People often wonder how I could have been so gullible for so many years to believe the Palestinian narrative.
Because there is an ongoing struggle, I tried to learn more, to dig deeper. One of the sources I trusted for balanced, truthful information was Christian Peacemaker Teams. I have seen their pictures, listened to their testimonies, and got to know people who served with them. I had every reason to feel confident that I could trust them. And they told me that Palestinians are most definitely THE victims in this conflict.
Even after I saw the lies and inconsistencies, I didn’t want to believe that CPT was being dishonest. Perhaps they had only limited access to information beyond what they could see outside their front door. They work primarily in Hebron, so there is more conflict going on around them than in most other places. So I continued to give them the benefit of the doubt. Until yesterday.
I was shocked and dismayed when I saw their report about the IDF “breaking into homes” and forcibly arresting numerous men. They told of heavy Israeli aggression as innocent Palestinian lives were being turned upside down.
In their headline, there was no mention of a frantic and thorough search for 3 kidnapped teenagers. No mention of it being a suspected terrorist kidnapping, no sense of urgency to get the boys returned safely.
The only mention of hardships was of Palestinians in Hebron being harassed and worse by the IDF.
I pointed out they needed to include the reason for these house-to-house searches. I told them that context is vital. I also pointed out that the PA had told all shopkeepers to destroy their security camera footage for the purpose of hindering the search for suspects and for the boys.
What did they expect the response to be?
Below my comment, another woman commented she was praying for Palestinians. Christian Peacemaker Teams responded to her comment, while ignoring mine completely.
In a subsequent post on IDF aggression in Hebron, they mentioned the “three missing settlers.”
Again I pointed out that these were 3 kidnapped teenagers. Again I was ignored.
Some time ago, I wrote a piece called “Isn’t Lying to Tell the Truth Still Lying?” I’m now asking that question of Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Isn’t lying to tell the truth still lying?
When pivotal facts are purposely left out, which end up flipping a story upside down, isn’t that lying? And if an organization as respected and trusted as CPT shamelessly lies to demonize Israel and to establish complete Palestinian innocence, how can I believe any of it?
They were a big reason I believed everything else. And now, they have as good as lied to my face.
A friend of mine told me recently that his friend, who volunteers for CPT, had just been handed a 10-year ban from Israel. He found it disturbing and a black mark for Israel.
I just think it makes sense.
At a time when an entire country is gripped with one hope – that Eyal, Gilad and Naftali will come home safely – it is cold and callous of CPT to not even mention their plight, and to refer to them by the highly-charged term “settlers”
Lying to tell the truth is still lying.
