The Israeli Hospital Bombing That Never Happened
Also, Trump’s plan to address Jihadism
Editorial Team
October 19, 2023
Once again, the coverage of an explosion in Gaza reveals mainstream bias. Now that the facts have come to light, how did the media fix their “mistakes?
Today we’re covering:
💣 The Israeli Hospital Bombing That Never Happened,
🧕 GOP candidates vow to limit Muslim migration,
🚔 Man jailed for mocking Clinton supporters,
And everything else you need to know.
☕️ Welcome back. I’m Ari, and this is Upward News. Every day, our team scours 100s of sources to bring you need-to-know news and insights you won’t find in the MSM—all in 5 minutes. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up here.
IN AMERICA
GOP primary candidates pledge to block Muslim migration amid terrorism concerns
What’s happening: As the Israel-Hamas war plays out, several Republican presidential candidates say the U.S. should not take in migrants from regions with ties to Islamic terrorism.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis began the conversation Saturday by arguing that “the U.S. should not be absorbing any” Gazan refugees because their “toxic” culture “would increase antisemitism” and “anti-Americanism.”
Former President Donald Trump repeated his campaign promise to block migration from “terror-plagued” regions by bringing back a travel ban from his presidency and adding more countries. Trump’s campaign says he would also deport immigrants with “jihadist sympathies” and have all immigrants undergo “ideological screening.”
Other candidates: Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), former U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamy all agreed the U.S. should reject Palestinian refugees.
Why it matters: Islamic radicalism has become part of the national conversation once again after Hamas’s historic attack on Israeli civilians this month — and the large gatherings of Palestinian sympathizers celebrating in U.S. cities. This adds to the GOP’s existing concerns about illegal migration as border agents increasingly encounter migrants on the terror watchlist, including from Iran, which backs Hamas.
No help: The U.S. has accepted hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees in the past few years, while Arab countries refuse to accept Gazans fleeing the war.
Zoom out: Cultural tensions are rising across the West. Women in hijabs were seen in London tearing down photos of missing Israeli children believed to be captives of Hamas. In France, a migrant allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” before going on a fatal stabbing spree.
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
👮♂️Man sentenced to jail for posting memes. Douglas Mackey, a right-wing social media user, received a 7-month prison sentence for posting memes on Twitter that mocked Hillary Clinton supporters in 2016. A jury found him guilty of "election interference" in part because one of the memes jokingly suggested that Clinton supporters should vote via text. (Post Millennial)
🏛️ Pro-Palestinian protestors storm the Capitol. Around 300 people were taken into custody at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday during a pro-Palestinian demonstration. The protesters, who gathered in a main office building and nearby outdoor spaces, demanded a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. This follows an incident at the White House where demonstrators were arrested for disrupting government activities. (ABC News)
⛓️ Jan. 6 protester detained for 1,000 days without trial. Jake Lang, a participant in the January 6, 2021 Capitol protest, has been in jail for over 20 months awaiting trial. In a recent interview, he described the worsening conditions he and other inmates face, such as solitary confinement, a lack of family visits, and alleged assaults. (Epoch Times)
💵 Biden approves $100 million in aid for Palestinians. The Biden administration has greenlit $100 million in “humanitarian” aid for Palestinians affected by the Israel-Hamas war. He claims there will be “mechanisms in place” to keep the funds out of the hands of terrorists. (Insider)
🇮🇷 Iran-backed Pentagon adviser keeps security clearance. After an internal review, the Pentagon found no issue with allowing Ariane Tabatabai, a participant in an Iranian influence operation, to have access to military secrets. The Iranian government previously enlisted Tabatabai and others in a secret program to try to steer U.S. foreign policy in its favor. (Washington Free Beacon)
GEOPOLITICS
The Israeli Hospital Bombing That Never Happened
First, it was reported that Israel struck a hospital in Gaza on October 17, killing about 500. “Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say,” wrote the New York Times, echoing numerous other corporate media outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, Axios, Politico, and the Associated Press. The outlets used images from a completely different area.
Keep in mind: At this point, the only evidence for any attack was a statement from Hamas. A flurry of information online, including footage, pointed to a failed missile launch from within Gaza.
Then, doubts emerged after Israel quickly blamed Islamic Jihad, a Gazan terror group. Around this time, the Timeschanged its headline to a more skeptical “At least 500 Dead in Strike on Gaza Hospital, Palestinians say.”
Note: For almost twelve hours, almost no media outlets reported the evidence disproving Hamas’s claim. Hamas used the sympathetic coverage to demand that the world “take action,” and world leaders quickly condemned Israel.
Finally, pictures emerged, revealing that only a parking lot was hit, not a hospital. The surrounding buildings appeared mostly intact, with the exception of shattered glass. As for casualties, an independent analyst found that 30-50 people in the parking lot may have been killed.
Now: It is clear that there weren’t 500 deaths and that the missile almost certainly came from Palestinian terrorists.
However, the New York Times only changed its headline to “At least 500 Dead in Blast at Gaza Hospital, Palestinians Say” — even though, as of now, the only evidence for such a high death count is the word of a terror organization.
POLL
Did you believe the media’s original coverage of the explosion?Poll results will be in Monday's newsletter |
POLL RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY
Are you concerned that the conflict in Israel will spiral?
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👍 Yes (502)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👎 No (54)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Unsure (41)
👍 Yes: “Conflict in Israel ? You mean the Islamic efforts for world domination ? It isn't just Israel they want, they want it all.” — Fred
👎 No: “Palestine can't get enough help.” — Anonymous
🤔 Unsure: “It is very hard to read and understand Hamas and their moves. How can you be certain what moves crazy, evil people will make? Let Israel give the terrorists a taste of their own medicine. I don’t have any sympathy for Hamas!” — Sheila Beaston
IN THE LOOP
Iran called on all Muslim countries to put an oil embargo on Israel. (Reuters)
A Berlin synagogue has been petrol-bombed twice, with Berlin seeing escalating violence since Hamas’s attack on Israel. (BBC)
The New York Police Department issued an alert about a heightened risk of domestic terrorism, expressing concern over the possibility of attacks modeled after those carried out by Hamas. (Fox News)
The Department of Homeland Security placed an immigration asylum officer on leave because of her open support for Hamas. (Washington Examiner)
5 TRENDS TO WATCH
👎 Test scores decline for 6th consecutive year. The average ACT score has dropped to a 30-year low, pointing to problems in public schools' ability to prepare students for college or their careers. This drop is part of a bigger pattern of low test scores for students of all ages and backgrounds since the COVID-19 pandemic. (Wall Street Journal)
✈️ The air traffic controller competency crisis…
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