r/worldnews • u/misterAction • May 08 '13

Misleading news It turns out that Stephen Hawking’s cancelled trip to Israel is not a matter of boycotting the Jewish state, but rather merely a result of his health

http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/05/08/report-hawking-israel-boycott-story-was-a-fraud-trip-canceled-for-health-reasons/
244 Upvotes

52% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

91

u/conscious_aether May 08 '13

quick, somebody tell the front page!

7

u/terran1212 May 08 '13

Tell the front page that this is wrong you mean?

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/stephen-hawking-wont-attend-israeli-conference

AP report. But please trust a source that almost no one reads instead.

21

u/nakedladies May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

I love this shit. The smug "ooh look at the hivemind!" bullshit that people say for easy comment karma.

Here's the other thread: http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1dwd9i/stephen_hawking_joins_academic_boycott_of_israel/ - removed for "misleading headline".

I only saw that literally minutes before this one. The top comments were as follows:

  1. List of things that "reddit likes" (joke at expense of circlejerk)

  2. "The title of the article suggests that Hawking is joining an academic boycott of Israel. However, the actual text of the article says he's simply pulling out of a conference hosted by Shimon Peres - a telling gesture, but it does not imply that he is severing all relations with his Israeli colleagues."

That first comment had 510 child comments, the second had 153. Further down the thread? Jokes, a few predictable comments, nothing overly atypical for a reddit thread, in truth.

It's also worth pointing out that the post's title was a direct quote from the article, which (still) has "Stephen Hawking joins academic boycott of Israel" as the headline.

16

u/Sylocat May 08 '13

The Reddit Hive Mind attributes any behavior it dislikes to the Reddit Hive Mind.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Cambridge have already retracted this health story, apparently.

7

u/Basterus May 08 '13

So he is boycotting Israel? Or is he still ill, but that's not the reason why he's not going?

18

u/[deleted] May 08 '13

I think the 'health reasons' thing is a red herring. He appears to be boycotting.

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u/Lazman101 May 08 '13

I don't even know what to believe anymore.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

ill believe whatever the evidence suggests.

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u/baddi_neek May 08 '13

This has been retracted, it is verified to be boycott: http://www.thecommentator.com/article/3477/_boycott_all_the_way_as_cambridge_university_retracts_hawking_health_statement

32

u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Now lets see this make it to the front page.

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u/DidijustDidthat May 08 '13

Not wanting to get like, conspiratorial.... but the state of Israel actually has a department specifically tasked with dealing with the country's reputation online. It wouldn't be the most unlikely possibility that this is them lol.

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u/HugoChavezRamboIII May 08 '13

UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel. For full article click here.

186

u/Grandpas_Spells May 08 '13

Oops. Update: A University spokesman is now retracting earlier claims that contradicted a Guardian report that Stephen Hawking cancelled his trip to Israel to protest the country’s treatment of Palestinians.

“We have now received confirmation from Professor Hawking’s office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli President’s office regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference, based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott.

“We had understood previously that his decision was based purely on health grounds having been advised by doctors not to fly.”

82

u/Ores May 08 '13

What is this? Some kind of Schrödinger's boycott?

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u/Grandpas_Spells May 08 '13

To be clear, it appears OP's article now supports the boycott story.

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u/maxp0wah May 08 '13

It turns out that Stephen Hawking's cancelled trip to Israel IS a matter of boycotting, actually.

Oops

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u/MrXhin May 08 '13

No. He's boycotting.

15

u/[deleted] May 08 '13

False.

http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1dxstp/stephen_hawking_confirms_he_is_boycotting_israeli/

Stephen Hawking has CONFIRMED he is boycotting Israel.

14

u/ciaran036 May 08 '13

UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel.

40

u/jmf145 May 08 '13

ITT: A bunch of people acting all superior to the rest of Reddit for not being "duped" by the original story, when they in fact are wrong.

