News/Commentary

Biden prematurely urges investigation of Israeli cops after clash at funeral before both sides were told

May 14, 2022 | | Print Article

The White House has prematurely taken sides in the growing hubbub over photo and video footage ostensibly showing Israeli soldiers mindlessly raiding a funeral procession for recently killed Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.

The hubbub began Friday afternoon as the following headline began trending on Twitter:

But as noted above by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, the then-emerging narrative of evil Israeli Police officers “attacking” mourning funeralgoers was “garbage.”

The narrative was nevertheless buoyed by establishment media-shared photo and video footage such as the following:

The problem is that the photo and video footage only told one side of the story — the side, not surprisingly, that the Biden administration appears to have glommed onto.

During her final briefing Friday afternoon, White House press secretary Jen Psaki described the Israeli Police’s actions as an “intrusion into what should have been a peaceful procession.”

“I would first that we have all seen those images; they’re obviously deeply disturbing. We — this is a day where we should all be marking, including everyone there, the memory of a remarkable journalist who lost her life,” she said.

“We know that there is — with the disturbing footage from the funeral procession today in Jerusalem, we regret the intrusion into what should have been a peaceful procession. We’ve urged respect for the funeral procession, the mourners, and the family at this sensitive time.”

During a separate briefing later that afternoon, President Joe Biden called for an investigation.

“My question is: Do you condemn the police force in Israel for their actions at the funeral of the Palestinian-American journalist?” an unnamed reporter asked him.

“I don’t know all the detail, but I know it has to be investigated. I don’t know all the detail,” the president replied.

Listen:

An investigation has indeed been ongoing, and thus far it’s looking bad … but not for the Israeli Police.

According to a statement from the Israeli Police, they had no other option but to intervene because a mob of rioters showed up at the hospital where Akleh’s body was located and literally tried to steal it against her family’s wishes.

“[A]bout 300 rioters arrived at Saint Joseph hospital in Jerusalem and prevented the family members from loading the coffin onto the hearse to travel to the cemetery — as had been planned and coordinated with the family in advance. Instead, the mob threatened the driver of the hearse and then proceeded to carry the coffin on an unplanned procession to the cemetery by foot,” the statement reads.

“This went against the wishes of the Abu-Akleh family and the security coordinations that had been planned to safeguard the large number of mourners. The Israel Police instructed that the coffin be returned to the hearse, as did the EU ambassador and Shireen Abu-Akleh’s own family, but the mob refused.”

“Israeli Police intervened to disperse the mob and prevent them from taking the coffin, so that the funeral could proceed as planned in accordance with the wishes of the family. During the riot that was instigated by the mob, glass bottles and other objects were thrown, resulting in the injury of both mourners and Police officers,” the statement concludes.

There’s also photo and video footage backing this narrative:

This is not the first time, nor will it likely be the last, that the administration has prematurely rushed to conclusions without waiting to hear the full story.

Recall how the administration notoriously condemned its own Border Patrol agents last year after photos emerged ostensibly showing them cruelly whipping migrants.

But the evidence later showed that they hadn’t been whipping the migrants — they’d been whipping their horse reins to try and control them.

“According to a sixth generation Rancher, Kerr Wardlaw, the Border Patrol Agents were using something called split reins in order to have more control their horse. Wardlaw said that agents also use the tail end of the reins to help with quickly move the horse from left to right,” as reported at the time by El Paso news station KTSM.

“Wardlaw explained that the agents who appeared to be swinging their reins in the air were actually using their reins as a tool, to quickly move the rear end of the horse from left to right. He said that the agents were using non-lethal force by using their horses as tools.”

Yet to this day, the administration refuses to apologize for smearing their own Border Patrol agents.

Likewise, it seems highly unlikely that the administration will ever apologize for smearing Israeli Police over the funeral debacle that happened Friday …

Vivek Saxena
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