Tehran Times: Yvonne's latest, including plagiarized content

The following list, said to be "Compiled by Sam Kabbani," and perhaps first published by something called the "Spotlight," purports to show that Israel invented all methods of terrorism. It appears, for instance, at a website called Hungry for Justice, obviously not its ultimate source:

1. The first aircraft hijacking was carried out by Israel in 1954
against a Syrian civilian airliner.
2. Grenades in cafes: first used by Zionists against Palestinians in Jerusalem on 17 March 1937.
3. Delayed-action, electrically timed mines in crowded marketplaces: first used by Zionists against Palestinians in Haifa on 6 July 1938.
4. Blowing up a ship with its civilian passengers still on board: first carried out by Zionists in Haifa on 25 November 1940. The Zionists did not hesitate to blow up their own people in protest at the British policy of restricting Jewish immigration to Palestine. The ship, Patria, was carrying 1,700 Jewish immigrants.
5. Assassination of government officials: first carried out by the Zionists against the British in Cairo, when on 6 November 1944 Lord Moyne was assassinated by the Stern Gang. Yitzhak Shamir, a member of the Irgun and later leader of the Stern Gang and Israeli prime minister, was behind the plan.
6. Use of hostages as a means of putting pressure on a government: first used by the Zionists against the British in Tel Aviv on 18 June 1946.
7. Blowing up of government offices with their civilian employees and visitors: first carried out by the Zionists against the British in Jerusalem on 22 July 1946. The toll was 91 Britons, Palestinian Arabs and Jews killed and 46 wounded in the King David Hotel. Menachim Begin, who masterminded and carried out the attack and later became Israeli prime minister, admitted that the massacre was coordinated with and carried out under the instruction of the Haganah Zionist gang.
8. Booby-trapped suitcases: first used by the Zionists against the British Embassy in Rome on 13 October 1946.
9. Booby-trapped cars in civilian areas: first used by the Zionists against the British in Sarafand (east of Jaffa) on 5 December 1946.
10. Beating of hostages: first used by the Zionists against the British in Tel Aviv, Netanya and Rishon on 29 December 1946.
11. Letter bombs sent to politicians: first used by the Zionists against Britain when 20 letter bombs were sent from Italy to London between 4 and 6 June 1947.

The list goes on for another 2 entries. The Tehran Times features Yvonne Ridley's latest, including the following:

And before any of you continue to cite terrorism as a counter-argument for not sitting down and talking to Hamas, it might be worth remembering that the first aircraft hijacking was carried out by Israel in 1954 against a Syrian civilian airliner.

Grenades in cafes were first used by Zionists against Palestinians in Jerusalem on March 17, 1937.

Delayed-action, electrically timed mines in crowded marketplaces were first used by Zionists against Palestinians in Haifa on July 6, 1938.

Blowing up a ship with its civilian passengers still on board was first carried out by Zionists in Haifa on November 25, 1940. The Zionists did not hesitate to blow up their own people in protest at the British policy of restricting Jewish immigration to Palestine. The ship, Patria, was carrying 1,700 Jewish immigrants.

Blowing up of government offices with their civilian employees and visitors was first carried out by the Zionists against the British in Jerusalem on July 22, 1946. The toll was 91 Britons killed and 46 wounded in the King David Hotel. Menachem Begin, who masterminded and carried out the attack and later became Israeli prime minister, admitted that the massacre was coordinated with and carried out under the instruction of the Haganah.

Letter bombs sent to politicians was first used by the Zionists against Britain when 20 letter bombs were sent from Italy to London between the 4th and 6th of June, 1947.

I could go on -- but I won’t.

That "I could go on" is hilarious. There are still some unplagiarized entries left to the list. Is the list accurate? I did some very unimpressive and quick searching and found the following:

1. The incident in 1954 was not "the first aircraft hijacking." Noam Chomsky had the idea, evidently, of calling it the "first state hijacking." The plane in question was forced down by Israeli fighter jets in Israeli airspace. See the Wikipedia article and the discussion.

2. The Patria, according to Wikipedia, was not deliberately sunk "in protest." Bombs were used in a botched attempt to disable it so that the people on board could not be deported.

3. I don't know anything about the letter bombs from 1947, but they were not the first in history by a long shot. Wikipedia lists examples going back to the 18th century.

Who knows what research into the other items would turn up, Yvonne certainly doesn't! I hope you enjoyed Yvonne's latest adventures. And now the Yvonne theme:

And she shall be Yvonne
Blog-fodder for Goodman
And she shall be Yvonne
In tradition of the Taliban
And she shall be Yvonne
Blog-fodder for Goodman
She . . . shall . . . be . . . Yvonne . . .

Crossposted on Soccer Dad

Tags: Yvonne Ridley, Israel, Palestinians, Hamas, Iran, plagiarism