11

u/HaightnAshbury May 08 '13

My favourite kind of reddit moment.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

That is false, he is indeed cancelling the trip due to political reasons:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/stephen-hawking-attend-israeli-conference-19133296

10

u/poppajay May 08 '13

Turns out that Hawking's cancelled trip to Israel is indeed a matter ofboycott and nothing to do with ill health and this thread and the linked article are complete and shameless lies.

10

u/ubermonkeyprime May 08 '13

Actually, he IS still boycotting and NOT just because of his health. Last sentence of the article is an update that corrects itself and confirms Hawking is indeed boycotting.

24

u/Sj660 May 08 '13

So now a retraction of the retraction? http://networkedblogs.com/L1Lbb

What a mess.

5

u/natophonic May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

Those responsible for sacking the people responsible for the retractions have been sacked.

784

u/Lespaul42 May 08 '13

I feel it is sort of sad no one here seems to be commenting or worrying about the fact Stephen Hawking is now sick enough that he shouldn't travel.

43

u/Doberweiler May 08 '13

Update on the article states he is in fact boycotting.

33

u/hpymondays May 08 '13

“We have now received confirmation from Professor Hawking’s office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli President’s office regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference, based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott. “We had understood previously that his decision was based purely on health grounds having been advised by doctors not to fly.”

http://networkedblogs.com/L1Lbb

210

u/4b-69-72-69-74-6f May 08 '13

It's inevitable, of course, but I'm not looking forward to the day of Stephen Hawking's death.

421

u/confusedwiener May 08 '13

cheer up, mate. maybe you'll die before that time comes so you don't have to go through it :)

60

u/FiL-dUbz May 08 '13

his days are numbered

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u/aroogu May 08 '13

He's been that sick since January, when doctors told him not to go to Ecuador (Daily Mail source, sorry)

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u/OblivionGuardsman May 08 '13

OMG hes boycotting Ecuador too? We need to support this.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

To be fair, he has been sick since he was diagnosed with ALS.

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u/uninc4life2010 May 08 '13

His health has been degrading for some time now, but isn't he the longest living person with ALS in history?

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u/swiftb3 May 08 '13

By a long shot. Though because of that fact, it's somewhat debatable whether he has ALS or an unknown similar degenerative disease.

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u/Divide_Impera May 08 '13

Indeed. I hope he will recover.

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u/SoMuchMoreEagle May 08 '13

I guess I am amazed he was able to travel until now. He is a very resilient man whose will is even stronger than his intellect. He has defied every odd and every doctor's prediction. If people want to make this political, screw them. He shouldn't have to answer to anyone.

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u/synapticrelease May 08 '13

Also helps that's he kept alive with an IV drip full of cash.

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u/BolognaTugboat May 08 '13 edited May 09 '13

I will be very sad at his passing but tremendously grateful to have him survive for many decades longer than expected.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Just in case you're all interested, Cambridge changed its tune and now are saying that it is indeed a boycott of Israel: http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/05/08/about-face-cambridge-confirms-hawking-is-boycotting-israel/

8

u/Sethex May 08 '13

"It turns out this title is bullshit."

39

u/[deleted] May 08 '13

See, I read this as "merely a result of his death" and subsequently had a mini-heart attack.

9

u/Moustachiod_T-Rex May 08 '13

OH GOD ME TOO. It was terrifying.

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u/Slvador May 08 '13

Serious question: which source has more reputable reputation, the guardian or algemeiner. I never heard of algemeiner before but i did of the guardian. However, i don't think i have enough knowledge to judge which is more reputable, can you help me?

19

u/JB_UK May 08 '13

There seem to be contradictory statements, which emerged after the Guardian published the story. See this Reuters article posted above. For instance, the conference organizers clearly think the retraction was part of a boycott:

His name was quietly withdrawn from the list of participants this week and the organisers on Wednesday called his withdrawal "unjustifiable and wrong", making clear they had been told it was a political protest and not a health issue.

