Media watch group: Arab-Israeli lawmakers support Hezbollah
"While many parts of the Arab-Israeli public "made do" with accusing Israel of starting and prolonging the war, the political and public leadership of Israel's Arabs didn't stop there, and made extremist statements that went as far as expressing support for Hezbollah," said Itamar Marcus, the head of Palestinian Media Watch.
His remarks coincided with the publication of a report by the group that documents what appears to be expressions of support for Hezbollah on the part of Arab-Israeli political leaders.
According to PMW's website, the organization "document[s] the contradictions between the image the Palestinians present to the world in English and the messages to their own people in Arabic."
The report quotes Balad Party chairman MK Azmi Bishara as making the following statement in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida: "Solidarity with these heroes [Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists] is the least [we can do]."
An article in Al-Ayam from two weeks ago quoted him as saying, "The Palestinian and Lebanese resistance returned the confidence to the Arab-Islamic identity after years of defeats."
Another Balad MK, Wasil Taha, told Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, "Resistance is not terror but it is a moral value. As for terror, the state [Israel] carries it out."
Sheikh Raed Salah, Head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, told Al-Ayam, "A look at the region in which we live teaches that the two biggest liars are Ehud Olmert and George Bush, who lead the world to carnage, destruction and massacres."
He called on the peoples of the world "to expose the lies of those who burn children," continuing, "The Palestinian people and the people of Lebanon are the winners because they have justice, whereas Bush and Olmert are the losers because they have falsehood."
His remarks coincided with the publication of a report by the group that documents what appears to be expressions of support for Hezbollah on the part of Arab-Israeli political leaders.
According to PMW's website, the organization "document[s] the contradictions between the image the Palestinians present to the world in English and the messages to their own people in Arabic."
The report quotes Balad Party chairman MK Azmi Bishara as making the following statement in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida: "Solidarity with these heroes [Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists] is the least [we can do]."
An article in Al-Ayam from two weeks ago quoted him as saying, "The Palestinian and Lebanese resistance returned the confidence to the Arab-Islamic identity after years of defeats."
Another Balad MK, Wasil Taha, told Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, "Resistance is not terror but it is a moral value. As for terror, the state [Israel] carries it out."
Sheikh Raed Salah, Head of the Islamic Movement in Israel, told Al-Ayam, "A look at the region in which we live teaches that the two biggest liars are Ehud Olmert and George Bush, who lead the world to carnage, destruction and massacres."
He called on the peoples of the world "to expose the lies of those who burn children," continuing, "The Palestinian people and the people of Lebanon are the winners because they have justice, whereas Bush and Olmert are the losers because they have falsehood."