Abridged from a June 2 report on http://electronicintifada.net.
Haaretz.com, the website of the Israeli newspaper often cited as an example of Israel's liberal, critical media,
carries paid advertisements from a website openly
advocating the total destruction of the Palestinian
people, the murder of large numbers of Muslim civilians,
the assassination of the family members of Arab rulers,
and the use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons
against dozens of countries.
The website, Samsonblinded.org, claims that Google banned its advertisements from its adwords program. If that is true, it would be consistent with Google's policy that prohibits advertising promoting violence or advocating against any group based on race, ethnic or national origin or
religion. Yet the Samsonblinded.org advertisements appear
prominently on the main page and article pages of
Haaretz's website.
The book that the site exists to promote is Samson Blinded, whose publishers keep their identities secret. It calls on Israel to eliminate all Palestinians from the territory it controls and to annihilate their culture.
The site argues that: "To succeed, Israeli violence against Arabs should be immediately overwhelming. Israel should show itself a bloodthirsty monster to scare the Arabs into submission." Among the violence advocated by the site is the unprovoked wholesale murder of relatives of the rulers of Arab countries, civilians and prisoners of war.
Contacted by EI, Osnat Kohali, the manager of Haaretz.com
stated that the newspaper and its website have a clear
policy of not allowing any advertisements that include
"incitement against any side". She undertook to review the Samsonblinded.org advertisements noting that "mistakes can be made".
But these are not the only case of Haaretz apparently profiting from extremism; its website has often carried advertisements for an organisation called "The Jerusalem Summit" that also advocates the removal of the Palestinians from their homeland.
This kind of militant Jewish extremism has been making
steady inroads into Israel's political mainstream, as
numerous parties openly advocate the "transfer"
(expulsion) of Palestinians. What is surprising is that the widely-respected Haaretz would profit from hate groups and their possibly criminal incitement.