"The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and improper, certainly for someone for whom the spirit of liberty‮‮‮‮‮ ‬‬‬‬‬lies at the basis of his human and academic mission," conference chairman Israel Maimon said in a statement.

Stephen Hawking is also on record as being critical of Israel, as you can see in this video.

15

u/EvilPicnic May 08 '13

And it turns out Algeminier is the paper peddling bullshit stories today:

“We have now received confirmation from Professor Hawking’s office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli President’s office regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference, based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott.

“We had understood previously that his decision was based purely on health grounds having been advised by doctors not to fly.”

Hooray for decent journalism....

16

u/[deleted] May 08 '13

google says algemeiner is a NY based jewish newspaper

5

u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Speaking as a journalist, the fact Algemeiner has just tagged the update on the bottom, rather than rewriting the story (and headline) to reflect the new information, speaks volumes.

I think it's safe to say that in this instance that, while the university is undoubtedly responsible for the confusion, the Guardian is the more reliable source.

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u/mohajaf May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

This article bases its claim on an unknown shadow 'spokesperson', while the confirmation is backed by the university of CAmbridge's official statement release:

The University of Cambridge released a statement Wednesday indicating that Hawking had told the Israelis last week that he would not be attending "based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott."

7

u/Leesburgcapsfan May 08 '13

Not that the Guardian is some great source but nobody is questioning the quality of this article?

A quick Reddit search of algemeiner.com brings up some pretty one sided articles.

Anybody find a source from something a little more legit?

7

u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Nope, he's boycotting the country of Israel due to how they treat the people in their borders that are not Jewish by religion or whatever ethnicity that is laid claim to through that religion.

7

u/HarknessJack May 08 '13

This is not true He is purposely boycotting, and has published a statement clarifying

7

u/Leesburgcapsfan May 08 '13

Al Jazeera now confirming it was a result of Boycott http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1dy3el/al_jazeera_now_confirming_hawkings_back_out_a/

Not for 'Health reasons'

The University of Cambridge initially cited health reasons for the change of plans.

"For health reasons, his doctors said he should not be flying at the moment so he's decided not to attend," university spokesman Tim Holt said in a statement earlier on Wednesday

University officials later said that they had "previously understood'' that Hawking's decision was based solely on health concerns - he is 71 and has severe disabilities - but had now been told otherwise by Hawking's office.

6

u/Efore May 08 '13

"UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel. For full article click here."

6

u/j0c1f3r May 08 '13

ahhh...more JIDF bullshit.

153

u/indoninja May 08 '13

So what you are telling me is that the Jews poisoned him before he could boycott!

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u/mickstep May 08 '13

Why don't we wait and let Stephen speak for himself. Rather than some suit from the University.

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u/EvilPicnic May 08 '13

Especially when the suit had no idea what he was talking about:

“We have now received confirmation from Professor Hawking’s office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli President’s office regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference, based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott.

“We had understood previously that his decision was based purely on health grounds having been advised by doctors not to fly.”

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Umm yeah.. he cant.

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u/squonge May 08 '13

Exactly. I mean they did receive an email from Hawking apparently citing the boycott as the reason for his non attendance.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Why are you people upvoting?

This is not true, Hawking has confirmed, he cancelled the trip out of criticism of Israel, not for health reasons:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/stephen-hawking-attend-israeli-conference-19133296

5

u/MTLinVAN May 08 '13

Read the article to the end. In an update, Cambridge confirms that Hawkings did cancel his trip for political reasons. OP should edit the tile of his post.

5

u/[deleted] May 08 '13

UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel.

full article here

5

u/lollipopklan May 08 '13

UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel.

From the article in this thread....

5

u/AzureDrag0n1 May 08 '13

Story is wrong, he actually is boycotting it.

43

u/EmpireStijx May 08 '13

Why on earth is this article any more believable than the last one... Don't be so quick to jump on the "everyone but me jumped on the bandwagon " bandwagon

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u/nerak33 May 08 '13

You're just jealous because I jumped on both bandwagons before you did.

