Obana didn't release the note he put in the Western Wall

[kskiska]

Start here: Ma’ariv’s story from last Friday on the note is still available on line (in Hebrew). It explains how the paper got the note:

As soon as left the wall, a yeshivah student hurried to the stones where the note had been inserted and searched between them until he found the hoped-for note… which has reached Ma’ariv’s hands.

The picture of the note showed it folded and crumpled. Yediot Aharonot, Israel’s largest-circulation paper, was reportedly offered the note and turned it down. Apparently, the yeshivah student was shopping his find around. Yediot is also a tabloid with screaming headlines, not known for its tact, but even its editors knew where to draw the line.

So virtually every paper in Israel was soon publishing that statement from Ma’ariv about how Obama had really handed out the note itself. The statement’s last sentence (take anti-nausea pill before reading) said:

In any case, since Obama is not a Jew, publishing the note does not constitute an infringement on his right to privacy.

Now let’s say I’m a journalist, and I read Ma’ariv’s second version. How should I relate to it?

Well, if Obama really had offered the note to everyone, everyone would have published it, and no one would have been upset. That’s exactly what happened when Pope John Paul II visited the Wall in March, 2000, during his historic journey of reconciliation, and publicized the prayer he inserted between the stones. He made a point of writing it in English. You can find it on the website of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, a Church body. No one thought the pope had violated religious custom. The pope’s prayer was meant to be public, so there was nothing untoward in publishing it. It was like printing words of a sermon. Publishing Obama’s words was the equivalent of using a secret mike to capture a whispered prayer.

more…
http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/tapped_archive?month=07&year=2008&base_name=obama_didnt_release_the_note_h
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Video: THE MOMENT Obama prayer snatched from Western Wall ©2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i7v85iEgvY

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On same page, further down:

McCain skipped the troops

The problem here is that the McCain campaign was denied a visit to a military base under the same policy back in April. Of course, there was no outcry or false outrage from Brian Rogers at that time.

From CNN:

With Department of Defense rules prohibiting political campaigning on military bases, it was determined that in some cases McCain could visit the installations as a senator but could not engage in any political activity or have news media present.

McCain campaign officials said Thursday they intentionally did not campaign on military property.

"We follow the rules," said senior McCain adviser Steve Schmidt.

more…