ISRAEL'S FOREIGN MINISTER, Shimon Peres, says US President George W. Bush's speech will cause "a blood bath" in the Middle East.
A furious Peres declared: "The abyss into which the region will now plunge will be as deep as expectations of this speech were high."
Have you read this story? Anywhere? It should be in every newspaper worldwide, but so far it has apparently only been reported by Tim Palmer, Middle East correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
And Palmer himself didn't see fit to run the explosive Peres quotes as his lede...
No, at least not by the Aussie journalist. It appears the source was a Hebrew-language newspaper, Yediot Aharonot. But the quote was all but off-the-record... watch for an urban legend in the making.
Update: Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter Tim Palmer has demanded an apology for this post, threatening to sue Kesher Talk. Blair has apologized for any misrepresentation. But I made it clear in my original post that any possible problems with Shimon Peres' annoying "blood bath" quote derived from its source, Yediot Aharonot journalist Shimon Shiffer. I never accused Palmer of fabrication. I did question the source. The only mistake -- yet to be proven -- was assuming that Peres would not be so ridiculously stupid. Wishful thinking on my part? Most likely.
Regardless, Palmer is in the clear, so there is no need for an apology.
To be frank, if this had come up in a regular newspaper, the "correction" would have run in small type out of sight. Here, he's getting what amounts to, at best, a clarification. On my front page. Not a bad deal at all.
<< Home