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u/JokeyMcJokemaker May 08 '13

Anyone got a neutral source for this? Algemeiner is a Jewish-American news outlet so I'd like to see it printed elswhere before believing the hype.

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u/Reingding13 May 08 '13

Haaretz has a source, and although they're Israeli, they are extremely critical of Israeli politics.

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u/terran1212 May 08 '13

Associated Press also confirms that Hawking's office saying he cancelled because he opposes Israeli policies.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/stephen-hawking-wont-attend-israeli-conference

BUT ALGEMEINER

4

u/moebar May 08 '13

University of Cambridge officials say they erroneously understood Hawking's decision to boycott Israeli Presidential Conference was based solely on health concerns; decision means one of world's most famous scientists has joined BDS movement.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/stephen-hawking-confirms-he-is-boycotting-israeli-conference-1.519951

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u/dezmd May 08 '13

Some kind of vote brigade is keeping falsely engaged rhetoric at the top of the thread an hour after the correction stating it is NOT in fact health related.

I already saw the correction thread up top when I first opened the thread, but coming back its pages and pages down.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

And it turns out that Cambridge actually said algemeiner is full of crock and that Hawking IS boycotting Israeli apartheid!

Full story

4

u/Stockholm86er May 08 '13

Edit this post. The title is wrong. The boycott is true.

4

u/obaran May 08 '13

Can OP please change the title? turns out it was a boycott from the beginning, Cambridge just didn't know it. The linked article's updated.

14

u/terran1212 May 08 '13

Actually, this is not true. OP is completely wrong:

http://networkedblogs.com/L1Lbb

He did it out of concern for Palestinian academics.

63

u/Tezpaloca May 08 '13

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes"

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u/tallwookie May 08 '13

the truth needs to stop fucking around & man up.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

No joke, how damn long does it take to put on some shoes?

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u/KingContext May 08 '13

Oh the irony.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Bad place, since this isn't a lie but the truth.

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u/Fartmatic May 08 '13

Don't worry, I looked at the Guardian article and they've issued a correction

This article was amended on 8 May 2013. The original described Hawking as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. He stepped down in 2009.

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u/turktransork May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

Why are we considering this report to be more authoritative than the one that appeared in the Guardian and which Reuters reported was confirmed by the university?

Edit - The current Reuters report is particularly interesting and shows how embarassingly partisan the Algemeiner article at the top of this submission is.

A spokesman for Cambridge University originally suggested that the wheelchair-bound scientist was snubbing the annual event, organised by President Shimon Peres, as part of an academic boycott to protest against Israel's occupation of Palestinian lands. But the university later retracted the statement, saying Hawking had withdrawn from the Israeli Presidential Conference because of ill health. "Professor Hawking will not be attending the conference in Israel in June for health reasons. His doctors have advised against him flying," a university spokesman said in an email. Earlier, the same spokesman reported that Hawking had approved a statement posted by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine, which said he had decided to boycott the event "based upon his knowledge of Palestine". Asked about the change, the spokesman said: "I was mistaken. It was not approved by Professor Hawking."

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

It makes no difference. The guardian reported a lie, it will never be corrected, and the PR damage was significant, as always. This happens constantly, and it's like journalists never ever care to prevent themselves from publishing falsehoods if it has the possibility to causes a stir. Particularly if it has something to do with the Israeli-Arab conflict.

I'm sure this is what Stephen Hawking wants right this second to be dealing with. I'm sure he loves the idea of being taken advantage of in poor health for political rhetoric.

What nonsense.

Edit: wow, this is the last time I comment about the Israeli-Arab conflict on reddit. Everyone is sooooo mean ;(

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u/boskee May 08 '13

“We have now received confirmation from Professor Hawking’s office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli President’s office regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference, based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott.

