One of Israel’s greatest problems is the double standards applied to her.
Take for example the furore over the allegation that “Israel harvests the organs of Palestinians”
The story blew up in August 2009 when a Swedish newspaper alleged that the IDF was deliberately killing Palestinians in order to harvest their organs.
While the article itself, for those who bothered to read it, rather than the screaming headlines around the world, made it clear this story related to what was alleged to have happened in the late 1980s and 1990, there was no doubt that when the story took wings it clearly gave the impression that this was now happening in the Gaza conflict, and appeared to allege it was exclusively Palestinian organs being taken.
In December 2009, Israel confimred there had been organ retention of skin, corneas, heart valves and bones from dead bodies of Israeli soldiers, Israeli citizens, Palestinians and foreign workers, often without permission from relatives, in the late 1980s and 1990, but that this practice is now illegal and no longer occurs. However, not surprisingly, Israel denied (and noted that there was no evidence to support) the story’s original claims that Israeli soldiers were deliberatly killing Palestinians for their organs or that Israel was kidnapping Palestinians and ‘harvesting’ their organs.
The furore that this “revelation” has caused is a clear example of the double standards I am talking about. For I doubt if researchers would find many countries that have not retained organs for positive purposes and resuarch, with or without the permission of families, yet when has this ever given rise to such indignation and media mania.
The story has developed into a typical Chinese whispers one, with the allegations taking wings and new dimensions throughout the world, particularly in the Arab media. And now it has been extended to Israel being accused of “importing 25,000 Ukranian children to steal their organs”!!!
The saddest thing is not that this type of story is circulated, but there are plenty of people out there all to willing to believe it!