All the news that's fit to misrepresent

I wake to the first American antisemitic death to take place on American soil arising from the pro-Hamas protests occurring here.  Unfortunately, while the support for Hamas (and antisemitism and genocide and terrorism) seems markedly concentrated and not widespread, it is noisy and persistent.  And now has claimed its first victim.  

The murder occurred on Sunday afternoon the 5th out in California and is being reported this way Tuesday morning the 7th in the New York Times.

Passive voice, balanced between whether he was the victim, participant or aggressor.

A 69-year-old Jewish man died on Monday from injuries he suffered during a weekend altercation in Southern California over the Israel-Hamas war, and the authorities said they were investigating the incident as a homicide and a possible hate crime.

The dispute occurred Sunday afternoon amid dueling demonstrations at an intersection in Thousand Oaks, Calif., a suburb about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, the authorities said. Deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a physical altercation at the protest site, where pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian factions were present, according to the agency.

There, they found Paul Kessler with a head injury he had sustained when he fell backward and hit his head on the ground. Mr. Kessler, a Thousand Oaks resident, was taken to a hospital, where he died a day later. The Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Mr. Kessler had died of blunt force head injury, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Witnesses told investigators that Mr. Kessler had a physical altercation with at least one counterprotester, the authorities said.

Jim Fryhoff, the Ventura County sheriff, has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday morning in Thousand Oaks.

And as is usual with the mainstream media and the left leaning clerisy, the concern is more about possible Islamophobia and misinformation than it is about the Jewish victim.

Word of Mr. Kessler’s fall ricocheted quickly across communities that were already on edge. Several mourners on Monday night brought flowers and lit candles on a ledge outside a Shell gas station near where the altercation occurred.

Rabbi Michael Barclay, of the nearby Temple Ner Simcha, said on Monday evening that he had been urging congregants not to share rumors and that he had previously discouraged community members from counter-protesting at pro-Palestinian demonstrations to avoid confrontations.

The New York Times article is brief, evasive, tardy, and misleading.  

From OSINT, i.e. non-mainstream media such as X, blogs, and the like, the very first report I see has this story.  My paraphrase.

Elderly American Jewish counterprotestor in California is attacked and beaten about the head by a Hamas supporter with a loudspeaker.  He collapsed from the brain injury he sustained during the beating, was taken to the hospital and died.

I contrast that to the New York Times reporting.  Again, my paraphrase:

There was a scuffle at a Pro-Palestine march in California.  A confrontation occurred between a marcher and a counter-marcher during which the counter-marcher fell, striking his head on the ground.  He was taken to the hospital where died from his injuries.  

My paraphrasing, but that is the difference in reporting I am sensing from OSINT and from The New York Times.

Perhaps it is just a matter of timing?  No.  I checked that out.  It appears that the Ventura County Sheriff's office released a death notification on Monday the 6th.  

Narrative: 

 

A 69-year-old man, identified as Paul Kessler, died as a result of injuries sustained during an altercation at a Pro-Israeli / Pro-Palestinian event, both of which were occurring simultaneously at the intersection of Westlake Blvd. and Thousand Oaks Blvd.  The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident and has not ruled out the possibility of a hate crime.   

 

On November 5, 2023, at approximately 3:20 PM, multiple citizens called the Ventura County Sheriff’s Communication Center to report a battery had occurred at the intersection of Westlake Boulevard and Thousand Oaks Boulevard in the City of Thousand Oaks. The intersection was the location of a Pro-Israeli / Pro-Palestinian demonstration.

 

Upon arrival, responding deputies located Kessler, who was suffering from a head injury.  Witness accounts indicated that Kessler was involved in a physical altercation with counter-protestor(s).  During the altercation, Kessler fell backwards and struck his head on the ground. Kessler was transported to an area hospital for advanced medical treatment. On November 6, 2023, Kessler succumbed to his injuries.

 

An autopsy was performed on November 6th and the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be blunt force head injury and the manner of death homicide.

 

This is an active and ongoing investigation, and the incident appears to be isolated and not part of a large effort.   

Same facts, but much clearer than the New York Times.  The Sheriff's department released a report yesterday, Monday the 6th, reporting a homicide was committed, yet the New York Times is still pretending that this was possibly an accident resulting from a fall. 

The New York Times is right to be cautious of reporting only the known facts (or at least distinguishing between what is known and what is supposed).  That is commendable.  But it is professionally reprehensible for a Times reader in less than 60 seconds of search to be able to find a more complete and more accurate story than sits on the front page of the Times.  

Did Paul Kessler instigate the confrontation?  Did he get physical with the Hamas supporter first?  Possibly.  The answers were not obvious in my 60 seconds of searching.  

Five minutes of searching leads me to assume that the final story might appear as:

An elderly Jewish American man, Paul Kessler, waving an Israeli flag, was attacked by a pro-Hamas marcher.  The Hamas marcher used a bullhorn to beat Kessler about the head, causing to Kessler to fall and strike his head on the pavement.  Kessler was rushed to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.  The police have launched a murder investigation and have leads they are pursuing.

Will this prove to be wrong?  Possibly.  But I'd bet not materially wrong.  

And clearly, in this first 36 hours after the attack, there is a lot of confusion, a lot of uncertainty about the facts and the incident is being focused on and/or exploited by advocates on both sides of the incident.  The pro-Hamas marchers are claiming they are being framed, that Kessler instigated the assault and that his death is due to his fall arising from his attack.  The pro-Israel commenters are framing it as an innocent old man attacked by a hate-filled terrorist-supporting Hamas marcher.  

Which is true?  We don't know yet.  I would stake a fair amount of money, given what we do know, that the story is much closer to the pro-Israel version than otherwise.  And it could get even worse.  

I am biased against the pro-genocide, pro-terrorist, anti-semitic side of this confrontation and strongly disposed towards the American Jewish community and their well-justified concerns about the specter of anti-semitism.  I recognize my bias and also try and wait for actual facts to emerge, no matter how confident I think I can be as to how this story will turn out.

But regardless, The New York Times is simply failing and failing in a fashion that would seem to support the argument that the Times itself is anti-semitic and pro-Hamas.  We know Paul Kessler was murdered.  The police and ME say so.  The Times could at least report that rather than the mealy-mouthed he died from a fall nonsense.  

I do recognize that as of this moment, they do in fact report the murder.  But they also have left over, presumably from their first reporting, that Kessler died from a fall.  Perhaps this is just bad editing.  

Or bad reporting.  Or prejudice.  Who knows?

UPDATE:  Echoes of this incident back in 2017 - Media Bias - Dog bites man story