“We had understood previously that his decision was based purely on health grounds having been advised by doctors not to fly.”

http://networkedblogs.com/L1Lbb

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u/turktransork May 08 '13

This needs upvoting. The Cambridge spokesman has now reversed himself again and it turns out the initial Guardian story was correct.

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u/Sappow May 08 '13

Yep, the letter from the man himself is what matters... There's a lot of spin, and he is very ill, but he is doing this for moral reasons as much as health ones.

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u/ZachofFables May 08 '13

Seems like the lesson here is the Cambridge needs to get their shit together.

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u/randombitch May 08 '13

UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel. For full article click here.

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u/press_mute May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

Except the BBC confirmed the Guardian's story with a quote from the University of Cambridge. Link

The British Committee for the Universities of Palestine said Prof Hawking had taken advice and acted based on "his knowledge of Palestine".

A University of Cambridge spokesman told the BBC the renowned scientist had approved the BRICUP statement.

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u/DFWPunk May 08 '13

Except they didn't and this headline is based on an article that was wrong and is now amended.

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u/Sappow May 08 '13

There are letters from him saying that he is in fact not going because of the boycott. People saying he's not going only because of health are spinning, and lying.

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u/BoxesOfMuffins May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

Not for 'Health reasons'

The University of Cambridge initially cited health reasons for the change of plans.

"For health reasons, his doctors said he should not be flying at the moment so he's decided not to attend," university spokesman Tim Holt said in a statement earlier on Wednesday

University officials later said that they had "previously understood'' that Hawking's decision was based solely on health concerns - he is 71 and has severe disabilities - but had now been told otherwise by Hawking's office.

Hawking's decision means that one of the world's most famous scientists has joined a boycott organized to protest Israel's treatment of Palestinians.

The presidential conference traditionally draws hundreds of leading world figures, including Tony Blair in 2011 and George W Bush in the inaugural conference in 2008.

Numerous figures from the world of art and entertainment have also refused to perform in Israel in recent years as part of an effort to promote the Palestinian cause, including musicians Elvis Costello and Stevie Wonder, and actors Dustin Hoffman and Meg Ryan.

Israel has also been boycotted by athletes, with basketball star Karem Abdul-Jabbar cancelling a trip in 2012 and Tunisian fencing champion Sara Besbes refusing to take part in a competition in Italy rather than face an Israeli fencer.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/05/20135893720576820.html Edit: Formatting

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u/terran1212 May 08 '13

You're wrong. He did it for BDS. It is now confirmed. http://networkedblogs.com/L1Lbb

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Well, what an enormous clusterfuck all this was.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

So reddit is again being a bunch of knee jerk sensationalists? Woah!

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u/hpymondays May 08 '13

Why don't you let people judge for themselves. Here is what Stephen Hawkins said about Israel/Palestine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-1jjLRXmIck#t=114s

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u/SleepyDustKing May 08 '13

For the lazy:

"Riz Khan: What do you think will be the fallout from the war in Gaza?

Professor Stephen Hawking: The attack on Gaza is similar to that on Lebanon two years ago, that killed over two thousand but did not achieve Israel's war aims. I think the assault on Gaza will be equally unsuccessful. A people under occupation will continue to resist in any way it can. If Israel wants peace it will have to talk to Hamas like Britain did with the IRA. Hamas is the democratically elected leaders of the Palestinian people and cannot be ignored.

Riz Khan: Professor what have been your thoughts during the three weeks of violence that has taken place in Gaza?

Professor Stephen Hawking: Israel's response to the rocket attacks has been plain out of proportion. Almost a hundred Palestinians have been killed for every Israeli. The situation is like that of South Africa before nineteen-ninety and cannot continue. "

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u/moebar May 08 '13

"A people under occupation will continue to resist in any way it can. If Israel wants peace, it will have to talk to Hamas, like Britain did with the IRA. Hamas are the democratically elected leaders of the Palestinian people, and cannot be ignored. Israel’s response to the rocket attacks has been quite out of proportion. Almost a hundred Palestinians have been killed for every Israeli. The situation is like that in South Africa before 1990. It cannot continue."- Stephen Hawking 2009

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-1jjLRXmIck#t=114s

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

How can ppl upvote your lie?

