Ha'aretz and Israel's Imaginary Ethnic Cleansing

I am an upper middle class woman living in a New York suburb.  I am a US citizen and English is my native language.  I am in the fortunate position of having access to the best medical care that money can buy.  And still, I have had medications prescribed for me without being made fully aware of the side effects.

Why?  Well sometimes doctors are rushed and don't take the time to fully explain all the possible side effects of medications.  Sometimes doctors are arrogant and don't think they need to do so.  Sometimes doctors are forgetful and there are oversights.

These phenomena will obviously be compounded in a clinic-like setting, especially when combined with a language barrier.  So is it true, as Ha'arezt reported in March, that some Ethiopian women were prescribed and administered Depo-Provera without being fully aware of what the medication was?  Well, unfortunately, it probably is true.  Was this deliberate ethnic cleansing?  Doubtful.

Think about this: Why would the Israeli government pay to bring these people from Ethiopia to Israel, footing the bill for not only the travel but also for absorption (olim get a generous package from the government including financial assistance, rent assistance, tuition assistance, and more) as well as any social services they will need for the foreseeable future, only to commit genocide on them?  This doesn't even make any freakin' sense!  The proposition that Israel went out of its way to bring people to the country only to forcibly sterilize them is completely illogical.  And contrary to the initial reports by Ha'aretz, the government never admitted that this happened.  Rather, upon allegations that some women were receiving Depo-Provera without being fully made aware of what it was, the government took remedial measures to ensure that, if such incidents had happened, they would not be repeated.  You can read the actual facts here: http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=55&x_article=2411

But Israel's detractors are determined to see only the bad.  So much so that they are determined to believe that the government has done something so completely illogical.  And despite Ha'aretz's retraction, almost a month later, this allegation is still being circulated.

Ha'aretz needs to understand that Israel's detractors are waiting with bated breath to pounce on sensationalist stories like this.  This is not to say that Ha'aretz should not expose racism where it occurs. But before printing allegations such as this, they ought to make damn sure that what they are printing is true.