#352 - Palestinian Media Watch: Exposing the Palestinian Ideology of Hate (Itamar Marcus)

In early December, as the dust settled on the devastating, barbaric massacre which Hamas perpetrated on October 7th, a Palestinian official made a seemingly unsurprising statement, for a Palestinian official that is. He said that what took place on October 7th wasn’t terror, but rather “a response to Israeli terror” and called on “all factions to unite in combat against Israel”. Again, unsurprising for a Palestinian official. What’s surprising is that these weren’t the words of a Hamas official but rather Jibril Rajoub, a prominent figure within the Palestinian Authority. This statement is a stark reminder of the deep-seated narratives upheld by some within the Palestinian Authority, who govern the territories of Judea and Samaria. Some claim a second October 7th is imminent if nothing is done to curtail the PA and the Palestinians in the so-called West Bank. All of this raises profound questions, especially when juxtaposed against the backdrop of suggestions from many, both in Israel and around the world, that the Palestinian Authority should in fact take over governance in Gaza post-Hamas. To dig into all this, we turn to Itamar Marcus, the founder and director of Palestinian Media Watch, PMW. Through relentless scrutiny and documentation, PMW has exposed the often-hidden undercurrents of glorification and support for violence within the PA’s communication channels. PMW and Itamar Marcus have received multiple awards including Marcus being named one of the "top 100 people positively influencing Jewish life or the State of Israel.” by The Algemeiner newspaper. Marcus also represented Israel in negotiations with the Palestinians from 1998-1999 during the Oslo Accords. We are thrilled to be joined today on the podcast by Itamar Marcus to discuss the PA and the future of the Palestinian Israeli conflict.