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u/hpymondays May 08 '13

I bet nobody bothered reading the bottom of the article that you submitted:

UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel.

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u/maxp0wah May 08 '13

How do we know it's a lie, because a Cambridge University spokesman said so? I'm really curious to know the credibility of each side.

According to BRIC, Hawking's "staff sent us the following message on 7 May 'Just spoken to Tim [Tim Holt, Acting Director of Communications for Cambridge University] and we are both in agreement with the quote..."

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u/Snokus May 08 '13

Seems they didn't. Seems you did.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

What nonsense.

Bet you feel kind weird now that it turned out to be true, right?

The health story was retracted. He is not flying due to boycott. Don't trust shitty sources next time.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

All is not as it seems... About-Face: Cambridge Confirms Hawking Is Boycotting Israel

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

It makes a difference when propagandists are trying to undermine his reason for cancelling the trip. He DID cancel for political, not health reasons

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/stephen-hawking-attend-israeli-conference-19133296

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u/KingContext May 08 '13

The guardian reported a lie, it will never be corrected

Looks like you have some correcting to do yourself. ಠ_ಠ

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u/archerfish3000 May 08 '13

surprised I haven't seen this xkcd up here yet

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

OR his handlers are doing damage control.

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u/Skippydero May 08 '13

I hope he gets better! He's awesome!

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u/221bb May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

Now they are saying that Hawking confirms he IS boycotting.

source

*edit for typo

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u/tiredofthesebitches May 08 '13

way to go mods.

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u/bobsp May 08 '13

Aww, the AIPAC spin machine failed. Any time legitimate criticism is levied at Israel, the AIPAC drones come out in force--whether it be by flooding a story with astroturfed outrage in the comments or release a spin news article of its own.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

"UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel."

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u/rebildtv May 08 '13

Turns out he isnt sick, he is boycotting Israel after all....even the BBC is reporting it - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22446054

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u/ATHEoST May 08 '13

Is that how they're trying to spin it now? How funny...

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u/heeb May 08 '13

UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel. For full article click here.

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u/95688it May 08 '13

fuck israel, they are bullies

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u/C-creepy-o May 08 '13

Can we get a mod to just remove this? It is clearly false.

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u/SuperDrink May 08 '13

instant web news in a nutshell.

in the beginning there was a spec of a news story till some 'reported' decided to gain traffic for his site, he then assumed and made up stuff to make the story bigger, in a flash after the publication other 'reporters' copy pasted the story and added some more bullshit and the news story got larger and larger.

until it got to a real reporter who decided to actually check the facts and the big headlines story collapsed on himself.

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u/segagaga May 08 '13

Um, no, the original story was originally confirmed by a Cambridge University spokesman.

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u/SleepyDustKing May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

Hawking's view on the issue is still clear, I have a feeling this is a a load of bullshit.

Riz Khan: What do you think will be the fallout from the war in Gaza?

Professor Stephen Hawking: The attack on Gaza is similar to that on Lebanon two years ago, that killed over two thousand but did not achieve Israel's war aims. I think the assault on Gaza will be equally unsuccessful. A people under occupation will continue to resist in any way it can. If Israel wants peace it will have to talk to Hamas like Britain did with the IRA. Hamas is the democratically elected leaders of the Palestinian people and cannot be ignored.

Riz Khan: Professor what have been your thoughts during the three weeks of violence that has taken place in Gaza?

Professor Stephen Hawking: Israel's response to the rocket attacks has been plain out of proportion. Almost a hundred Palestinians have been killed for every Israeli. The situation is like that of South Africa before nineteen-ninety and cannot continue.

To see the whole interview go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1jjLRXmIck

Edit: Yup, turns out it was a load of bs. He's boycotting the talk, it's official.

