While I was looking at the BBC News today, I noticed this article and the accompanying audio slideshow. I felt that, in many ways, it connects well with Rhiannon's post on "who teaches Palestinians to hate" and the "creation" of "terrorists."
The article cites an Amnesty International report that argues that Israel is breaking international law with the destruction of Palestinian homes. The Israelis countered, saying that the destruction was in accordance with international law and the destruction was necessary because of "operational needs." This is contradicted within the article by the citing of Breaking the Silence, which includes testimonies of Israeli soldiers, and the statements that many of the destructions were not necessary and taken out without an immediate threat. In many cases, according to the Amnesty International group, the destruction occured after the Israeli military controlled the area. This, coupled with the fact that few of the homes had legitimate reason to be destroyed (ie, booby trapped, hiding militants, etc), the destruction was "wanton." The Israeli Defense Forces countered the arguments, stating that the terrorist organizations "operated from within the civilian population, using them as a cover and made cynical use of the IDF's strict rules of engagement, opening fire from within civilian population centres, mosques, schools, hospitals and even private residences of citizens in the Gaza Strip... The IDF emphasises that the terrorist organisation, Hamas, and its infrastructure were the target of Operation Cast Lead, and not the civilian population in Gaza." That, however, is difficult for the civilians, and their families, physically, emotionally or psychologically hurt by the destruction caused by the Israeli military.
The audio slideshow focuses on a specific family who's house and livelihood were destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces. The pictures show the destruction of the house while the audio includes the father's commentary on how everything was destroyed when the house was attacked. He couldn't understand why his house was targeted. He had built the house for his wife and seven children to have someplace to be safe. Now that haven is gone and there is no way to rebuild because there is nothing left in Gaza. One of the most poignant comments he makes is, "I hope there will be a future, but I don't see any future." In many ways, these articles connect to Rhiannon's post on the creation of terrorists through, in part, personal experiences and hatred of "the enemy." The idea of losing one's home through a military attack (natural disaster, possibly, military attack no) is often unfathomable in the West/United States but is seemingly common in the Occupied Territories/Palestine. And the West wonders why the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is still so heated and so contested.
After reading the article, I went to the websites of CNN and MSNBC to see if they had reported anything similar to the BBC article citing the Amnesty International findings (that being, the destruction of Palestinian homes or even listing the attacks on Palestinian civilians). Neither sited listed anything. Both, however, listed stories of the Palestinian driver in Jerusalem that drove a construction vehicle into a bus and police car on Thursday. They also listed the missile strikes on a town in southern Israel that prompted retaliation in Gaza. Thus, Israel is defending itself against hostile, barbarous, stubborn Arab neighbors with no emphasis on the other side of the story. The Palestinians are lumped as a single entity, one identified as the terrorist Hamas organization.
A sexual revolution -- women moving up in Iran
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To continue the focus on women from the reading, I found this article
posted on a non-profit news-source called Iran Focus**'s website. The
article itself...
15 years ago
But its not just Amnesty. You found this info on BBC. So that is the comparison site (and much more comparable) to CNN or MSNBC than Amnesty International.
ReplyDeleteI found the video to be very moving. It was used as a character case to build up the emotional value of the war, and it did a wonderful job of that. The point that you make that the article citing AI but not found on other media sites is interesting. I remember from hearing on MPR that not a lot of media was allowed into Gaza by the Israelis. Here is a link to such an article:
ReplyDeletehttp://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=6578931
It makes wonder about if there is a deliberate ignorance on the behalf of reporters or perhaps Israel making it difficult for certain medias to access Palestinians.
I would like to press you to think about the complications and generalization that media does. Like the “lumping” of Hamas and the Palestinians. Is that the only group? What about the Palestinian Authority? Also, with AI, why do you think that CNN and MSNBC do not cover it? Do you think it is a part of the bias or perhaps credibility of the organization?
Jackie, your first point is really interesting. I wonder, and this relate to other posts (the CAIR/CNN clip), how much of the deprivation is because Israel knows it needs to maintain good public relations in the US? I have a feeling that is a good deal of why the press has limited access, although there are also the grounds that it is a hostile conflict situation.
ReplyDeleteAs to your furthering questions, I think it is "easier" in some respects to identify the Palestinian into "one lump." The Israelis are identifiable through their government and their military forces, which is something Americans can certainly identify with (despite dissenting groups in both the US and Israel). However, the Palestinians are much more difficult to place in a familiar narrative. They are stateless, refugees yet also hostile, violent. These characterizations are difficult to break, as are any stereotypes. Yet they have a profound impact on the way news is viewed among a general public.
It's extremely difficult, and has especially proven to be in the situation of the Gaza occuption, to deliniate or extract a grass-roots movement (like Hamas) from the people made to reperesnt it (those dang Palestinians, of course). Therefore this "lumping" is more of a reaction to the narrative of the Palestinian peoples in the past few decades than an easy charcterization.
ReplyDelete