The New York Times’ silence in regard to Morsi’s disgraceful behavior merely serves to underscore the fact that the NYT is simply incapable of fair or balanced reporting.

Last week, Jimmy Carter accompanied by ex-has-been and irrelevant leftist politicians from Norway and Ireland — the so-called “Elders” — visited Israel.  Quite predictably, Carter, whose anti-Israel vitriol knows no bounds, condemned Israel for the lack of progress with the Palestinians and blamed “Israeli settlements” for the impasse.  Never mind the incessant rocket attacks from Gaza, the daily incitement coming across Palestinian airwaves, and the Palestinian Authority’s irrational refusal to negotiate with Israel without preconditions — in the myopic world of Jimmy Carter and his radical leftist (and openly anti-Semitic) friends, Arab Muslims can do no wrong, and Israel is to blame for the world’s evils.

Former US Pres Jimmy Carter – Reuters

Around the same time as Carter’s visit, President Morsi of Egypt attended a sermon in which the presiding cleric called for Allah to “destroy the Jews, disperse them and render them asunder.”  One would have expected Morsi, who had just lectured the General Assembly on virtues of religious tolerance, to admonish the cleric, or at the very least walk out in protest.  Instead, Morsi is seen on video mouthing concurrence with the racist screed.

Sadly, there is no surprise here.  Before assuming the Egyptian presidency, Morsi was a leading figure in the neo-fascist Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, a group that still clings to the notion of a greater Islamist caliphate based on borders determined by the Muslim conquests occurring between the 7^th and 14^th centuries.  Egypt itself is deeply anti-Semitic and xenophobic.  Egyptian Christians are frequently brutalized by their fellow Muslim citizens, and Egyptian state-run media frequently plays host to the most ludicrous conspiracy theories involving Jews and “Zionists” (code-name for Jews).  But while Morsi’s conduct is predictable, the radical left’s silence on the matter is immoral, shameful, and repugnant.  The pseudo-intellectuals and self-proclaimed progressives of the radical left choose to ignore overt racism and xenophobia but cry foul from the highest rooftops when a tree is allegedly damaged by so-called Israeli “settlers.”

Leading the radical left’s charge against Israel is the New York Times, which gave prominent coverage to Carter’s Israel visit and printed his tired song but chose to ignore Morsi’s amoral behavior.  Just imagine for a moment if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a sermon given by Israel’s chief rabbi, and, during the service, the chief rabbi called for the destruction and dispersion of Muslims while Netanyahu nodded his head in agreement.  Imagine the headlines splashed across the New York Times and other radical leftist outlets.

President Mohammed Morsi at prayer on October 19 at el-Taneim Mosque in Matrouh governorate -Photo: MEMRI screenshot

The New York Times‘ silence in connection with Morsi’s disgraceful behavior merely serves to underscore the fact that the Times is simply incapable of fair and balanced reporting.  Hypocrisy is what we’ve already sadly come to expect from a newspaper that comically prides itself on publishing “all the news that’s fit to print.”  Similarly, we can expect no good to come from Carter and his reactionary rightest and radical leftist allies.

We can, however, expect moral clarity from the White House and the Obama administration, right?  Not so fast.  President Obama, who in 2009 infamously visited Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq (while deliberately skipping Israel) to apologize for all of America’s misdeeds, has remained deafeningly silent on the issue despite strong calls from human rights groups like the Simon Wiesenthal Center to condemn such hate speech.  If any nation holds sway over Egypt, it is the United States, which provides Egypt with billions in annual aid and sustains its military.

President Obama has said that Egypt must protect the rights of religious minorities and women and must adhere to the peace treaty signed with Israel.  He referred to the latter as a “red line” that, if crossed, would presumably trigger a strong U.S. response.  Let’s see if Obama means what he says and will take Morsi to task for this outrageous incident.  I’m not holding my breath.