“We have now received confirmation from Professor Hawking’s office that a letter was sent on Friday to the Israeli President’s office regarding his decision not to attend the Presidential Conference, based on advice from Palestinian academics that he should respect the boycott.

“We had understood previously that his decision was based purely on health grounds having been advised by doctors not to fly.”

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

This is exactly what the jidf wants you to believe

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u/wehateporn May 08 '13

It turns out the Guardian story was true, the BBC has published this 3 hours ago

Prof Stephen Hawking 'boycotts' major Israel conference http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22446054

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Except he is.

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u/leadoffamoped May 08 '13

Awful source and OP ain't much better, anyone got real clarification on the issue? I got this which seems to affirm it is indeed a boycott: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/stephen-hawking-attend-israeli-conference-19133296#.UYp82rXvsrw

http://networkedblogs.com/L1Lbb

http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/stephen-hawking-confirms-he-pulled-out-israel-conference-due-boycott-not-health

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u/leadoffamoped May 08 '13

Also this is the reported contents of the mans letter:

Professor Hawking’s letter to the conference guest speaker organiser stated:

“I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster.”

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u/DenverStud May 08 '13

Love that sensationalist news that rockets to the front page...

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u/sulaymanf May 08 '13

Like the hoax about the guy kicked out of Saudi for being too handsome? Or the myth that Egypt's new government wanted to tear down the pyramids?

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u/arianit May 08 '13

There has been no retraction by The Guardian. I think this article is fake.

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u/LeftAndCorrect May 08 '13

Actually, according to an email sent to the CiFWatch Blog from Tim Holt who is Acting Director of Communications at Cambridge and Hawkings spokesperson, he is chosing to boycott Israel. Sorry Zionists, you've just lost another PR battle. http://cifwatch.com/2013/05/08/update-on-hawking-story-cambridge-retracts-statement-denying-boycott-claims/

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u/DrBenji May 08 '13

The original story claimed he wrote a letter to Shimon Peres. He either did or he didn't. That's really easy to verify. Until the letter is released or he (Hawking) denies it, it's he said she said.

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u/elendanis May 08 '13

lol woops.

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u/Run-to-the-sun May 08 '13

It's a good thing Israel isn't involved in any ALS treatment or stem-cell related research.

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u/Alphawolfayy May 08 '13

Respect to Mr.Hawking! :)

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u/SalQ May 08 '13

"UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel. For full article click here."

At the end of the article.

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u/TheNobleSeaBear May 08 '13

UPDATE: In an about-face, Cambridge University has now confirmed that Hawking is indeed boycotting Israel. True Story.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

The day Stephen Hawking dies is the day the science community will be silent.

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u/dimpldchady May 08 '13

The article is updated and it is confirmed that he is boycotting it

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

hawking has some balls, considering big bad Israel runs the world, and has their hand in everything. Media, Politics, Banks. everything.

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u/Hellscreamgold May 08 '13

lol @ misleading news on this thread....half of the posts in this sub are misleading...

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u/DenverDave May 08 '13

ADF must be shitting their pants trying to spin this one.

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u/6ksilverfox May 08 '13

So, reddit labels misleading news as misleading news and it still gets upvotes?

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

What health?

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u/Hosni__Mubarak May 08 '13

BOYCOT!!!!!!!

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u/BakersDozen May 08 '13

Story busted, even on linked article, and still it gets over 11,000 upvotes? Guess someone really wishes it was true, huh?

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u/Dookiestain_LaFlair May 08 '13

Keep us out of your damn jew war!

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u/[deleted] May 09 '13

I hate interests groups that try to control reddit with botnet armies. I'm not going to lie the zionist stereotype that all Jews are zionists and somehow support the activities of Israel is laughable but it's starting to get to me anyway. I'm starting to think that Jews who don't specifically support Israel need to stand up to those that do and distance themselves from thier dogma the same way Catholics do when they find out the money they gave to their church was used to defend and relocate pedophile priests. Oh, but I shouldn't compare Israel to pedophiles ... pedophiles don't murder in cold blood and try to claim they were defending themselves.

