Fact Check: John Kerry meme misleading
THE MEDIA: Social media.
WHO SAID IT: 100 Percent FED Up, a conservative website.
THE TARGET: Secretary of State John Kerry.
THE COMMENT: “ ‘You can be Jews or democratic, but you can’t be both.’ - John Kerry”
THE FORUM: Meme posted on the site’s Facebook page on Dec. 29, 2016.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT: Whether John Kerry made the statement attributed to him.
ANALYSIS:
100 Percent FED Up posts memes, cartoons, and links to authorless “stories.” Its Facebook page describes itself thusly: “We are two moms inspired by the life of Andrew Breitbart. Our goal is to expose the lies of the Left.”
100 Percent FED Up’s post on Secretary of State John Kerry's remarks about Israel was shared on Facebook more than 9,600 times, had 17,000 likes and had garnered more than 450 comments as of Jan. 19, 2017.
The Daily Dot, an online publication on Internet culture, lists 100 Percent FED Up as a “fake news” website.
The meme incorrectly quotes Kerry’s Dec. 28 speech in which he discusses a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Kerry gave the speech after the U.S. did not veto a United Nations vote declaring some Israeli settlements illegal and demanding a halt to the country’s expansion.
In it, Kerry stated, “If the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic; it cannot be both.”
100 Percent FED Up’s meme both incorrectly quotes Kerry and omits context so the reader can decipher his meaning.
The meme states Kerry is saying Israeli citizens must choose to be Jews or part of a democratic society. In reality, he is explaining why the U.S. has advocated for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Prior to that point in his speech, Kerry explains there are vast numbers of both Jews and Palestinians living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. For Israel to exist as a Jewish state under a one-state scenario would be undemocratic, Kerry argues, because it would not recognize the claims of the large non-Jewish population.
Kerry says later in the speech that a solution in which Jewish Israelis and Arab Palestinians both recognize Jerusalem as their capitals but are citizens of separate states is ‘the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state.”
He also argues Israel cannot reconcile permanent occupation of the West Bank with its democratic ideals.
100 Percent FED Up’s meme further confuses Kerry’s position by including another quote: “ ‘You can be a democrat or an American, but you obviously can’t be both’ – Jay McCaney”
BOTTOM LINE: The meme misquotes Kerry and ignores the context of his actual statement, giving the misleading impression that he’s saying Jewish people can’t be democratic and members of their faith.
RATING: No stars: Misleading.
SOURCES:100 Percent FED Up’s meme; Daily Dot's list of fake news websites; video of John Kerry’s speech, CNN; State Department text of Kerry’s speech.