Israel, Gaza, and the Language of War
Pay Attention to What You Read
Here’s a typical quick summary of the dire situation in Gaza from CNN this AM:
The US is seeking to delay an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza amid calls to free more hostages held there by Hamas and allow aid into the besieged enclave. A senior Israeli official told CNN there will be "no ceasefire" in Gaza, but emphasized efforts are ongoing to free the more than 200 hostages in the region "as quickly as possible." However, the official added, "humanitarian efforts cannot be allowed to impact the mission to dismantle Hamas." More than 4,600 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7 and over 14,200 others wounded, the health ministry there said.
Conditions on the ground in Gaza continue to deteriorate as Israel repeatedly bombards the strip with airstrikes.
For "Israeli ground offensive," substitute massive military assault. Note the mention of hostages held by Hamas but no mention of hostages/prisoners held by Israel. "Besieged enclave"--open-air prison or concentration camp under constant bombing would be more telling. "Dismantle Hamas": the IDF goal is the total destruction of Hamas, with the death of civilians being blamed on Hamas because “they” allegedly use human shields, i.e. the Israeli government and military is never to blame.
Note the passive voice: 4600 people "have been killed in Gaza" -- well, who's killed them? Who's wounded 14,200 others? With weapons provided by which countries?
Conditions in Gaza continue to "deteriorate": What does this mean, specifically? Lack of food, water, power, people dying in hospitals due to lack of supplies, people screaming in agony due to lack of anaesthesia, etc. And why are they “deteriorating”? It’s not just due to airstrikes by Israel. The Israeli government’s decision to stop food, fuel, electricity, and water to Gaza is creating the conditions for death and illness on a massive scale.
Caitlin Johnstone has a fine critique about how Israeli bombing is being reported by the Western press. In essence, it’s reported as if bombs are simply dropping from the sky on Gaza: massive bombing as a very bad hail storm that must be endured and over which humans have no control.
Pay very close attention to how this war is being reported, especially in the Western mainstream press. For we all know the saying that the first casualty of war is truth.
Update: I’m involved with an effort, “Words About War Matter,” and the group led by David Vine has posted guidance for language related to Israel, Hamas, and Gaza. The link is https://www.wordsaboutwar.org/gaza.html.
I’m involved with an effort, “Words About War Matter,” and the group led by David Vine has posted guidance for language related to Israel, Hamas, and Gaza. The link is https://www.wordsaboutwar.org/gaza.html
perhaps you have not read and absorbed all the forwards i've sent you, jg, or i have failed to include you in the multitudes i have sent.... but then, this is not your ambit. one must work in palestine to answer those inquiries for oneself. hamas was originally created w/ funding from the israeli govt. in order to create a classic brit-empire 'divide and conquer' subreption against the PLO, which had transmutated into the more pacifistic fatah political sector. 'freedom' means a diverse concept for everyone, depending on her/his background ambit and experiences. in the case of palestinians, they want their land back which was usurped from them by zionists in 1947/1948... and yet more of their land again, which was summarily and opportunistically expropriated from them following the US/UK-supported israeli attack on egypt. YES! the israelis attacked egypt first! i was there. in their classic duplicity and seigneury over the MSM, you and every other donnard were persuaded to believe that egypt and jordan attacked first. the duplicity and hate-mongering of israeli zionists against palestinians defies comprehension. the zionists surreptitiously launched the 1967 war; the palestinians were mere pawns in that mulligrubbing pogrom.
the palestinians have reached a nexus in their beleaguered lives wherein many prefer to die quickly w/ dignity rather than die slowly. as well, palestinians [originally, a small tribe w/in the larger caananite tribe] have been demonized, marginalized, abjured, dispossessed, disdained, and denigrated for over 70 years. they are fighting for their right to exist in their own homeland, which they have occupied for thousands of years. they have virtually nothing remaining and nothing to live for... no future whatsoever, particularly given that the international power-elite refuse to help them. may i repeat?: the palestinians have reached a nexus in their beleaguered lives that many prefer to die quickly w/ dignity rather than die slowly!
my west bank students in the 4 refugee camps surrounding nablus, where i volunteered throughout may, june, and july this year, have bemoaned in defeasance that they will be bombed next. during the months i was there as a volunteer teacher, the israelis bombed jenin, just north of us, and dropped tons of ordnance from their helicopters and drones on our refugee camps, ambulances, and streets, demolishing houses and slaughtering putative 'militants' who were trying to protect their families, homes, shops, and schools. you have no clue, jg, what is it is like in palestine, not in the west bank nor in gaza. please allow the subsumed emails to elucidate you.
these emails are part of a chain carried on by my children and myself.:
[from coryn~alcyon]: Very well-said, all of you. It is bolstering to feel your solidarity of sentiments; it helps one feel less isolated amidst this insanity. I love you fam! 💕
[from jeanie]: please read my explanatory email below that i just winged off to burla [bry], naiis. every asseveration is a veracious one.
On Oct 23, 2023, at 05:57, Corinne McEachern <corinnemce@gmail.com> wrote:
Yes, makes me wonder too Brya…
On Sun, Oct 22, 2023 at 3:34 PM Brya <bryarly@gmail.com> wrote:
Interesting to hear their perspective mom. I wonder how much popular support there was for Hamas at the time of that election and whether it was a rigged outcome.