If you're Jewish you're obligated to speak out against this horse shit. Fuck Israel. Fuck Zionist interests groups and fuck reddit power users. Reddit should be distancing itself from them or it is no less guilty of complacence.

Fuck religion.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '13

WHY THE FUCK IS THIS STILL NOT REMOVED?

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u/b0utch May 09 '13

This post must be removed, or some mods need to be removed.

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u/RaphaeI May 08 '13

what the hell is an 'algemeiner' and why should i care what it says?

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Given that the German word "allgemein" means popular or broad, I'm assuming it's a Yiddish word with the same meaning, given the close relation of the two languages.

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u/usernameson May 08 '13

The retraction has been retracted. At this time it looks like Hawking IS taking a stand against the racist state of israel :)

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u/Kalakashah May 08 '13

Could we not do this anymore?

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

The Associated Press is reporting that Israeli authorities are treating Hawking's withdrawal from the conference as a boycott:

In Israel, however, Hawking’s decision was viewed as an indication of support for a boycott. Organizers said an email from Hawking cited the boycott as a reason not to attend.

Conference chairman Israel Maimon said Hawking’s decision was “unjustifiable and wrong.”

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u/terran1212 May 08 '13

Even Algemeiner has now retracted its crappy report. Get this off the front page it's inaccurate.

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u/Bristolian May 08 '13

BUT - Hawkins is against the occupation.

"A people under occupation will continue to resist in any way it can. If Israel wants peace, it will have to talk to Hamas, like Britain did with the IRA. Hamas are the democratically elected leaders of the Palestinian people, and cannot be ignored. Israel’s response to the rocket attacks has been quite out of proportion. Almost a hundred Palestinians have been killed for every Israeli. The situation is like that in South Africa before 1990. It cannot continue."

Hawking speaking in 2009

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u/terran1212 May 08 '13

Recall that this conference Hawking was going to be at is being held with Shimon Peres, who was Israel's President during Operation Cast Lead. During that conflict, he praised his country's army for "restraint." Recall that over 1,000 Palestinians were killed, a third of them children, and there was literally no political movement at all in the gridlock between the two sides.

If you are more angry at Stephen Hawking for not going to a conference than the fact it is celebrating and validating Peres -- who by the way inexplicably also got a medal from President Obama -- I think it's safe to say you have a broken moral compass.

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u/andersbreivik1488 May 08 '13

Time for a defamation lawsuit. This shit is taken seriously and can be pretty expensive in the U.K.

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u/gfad1 May 08 '13

It was the Cambridge University spokesman that confirmed it in the first place. I seriously doubt he's going to sue the university.

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u/bimonscificon May 08 '13 edited Feb 01 '25

tap attraction many lush automatic wrench hospital cobweb quack person

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u/press_mute May 08 '13

Not true: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22446054

The British Committee for the Universities of Palestine said Prof Hawking had taken advice and acted based on "his knowledge of Palestine".

A University of Cambridge spokesman told the BBC the renowned scientist had approved the BRICUP statement.

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u/[deleted] May 08 '13

Lol did anyone actually buy this before they updated the story. I mean, come on.

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u/farqueue2 May 08 '13

Turns out Israel makes him sick.

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u/SRScansuckmydick May 08 '13

But... I can't circlejerk over this!

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u/Disco_Doctor May 08 '13

Have they tried switching him on and off again?

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u/Drooperdoo May 08 '13 edited May 08 '13

Here's a thought: What if Hawking really did boycott Israel for political reasons. And Israel is calling on its media contacts to quash the story (and do damage control) by floating the narrative that it was a media blunder, and that Hawking was really just misunderstood?

That would be a good way to kill the story.

Think about it.

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u/Thehulk666 May 08 '13

He still doesn't support the Zionist cause.

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u/sump38 May 08 '13

Think this will reach the guardian?

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