Thursday, March 02, 2006

Why is The Raleigh News & Observer silent on the Halimi crimes and what followed?

On Jan. 20 Ilan Halimi, a 23 year old French Jew, was kidnapped in Paris. In the days that followed his family sougt his release as kidnappers made various ransom demands.

Then on Feb. 13 Halimi was found handcuffed and naked by a railroad track south of the city. His body was covered with stab wounds, burns and other indications of torture. He died in an ambulance on the way to a hospital.

The gang police say carried out the crimes are young Muslims, most of whom live in areas where there was rioting last fall.

Police and national government officials initially denied anti-Semitism was a motive for the gang. But on Feb. 23 The Wall Street Journal reported they had reversed themselves and concluded anti-Semitism was a motive:

Justice Minister Pascal Clement explained that the charge of anti-Semitism was based on the fact that one of the suspects had declared to the judge that they picked a Jew because Jews are supposed to be rich. But, according to reports in the French press, some of the suspects in police custody said that they tortured Ilan with particular cruelty simply because he was Jewish.
That same day, President Chirac, his wife and many leading officials joined Halimi's family and friends at a memorial service at a Paris synagogue.

On Feb. 26, the Associated Press reported:
Some one hundred thousand demonstrators, including ministers and politicians of all stripes, joined in a show of force against racism and anti-Semitism on Sunday, marching through the French capital after the torture and killing of a Paris Jew, 23-year-old Ilan Halimi.
A Washington Post story on the crimes and French reaction was headlined:
Killing in France Seen as 'Wake-Up Call'
If you depend on The Raleigh News & Observer for your news, you haven’t yet read a single word about Halimi and France’s “Wake-Up” call.

Why is The N&O silent on this important story?

On Feb. 28 I phoned N&O public editor Ted Vaden and asked him that question. He said he’d talk to "our news people" and get back to me.

I've heard nothing from him. Maybe my question just dropped off his radar screen.

I’m sending him an email and link to this post.

I’ll keep you informed.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

John, he isn't afraid you will stab, burn,torture snf kill him. He knows damn well muslims will if he angers them, even with the cold, bare, undeniable facts.

The secondary reason for silence is that even in his cowardice he can take a free shot at the administration and the war on terror as a support stratagem to weaken those he doesn't favor politically. You see, he isn't afraid they will stab, burn, torture and kill him either. but he still knows damn well the muslims the truth irritates will.