There is a conspiracy going around on social media postulating that Hamas would only have been able to break through Israel’s highly guarded, virtually impenetrable barriers “undetected” if some faction of Israeli’s defence forces sanctioned Hamas’ invasion (in order to justify a counter-invasion). “If you want to start a war, then hire a terrorist group to invade you and kill some of your civilians”, is the thinking. I have no idea about the veracity of this theory, but it does make me wonder… especially since Israel already had a history of funding Hamas…
On Sun, Oct 22, 2023 at 6:23 AM Jeanie McEachern <jeaniemce@icloud.com> wrote:
by the way, 2 of my local palestinian translation femmes who had volunteered to be my interpreters in the refugee camps’ classes around the nablus region, repined in despair when it was announced that hamas had been elected to represent the palestinian people and that fatah had lost the election. they explained that hamas was a bellicose organization that had been originally funded by the israeli govt to act as an undermining counterweight to the PLO, which had transmutated into the more pacifistic fatah political sector of the now-defunct PLO. my volunteer interpretors, both nablus university students, claimed their consociates and their families were extremely discouraged that hamas had won the election rather than the far more pacifistic fatah political sector of the PLO. having nugatory knowledge of these political machinations at the time, i absorbed their distrust of the seminally israeli-funded hamas w/ naught but curiosity and intrigue. luvmum/jeanie
On Oct 22, 2023, at 11:10, Jeanie McEachern <jeaniemce@icloud.com> wrote:
what is wrong w/ our species? are we insane? the insanity of destroying so many children’s lives is so demented i just can’t wrap my dendrites around it. war is such a crazed, endemic sector of our DNA it seems implausible our species remains regnant.
On Mon, Oct 23, 2023 at 10:05 AM Menzie McEachern <mceachernclan@gmail.com> wrote:
Fully agree. Flabbergasted and frustrated by US and Canadian politicians and the western media right now. Unbelievable that they can robotically justify Israeli war crimes and ignore a humanitarian catastrophe. Deplorable and sickening.
I have been getting most of my news on the events from Aljazeera. Yes they have their own bias but in this case that is needed in an ocean of blind pro-Israel sentiment.
Love you all
Menzie McEachern
On Oct 23, 2023, at 6:52 AM, Kavan McEachern <kavanmce@gmail.com> wrote:
100%. Most people form strong opinions based on scant information, and Western sentiment on Israel-Gaza is a stark example of that. Supposedly the older and more right wing you are, the more likely you are to support Israel. Although there are plenty of young liberals who still support Israel 🤯 it’s a shockingly bipartisan sentiment.
On Mon, Oct 23, 2023 at 12:57 AM Firth McEachern <firth.mce@gmail.com> wrote:
I feel the same way you do Naiis. Most mainstream Western media reporting on Israel-Gaza, and the public statements being made by politicians (Canadians included), are agonizingly myopic, unbalanced, callous, fallacious, incomplete, or specious — enough to drive one demented!
It has made me so disappointed with our international order, and humanity in general....how ignorant, spineless, irrational, and uncompassionate people can be. And how easily we form camps of crass competition, collective delusion, presumed moral authority, and self-censorship, based on the flimsiest knowledge, experience, and critical thought.
On Sun, Oct 22, 2023 at 5:48 PM Jeanie McEachern <jeaniemce@icloud.com> wrote:
my nifty nymph naiis: am sorry you asked, but i’m barely functional, weeping unconsolably, of exiguous use to anyone, wandering around on the ridges behind us in a tenebrous fugue of despair and desolation. the fabrications of the western MSM have dissolved my psyche into rubble. firth’s and my friends and our students in the west bank refugee camps will be bombed next. the reaction has been so egregiously visceral that i can barely eat, and when i do, i feel emetic. i am certain our courageous PROJECT HOPE NABLUS consociates persist in devoting themselves to those who need their services so desperately, but i cannot reach them. i luvu nymph-naiis, aka, our coryn~alcyon.
On Oct 22, 2023, at 23:50, Corinne McEachern <corinnemce@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi mumaiis,
How are you faring with the devastation that is occurring in Palestine? I have been thinking of you and wondering how you are coping. I am filled with rage, my heart is breaking, and I feel so helpless. I am unable to read any mainstream media as it incites a volcanic anger.
It is hard to maintain equanimity and not allow the hatred I feel for Zionism and the Israeli government to subsume me- but I try- as I know carrying hatred doesn’t help anyone and is ultimately injurious to myself.
I have been taking small actions- signing petitions and letters, sending money to the World Food Program for Gaza- but it feels ineffectual in the face of so much horror.
The only salve is that I know there are others who think as we do, who recognize that this is genocide, and our voices are growing stronger.
The pain in the world is palpable. I remind myself to maintain my centre and stay in a place of good will and intent, whilst also acknowledging that these insupportable feelings of torment can be a catalyst for change.
I am thinking of you mom; I hope you are as well as can be. I am guessing you have not been able to communicate with any of your Project Hope Nablus friends?
Love naiis ♥️