Countries in the Middle East fight continually but the conflict that is reported the most is that between Israelis and Palestinians, according to Mark Paredes, former U.S. diplomat to Israel.
That’s because most of the other countries, such as Sudan, will not let reporters cover the true story, he maintained
“Over 2 million people have been killed in the Sudan and that has to do with a very radical Islamic government fighting against Christians. They’ve been fighting for two decades. It’s still ongoing,” said Peredes during a tolerance forum held at BC Wednesday. The event, which was held in Forum West, was held in response to allegations by the Jewish Defense League of anti-Semitism on campus. It was sponsored by the BC Democrats.
Paredes said he was invited to discuss the violence in Israel and where the Israelis are coming from.
“One thing that I am out to do is to debunk a lot of myths that I think prevent people from understanding certainly where Israel is coming across and really understanding the situation,” said the former press attachÇ at the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles.
He said because of media reports, many Americans believe all Middle East problems center on Jews.
“So, don’t say that the fact that there are 5 million Jews living on the eastern side of the Mediterranean has anything to do with the fundamental problems in the Middle East. It is a problem. It is a very sad problem but don’t believe all that you hear. I think it’s the biggest myth that’s going out there about the Middle East.”
Yet, Israel remains the media’s focus.
“When Ariel Sharon comes to the U.S. for a press conference, which country do they ask him about? They ask him about Israel. … When Tony Blair comes here, besides Iraq, which country do they ask him about? They ask him about the United Kingdom. When Hosni Mubarak comes here, the president of Egypt, which country do they ask him about? Israel. They always ask him about Israel. … The Lebanese prime minister has been here twice in the past few years. Every question on Fox TV and CNN was about Israel,” he said.
Paredes wonders why reporters don’t ask Arab leaders questions about their own countries.
He discussed about what he described is a myth about the Palestinian authority, the Arafat government. He maintained Arafat’s government was simply mob rule.
Paredes said that the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is, “much deeper than land.”
He stated that to achieve a free Palestine, “you have to convince Israel that it (Palestine) is going to be a responsible state.”
In an interview afterward, Peredes was asked if he thought there would ever be a solution to the conflict between Israelis and Arabs.
“Honestly, I’m a pessimist. I really am. Feelings are just too rough. The hatred goes back a long time. I hope I’m wrong,” he said.