Sept. 25, 2026 7 AM PT
To the editor: Columnist Jonah Goldberg’s attempt to portray Israel as a victim of unreasonable and, by implication, unfair attention in its relentless assault on the Palestinian population is truly risible (“While the world is on fire, the media are still obsessed with Israel,” Sept. 22). Goldberg deploys the “what about” argument in an absurd effort to suggest that the press ignores other international conflicts while dwelling on Israel’s egregious conduct in the occupied territories. Goldberg needs to be reminded that the attention the conflict receives by the media is, in part, because the U.S., unlike in the other conflicts he lists, is a primary provider of munitions to the Israeli Defense Federation and is therefore complicit in the destruction of Gaza.
Goldberg suggests that we shouldn’t believe the mainstream news reports documenting the brutal aggression by Israeli forces in Gaza and unhinged settler violence in the West Bank. The reporting, Goldberg insists, is not objective; it is biased. But he fails to provide any evidence to support that dubious claim.
Goldberg’s unspoken underlying assumption is that the criticism of Israeli misconduct is factually unfounded, driven by antisemitism. He would have us believe Israel is not at fault and, contrary to reports in the international press, has not launched an arguably genocidal campaign against Palestinian civilians. Under that pretense, the “excessive” attention paid by the media to Israel’s misconduct would be irrational and unwarranted.
Andrew Spathis, Los Angeles