On December 4, I read Thomas Friedman’s article in the Oman Observer titled 'So Much for Trump’s Fantasy of a Quieter Middle East.' I am always impressed by the Oman Observer’s willingness to publish diverse political perspectives.
Friedman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who regularly writes a column for the New York Times, is plausible. However he is well-known for perpetuating myths and falsehoods about Israel, usually unchallenged in mainstream Western media.
Since he is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist perhaps he deserves a reply although it is difficult to take him or anything he writes seriously. In his Observer article, he makes unreferenced statements such as “a Western intelligence source tells me” and “a senior US official remarked to me.”
Perhaps it’s the CIA who gives him his information, the same people who advised Bush to invade Iraq on the false premise that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
In his February 2 column for The New York Times, Friedman disturbingly describes the Middle East as an “animal kingdom.” Arabs are likened to insects, with Iran depicted as a “parasitoid wasp” injecting its eggs into helpless Arab caterpillars. In contrast, in the same article, he describes the US as a “stately old lion,” while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is defined as a particularly intelligent monkey species.
Friedman’s language risks dehumanising Arabs and Iranians, while Americans and Israelis are elevated as intelligent and capable. This grotesque dehumanisation is offensive and a cornerstone of Zionist propaganda, reinforcing the colonial narrative that rationalises the exploitation and subjugation of Palestinians and other Arab populations.
Friedman’s claim in the Oman Observer that Hezbollah’s recent defence of innocent Palestinians marked the start of a war against Israel is a blatant distortion. It erases decades of documented Palestinian suffering. This misrepresentation is part of Friedman’s long-standing practice of cherry-picking history to frame Israel as the perpetual victim while ignoring the root causes of the conflict.
The real story of the conflict didn’t begin in 2023 with Hezbollah and Hamas — it began in 1948, during the Nakba, when over 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced in a campaign of ethnic cleansing by Zionist Jews.
Palestinian villages were destroyed, families massacred, and land was expropriated to establish a Zionist State at the expense of the indigenous population.
Jewish authors like Ilan Pappé have meticulously documented this process, but Friedman ignores it, preferring instead to point to moments that justify Israeli actions. This is not just poor journalism — it’s wilful and dangerous Zionist propaganda.
Friedman’s refusal to acknowledge ongoing Israeli crimes is equally staggering. He glosses over the illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank, the inhumane blockade of Gaza, and the violent displacement of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem.
Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have labelled these practices as apartheid. Yet Friedman clings to the excuse of “Israel’s security needs,” casting Zionist Israelis as perpetual victims and Palestinians as aggressors.
This selective outrage is deeply hypocritical. When Israelis are harmed, Friedman demands global attention. When Palestinians are bombed, displaced, or killed, he is silent — or worse, he justifies the violence.
In Gaza, repeated Israeli bombing campaigns continue to kill thousands of civilians, mostly children and women, amounting to collective punishment. Yet Friedman avoids calling these actions what they are: genocide.
Friedman also chooses to ignore the history of the Zionist Jews’ disturbing collaborations with oppressive, racist regimes such as Nazi Germany and the Apartheid South African regime.
He fails to mention the 1933 Haavara Agreement between Zionist leaders and Nazi Germany, which prioritised Jewish emigration to Palestine over resisting Hitler’s regime. While Jewish communities in Germany faced persecution in the 1930s, Zionist leaders in Nazi Germany turned a blind eye while even at times sharing the wealth stolen from German Jews.
In presenting his columns as “nuanced analysis,” Friedman masks what is ultimately polished Zionist propaganda. His dehumanisation of Arabs and Iranians, erasure of Palestinian history, and defence of Israeli crimes contribute to a system of violence, apartheid, and colonial oppression.
Publications like The New York Times do themselves and their readers a disservice by continuing to platform Friedman’s biased narratives which incite hatred against Arabs and Iranians.
Kareem Easterbrook
The writer is a former Cambridge School Principal and an Interview Skills Adviser
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