Israeli delegation was absent due to observation of Jewish holiday of Sukkot

Israeli spokeswoman: “It was not a boycott.” According to Reuters, a spokeswoman for Israel's UN mission said that the Israeli officials' actions were “not a boycott” and that the delegation was absent due to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Israeli consulate released statement explaining that Obama administration had been informed of planned absence. Citing the “the overwhelming number of calls and e-mails that we are receiving,” the Israeli consulate in New York “said the Obama administration had been informed of the absence in advance and stressed that Israeli President Shimon Peres and Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak were present at Obama speech on Wednesday at the Millennium Development Goals summit at the United Nations,” CNN reported.

The consulate statement also said, “In accordance to established practice when the U.N. General Assembly falls during a holiday or the Sabbath, Israel's Ambassador to Israel's Permanent Mission to the United Nation, the Honorable Meron Reuben, and members of the Mission called Ambassadors and members of their delegation explaining the meaning for Israel's absence during their speech and wishing them success. Similar calls were made to Missions who addressed the U.N. on the Sabbath.”

Conservative blogs issue humiliating updates after claiming Israel “skip[ped]” Obama's UN speech

Real Clear Politics: “Israeli assembly does not attend Obama's UN address.” Real Clear Politics posted video of the Israeli delegation's empty seats during Obama's speech and noted “Israel's UN assembly was not present during President Obama's address to the United Nations.” The post was later updated to note, “Israeli ambassadors did not attend due to the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.”

Fox Nation: “Israel delegation no-show for Obama's U.N. address.” Fox Nation embedded the video from Real Clear Politics with the the headline “Israel delegation no-show for Obama's U.N. address.” The story was promoted on their home page with the following graphic:

Fox Nation, as of the time this item was posted, had not corrected or updated their erroneous story or headline.

Jim Hoft: “Israeli delegation skips Obama's UN speech.” Jim Hoft embedded the Real Clear Politics video under the headline, “BREAKING: ISRAELI DELEGATION SKIPS OBAMA'S UN SPEECH (VIDEO).” He wrote “Another historic shift... ISRAEL WAS A NO-SHOW TODAY AT THE UN! Obama presented his vision of the Mideast peace process during his speech today. Israel didn't want to hear it.” Hoft later made an update to his post, explaining, "[t]he Israelis admitted later that it wasn't a boycott- They just skipped it."

Breitbart TV: “Israel delegation no-show for Obama UN address.” Andrew Breitbart's Breitbart TV site posted video of the Israeli delegations empty seats and reported that “Empty chairs represented the Israeli delegation during President Obama's address to the UN General Assembly.” The post was later updated to point out that “Sept. 23rd is the second day of the Jewish Holiday Sukkot.”

The Blaze: “Did Israel snub Obama's U.N. speech?” Glenn Beck's site, The Blaze, reported, “On Thursday, the president gave his U.N. General Assembly address, and Israel may have returned the snub: a video of the speech shows that Israel's delegation was not in attendance. Or, if it was, it was not sitting at it's [sic] assigned spot. However it is reportedly a Jewish holiday*: Under normal circumstances, might the delegation have come anyway?” The Blaze later updated the entry to say “According to the Jewish Calendar, the Jewish Holiday of Sukut (”Feast of Tabernacles") is being observed today," adding, “No snubbing to see here folks - move along.”

Jawa Report: “Israel delegation no-show for Obama UN address.” The Jawa Report posted the video from Breitbart.TV, under the headline “Israel Delegation No-Show for Obama UN Address.” The post was later updated to include: “Could the reason be?: 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Sukkot, seven days for the L-RD. -Leviticus 23:34...Jewish Year 5771: sunset September 22, 2010 - nightfall September 29, 2010'”

Right wing media just can't stop pushing fake stories

Right-wing media are constantly pushing entirely concocted stories, such as their claims that a deceptively edited video indicated Shirley Sherrod was a racist; that Mexican gangs had “invade[d]” Texas and taken over two ranches; that President Obama “backed the release” of the Lockerbie bomber; that the Obama administration planned to “ban sport fishing”; and that Obama lied about attending his daughter's soccer game.