can publish there. Get over it.