Part of the Series
Gaza on Fire
When the respected New York Times covers its Israel bias with soft words, it’s not surprising that more than 50 percent of the American public support the Netanyahu government’s increasingly bloody campaign in Gaza. Take for example the Times’ July 25, 2014, editorial entitled “Gaza’s Mounting Death Toll.” With unassailable platitudes, it seems evenhanded on its face. The following observations appear reasonable at first glance:
- “What really matters now is that some way be found to stop the carnage.”
- “The war is terrorizing innocent people on both sides of the border.”
- “It is past time for an immediate cease-fire and for a political strategy that offers the hope of a more stable future for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
- “Secretary of State John Kerry has been working feverishly to get a cease-fire, but his mission is hugely complicated.”
Yet beneath the editorial’s “soft edges,” one finds ample evidence of the paper’s “hard core” message: a justification of Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Let’s parse the paragraphs.
1. “There are competing charges over who carried out the attack – Israel; Hamas, which controls Gaza; or one of Hamas’s allies – and that could take time to sort out.”
Given the likely presence of shell fragments, why should it “take time to sort out” responsibility? Noting that the UN gave Israel the “precise GPS locations of all 83 schools that were being used as shelters for 141,000 people who had fled their homes,” a senior UN official, who cited the two school bombings earlier in the week, had little doubt that the Israel military was responsible. The editorial would have us believe that it was equally likely that Hamas (or one of its allies – who might that have been?) carried out the attack.
2. “The war is terrorizing innocent people on both sides of the border.”
True, but this statement ignores the striking disparity in casualties: over 1,000 in Gaza, 51 in Israel (as of July 28). To equate the violence by Hamas with that of the Israel Defense Force is to mislead the reader.
3. “Israeli officials say they have taken pains not to harm civilians.”
What value is such assurance in the open-air prison of Gaza? The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits attacks on civilians and condemns collective punishment.
4. “Surely, Israel has reason to take strong military action against the barrage of rockets on its territory.”
Against military targets, yes; against non-combatant women and children, no. Why did Israel not simply dismantle or bomb the tunnel exits or places outside civilian areas?
5. “The United Nations did not enhance its own credibility and influence when its Human Rights Council focused entirely on Israel in a resolution on Wednesday, opening an inquiry into possible Gaza-related human rights violations.”
This is an incredible justification of the US “no-vote” on that resolution. While Hamas must be accountable for its rockets, Israel has a much greater burden to justify attacks on civilians that strongly suggest collective punishment.
6. “Unlike Israel, Hamas has not built bomb shelters where civilians can seek refuge. And even as the war rages and his people are exposed, Hamas’s political leader, Khaled Meshal, has been safely ensconced at his exile home in Qatar.”
In another case of blaming the victims, the editorial devotes a whole paragraph (one out of nine) to excoriate Hamas for its high civilian death toll. The faulting of Gaza for not building bomb shelters, echoing Israeli publicists, is absurd. Given the restrictions Israel has put on construction materials for Gaza, how could its cash-strapped government have built shelters? If Israeli citizens are more protected through its Iron Dome and bomb shelters, shouldn’t that impose a greater Geneva Convention burden on Israel in attacking a defenseless civilian population?
7. “Hamas, which is committed to Israel’s destruction . . .”
Had Israel and the United States given the recent reconciliation between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas a chance, we could well have seen a moderation in Hamas’ stance. Clearly, we would not have had the current war and its likely expansion to the West Bank.
8. “Secretary of State John Kerry has been working feverishly to get a cease-fire, but his mission is hugely complicated.”
Had Kerry really wanted to achieve a fair Israeli-Palestinian settlement and now ceasefire, he would have used the withdrawal of military and economic aid to spur concessions on both sides.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.