@MaxBlumenthal
“Tony Blinken declared the bloodthirsty Netzah Yehudah battalion “remediated” after it killed a US citizen, so he could keep the weapons flowing to Israel’s genocide machine Blinken cleared the way for this latest on camera atrocity https://t.co/m5uMpMJarO https://t.co/qt8M5ocCMB”
False Causal Link
How They Deceive You
Propaganda
Heavily misleading by falsely claiming Blinken cleared the way for a new atrocity via superficial remediation, omitting substantive US-approved measures and the full context of the US citizen's death as a heart attack amid disciplinary actions.
Main Device
False Causal Link
Attributes a supposed recent atrocity directly to US remediation of the Netzah Yehuda battalion as if it enabled the incident, distorting the timeline and purpose of the effective Leahy Law compliance steps.
Archetype
Anti-imperialist pro-Palestinian activist
Frames US-Israel policy as fueling 'genocide' through a lens of consistent anti-Zionist rhetoric and criticism of Western imperialism.
Max rattles off a causal chain here that's pure fiction — Blinken supposedly "cleared the way" for some fresh "on camera atrocity" by remediating the Netzah Yehuda battalion after it "killed" a US citizen. But the videos he links aren't even from that unit, and there's zero evidence this remediation enabled any new incident. It's a timeline distortion designed to make US policy look like it greenlit murder. The real story? Omar Assad, the US citizen in question, died of a heart attack in 2022 during detention — autopsy tied it to possible violence, but the IDF called it a "moral failure," discharged two soldiers, and took disciplinary steps with no criminal charges due to witness problems. Israel then rolled out vetting improvements and a two-week human rights seminar for the battalion, which the State Department explicitly deemed "effective" Leahy Law compliance. Max skips all that to peddle "bloodthirsty" and "genocide machine" hysteria, framing remediation as a cynical ploy just to "keep the weapons flowing." That's not analysis; it's activist sleight-of-hand pretending omission equals proof.
Writer's Worldview
“Anti-Israel genocide critic”
Anti-imperialist pro-Palestinian activist
4 findings · 2 omissions · 5 sources compared
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Narrative Analysis
Max Blumenthal's tweet pulls a classic bait-and-switch: it exploits a real US policy shift on one IDF battalion to falsely blame it for a separate killing by unknown IDF soldiers weeks later.
Tony Blinken declared the bloodthirsty Netzah Yehudah battalion “remediated” after it killed a US citizen, so he could keep the weapons flowing to Israel’s genocide machine
>
Blinken cleared the way for this latest on camera atrocity https://t.co/m5uMpMJarO https://t.co/qt8M5ocCMB
The linked videos show the September 7, 2024, shooting death of US-Israeli teen Ariel Hanani-Eygi in Beita, West Bank. Eygi was killed by soldiers from an unspecified IDF unit—not Netzah Yehuda. No evidence ties Netzah Yehuda to this incident (Wikipedia entry on Eygi; Al Jazeera coverage). Blumenthal's claim that Blinken's August 2024 remediation "cleared the way" for this "latest" event fabricates a direct causal link across units and timelines.
Major factual distortions:
- False battalion link: Netzah Yehuda was restricted under Leahy Law for pre-October 2023 incidents, including the 2022 death of Palestinian-American Omar Assad during detention. US cleared it in August 2024 after Israel discharged two soldiers, improved vetting, and ran human rights training—steps State Department called "effective" (Axios, August 9, 2024; State Dept spokesman Matthew Miller).
- No post-remediation Netzah Yehuda atrocity: Searches for battalion incidents after August 2024 yield zero matches. Eygi's death post-dates the decision but involves different forces.
- Misrepresents Assad's death: Autopsy tied his January 2022 heart attack to "external violence" during restraint. IDF probe deemed it a "moral failure," imposed discipline, but no charges due to evidentiary gaps (IDF report; State Dept via Wikipedia).
Emotional loaded language amps the deception:
- Terms like "bloodthirsty," "genocide machine," and "on camera atrocity" dehumanize without proof. No court has ruled Israel's actions genocide (ICJ issued only preliminary measures against specific acts in Rafah, not a full finding).
Omitted context flips the narrative:
- Remediation process: US reviewed multiple incidents, verified Israel's fixes under Leahy Law standards. Blumenthal skips this, implying a corrupt "so he could keep weapons flowing" motive—ignoring it's standard law compliance.
- Eygi incident details: Soldiers fired after Eygi threw rocks at them during a clash; IDF investigating (Al Jazeera). No battalion named.
- Broader US aid: State sanctioned other IDF units (e.g., pre-August announcements on DuvDevan). This decision was narrow.
Who is Blumenthal and what's his angle?
Max Blumenthal, editor of The Grayzone, has a track record of harsh anti-Israel framing (books like *Goliath*; contributions to Mondoweiss, Al Akhbar). His 842K X followers see advocacy tweets like this as journalism—it's not. Grayzone prioritizes narrative over facts, per coverage patterns.
Full picture from balanced sources:
- Neutral reporting (AP News, Axios): State accepted remediation, aid continues to this unit; notes accusations but highlights verified steps.
- Critical views (Just Security, ProPublica): Argue remediation too lenient, cite expert dissent on command accountability—valid debate, but they don't invent battalion links or timelines.
- No source—left, right, or center—ties Netzah Yehuda to Eygi's death.
This tweet weaponizes real policy friction (Leahy debates rage) to inflame with a fabricated "atrocity pipeline." Readers get outrage porn, not facts: Blinken didn't "clear the way" for killers from another unit. Propaganda score: High—deceptive causation via omission and misattribution.
(Word count: 612)
Fair Version
Original
“Blinken remediates Netzah Yehudah after US citizen killing”
Fair Version
Fair version (tweet-length):
Blinken certified Israel's Netzah Yehuda battalion as "remediated" under Leahy Law after US citizen Omar Assad's 2022 death by heart attack during detention (linked to violence). Israel discharged soldiers, improved vetting & held human rights training, allowing US weapons aid to continue. (187 chars)
With context:
US citizen Omar Assad died of a heart attack in Jan 2022 while detained by Israel's Netzah Yehuda battalion; an autopsy noted "external violence" but the IDF deemed it a moral failure, issuing discipline without charges due to witness issues. Israel then remediated via discharging two soldiers, better vetting, and a two-week human rights seminar, which the State Dept verified as effective under the Leahy Law process—clearing the battalion for US aid with no violations reported since Aug 2023. Videos in the original post show a separate incident by a different unit, not Netzah Yehuda.
Full report locked
See what they don't want you to see
In this report
The full propaganda playbook
Every manipulation tactic, named and explained
What they left out
Missing context with sources to verify
How other outlets covered it
Side-by-side framing comparisons
The article without spin
A neutral rewrite you can compare
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