June 14, 2010 | 3:18 pm

Concerning conflict with Israel, Palestinian cause equals “street theater,” says online news editor

Posted by Ryan Torok

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From left: Roz Rothstein, Roberta Seid, Jeff Mowbray, Leon De Winter and David Kupelian on the Israel panel from "Is the (Real) News Dead?" Photo by Joe Peterson

Criticizing the Western media’s pushing of a narrative that depicts the Palestinians as victims in the conflict with Israel, David Kupelian, managing editor of WorldNetDaily, said “The whole Palestinian cause is a piece of street theater.”

Kupelian made his view known during a Sunday, June 13 discussion panel on “Open Season on Israel: What Role Has the Media Played in Exacerbating the Middle East Conflict?”

The politically right-leaning WorldNetDaily, the independent online newspaper that Kupelian edits, features opinion articles by former “Walker, Texas Ranger” television and martial arts star Chuck Norris and Jerusalem-based reporting by Aaron Klein, author of “Schmoozing With Terrorists,” in which Klein interviews alleged terrorists.

Sunday’s panel on Israel, part of the American Freedom Alliance’s (AFA) international conference “Is the (Real) News Dead?” also featured journalist Joel Mowbray; Dutch writer Leon De Winter and UC Irvine instructor Roberta Seid. Seid also works as the education and research director for StandWithUs, a staunchly pro-Israel organization.

Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs, moderated the panel. Rothstein spoke on what she viewed as the irresponsibility of American media’s reporting of tragic deaths back in 2001, that of an American-Israeli teenager and his friend by the hands of Palestinian militants. The AFA conference organizers also played little-seen news footage of the events leading up to the recent and deadly Gaza-bound flotilla, with crowds in Turkey gathering at the docks and seeing the ships off.

200 people attended the two-day conference, which was held at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. Approximately 50 people sat in the audience during the session with Kupelian.

Other sessions on Sunday included “The Collapse of the Major Dailies – Did They Have it Coming?” and “Who are the New Media Moguls? (Who Will Control the News?).