Did You Hear The One About Jerusalem Sentencing A Dog To Death By Stoning?

Talk about a doggie tale!

This story has it all. Religious zealots! Animal rights activists! Blood libel! Children! Ingredients that tend to nourish the more primitive regions of our minds. Best of all, it runs under 200 words and stars a dog.

The story’s only deficiency however, is that none of it is true.

Here’s what REALLY happened: A dog walked into a Jerusalem courtroom, and someone called the dogcatcher. THE END.

Here’s how the BBC reported it: A pooch made its way into a rabbinical court in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim. One of the judges, believing the dog to be the reincarnation of a now-deceased lawyer whom the court had cursed some two decades earlier, sentenced the dog to death by stoning, and ordered that the sentence be carried out by children. The dog escaped before the sentence could be carried out. Dog-lovers have filed a complaint against the court.

As it turns out, the BBC, along with Agence France Presse, Time Magazine, and a handful other news outlets got the story from Ynet, the website for Yediot Ahronot, Israel’s second-largest newspaper. Ynet’s story says that the head of the court denied that such an incident had taken place, a detail that was left out of the original BBC, Time, and AFP stories. The paper is also alone in noting that there was no official ruling, just a rabbi telling kids to throw rocks at a dog.

Ynet didn’t do any original reporting. They got the story from Behadrei Hadarim, a small Hebrew-language news outlet for Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community. The Bhadrei Hadarim’s reports that it got the story from someone who was present, but it doesn’t bother to give that person’s name.

Israel’s third-largest paper, which doesn’t have an English edition, also ran the story. They subsequently ran an apology, noting what the court said actually happened: A dog walked into a courtroom, and someone called the dogcatcher.

No one really knows how the reality got so blown out of proportion and how so many “reliable” news sources ran with it. What we do know however, is that dogs have enough problems without being dragged through the mud.

Story by Elaine Furst for Dog Files

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Westiechick2
Westiechick2
12 years ago

i wanne trow a rock at the rabbi head and hope his scull breaks wide open !! are we we in the middle ages ‘wat is wrong with ppl in that part off the world, thats y we have ppl running around killing eachother they get there lessons from a rabbi.i am glad the dog escaped i sad for these children who should learn how to love and respect all life , instead the learn how to kill from a  god fearing rabbi  WHAT A SOB!!!!

S Hutton
S Hutton
12 years ago
Reply to  Westiechick2

you must have not read this story because it clearly states that it is NOT TRUE!

Westiechick2
Westiechick2
12 years ago

i wanne trow a rock at the rabbi head and hope his scull breaks wide open !! are we we in the middle ages ‘wat is wrong with ppl in that part off the world, thats y we have ppl running around killing eachother they get there lessons from a rabbi.i am glad the dog escaped i sad for these children who should learn how to love and respect all life , instead the learn how to kill from a  god fearing rabbi  WHAT A SOB!!!!

term paper
12 years ago

I love this dite! Thanks for interesting posT!

Anonymous
Anonymous
12 years ago

Wow.. The story has a life of it’s own.. Passed on from one ding dong to the next. IT’S NOT A TRUE STORY WESTIECHICK2..

write my research paper

Doggy tale is so cute and sweet! I like thant post it great!

SUBSCRIBE TO
DOG FILES

Top Posts

More Articles...

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x

Why haven't You Signed up For our Newsletter?

Find out why over 8000 Dog lovers have already Joined!

Receive our newsletter, get special deals & stay updated.