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 Posted by Aron Trauring on July 10 2002 (Wednesday) : 07:51 PMThis disturbing article by Chris Hedges describes how he witnessed the IDF deliberately targeting civilians as targets of violence. In other words, the IDF is a terrorist organization, and by the Bush doctrine should be banned from receiving US aid. I found this interesting right wing screed trying to rip Hedges article to pieces. I copy it here in full, to show how right wing propagandists resort to name calling and distort the truth completely in order to deny the obvious truths that make them uncomfortable. MEDIA WATCH INT'L / HONESTREPORTING.COM RESPONDS: ...Why do we consider "Gaza Diary" biased? There are many points: (1) Hedges was accompanied to Gaza by "artist Joe Sacco." That's all Hedges reveals about his companion. The reader is never told that Sacco has been bashing Israel for a decade since his 1993 "Palestine Book: a Nation Occupied," and the 1996 "Palestine Book: In the Gaza Strip." In a 1994 interview, Sacco explained his books were motivated because "a real historical injustice is being perpetrated on the Palestinian people." A's response: This is an ad hominem attack on Sacco, and by inference on Hedges. I never read Sacco's book, but the saying "a real historical injustice is being perpetrated on the Palestinian people" is merely stating a fact, not "bashing" Israel. (2) Hedges refers in his article to two incidents at mosques: "The latest intifada erupted when Ariel Sharon visited the Al Aqsa Mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam..." and Hamas "began to attack individual Israeli civilians after a Jewish settler, Baruch Goldstein, gunned down 29 Muslim worshipers in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron." Note that Hedges cannot bring himself to acknowledge the holiness of the two sites to the Jewish people -- Al Aqsa is located on the Temple Mount where two Jewish temples stood. The Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron is also known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site of great religious significance to Jews, as well. A's response: And so? I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Even if by referring to these places by their Arabic name Hedges is revealing some latent anti-Jewish feelings, the facts he cites remain 100% true: The current intifada began after Sharon's visit, and Hamas suicide bombing war began as a response the Goldstein's massacre. In fact, in the context of what he was saying, Hedges was right to use the Arabic names. The current Intfada is called the Al Aqsa Intifada by the Palestinians, so it is important to understand the connection. And Goldstein massacered the Arabs while they were praying in a mosque. This is an exceedingly important point to make to underscore the horror of Goldsteins act (compare the reaction of Jews to the terror act perpetrated during a Seder). (3) Sharon never visited the mosque as Hedges claims; he was touring the Temple Mount where Moslem authorities have been bulldozing ancient remains with impunity. Moreover, while Hedges blames Sharon for starting the intifada, he ignores the fact that Arafat and the Palestinian Authority were preparing for the violence well before Sharon's visit. Israeli Arab affairs analyst Ehud Ya'ari, recently revealed a new book by Mamduh Nofal, ex- military chief of the Palestinian Democratic Front, in which Nofal reported that "Arafat personally spoke with the commanders and gave them detailed instructions. The heads of Hamas and [Islamic] Jihad were invited to meetings to prepare the strike and processions of rage. The public was called to come to Al Aqsa, the number of [Palestinian] guards were increased and a night shift was implemented." A's response: Perhaps this is the other shoe? Well, yes it's true that Hedges should have said "Sharon visited the site where the Al-Aqsa mosque is located." But the difference is not really significant in this case, since the whole Temple Mount is really a mosque complex (worth a visit if peace ever returns to this troubled land). As for Ya'ari's "revelation" this is just a continuation of Israeli propaganda trying to claim that Arafat planned the uprising as a way to squeeze more concessions out of the Israelis. The Mitchell Report already debunks this myth. (4) Hedges flashed his animosity even before he entered Gaza. As Hedges and Sacco passed an Israeli guard post, Hedges donned his flak jacket and mocked the soldiers. "At the last guard post, the blue-and-white flag with the Star of David on a pole overhead, the young soldiers peer out and tell us jokingly to have a nice trip. I point to the word PRESS on my chest. "Shoot me here," I say laughing. And then I point to my head. "Not here." A's response: I am trying to keep an open mind here. Is it just me or doesn't it seem to you as well that the critic here seems to be clutching at straws? (5) Hedges never blames Arafat for any of the violence gripping the region or for the breakdown of the peace talks. Arafat's refusal to respond or counter Ehud Barak's generous offers at Camp David is almost praised: "Only [Arafat's] refusal to accept the mutated statelets offered to him at Camp David has saved him from complete pillory." Hedges presents a unique theory for the failure of negotiations to "lead to a two-state solution. The assassination of Rabin settled any chance of that." Years of negotiations followed Rabin's death, including the promising Camp David meeting. By now the two state solution could have been implemented, but Arafat trashed it all. A's response: We already dealt with this under "The Camp David Myth" didn't we? Read again, what I said about what kind of people are trying to promulgate the myth. (6) Hedges bemoans the Palestinian's horrible living conditions. Had Arafat chosen the path of peace, tens of thousands of Palestinians would be employed in Israel today, would be working in jointly owned job-intensive jobs, would be building projects funded by international investors. Israel offered land adjoining Gaza for Palestinian additional housing as part of a land swap on the West Bank. But Arafat rejected it all. A's response: We're into reruns here. (7) Hedges describes the sorry state of Gaza's fishermen. He fails to report that their industry was shut down after Israel intercepted a Palestinian fishing ship loaded with rockets, ammunition, and grenades. A's response: Hmmmmm...Talk about playing fast and loose with the facts. Hedges article was written June 14, 2001. The Karine A affair, referred to here, occurred at the beginning of January, 2002. Hmmmmm.... (8) Hedges chronicles a day-by-day death toll of Palestinian teens in Gaza during his week visit. But nowhere does the reporter present the Israeli casualties on those very same days -- an Israeli teenager wounded and four men killed in four drive-by shootings by Palestinians. Nor does Hedges report that the day after he visited one of his despised Israeli checkpoints a suicide bomber killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint. [see chronology http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0ia50] Hedges conveniently forgets to mention that the checkpoints and road travel restriction were implemented because Palestinian bombers target Israeli vehicles -- even school buses. In one such attack, two Israeli teachers were killed and three children lost their legs. A's response: In other words killing Palestinian teenagers is justified because Israeli teenagers are killed. Well, if you believe that, then the reverse is equally true. Targeting civilians is a war crime, period. As for the justification of the road blocks, the facts are that these have proved totally ineffective in stopping terrorists. So why continue with the collective punishment of a civilian population, unless that punishment serves other purposes besides "security" needs? (9) Hedges' strongest words are left for alleged Israeli shootings of Palestinian teens. He makes no mention of the Gaza disturbances orchestrated as a diversion to draw attention from a massive Palestinian arms smuggling operation through tunnels from Egypt. A's response: Once again, reruns. Hedges claims Israeli soldiers used silencers on their M-16 when they shot Palestinian teens. The cylinders he saw on the end of the rifles are not silencers; they are rubber projectile kits. When used, it means lethal bullets have been removed from the magazine and blank cartridges are shot to project the rubber pellets. Is the veteran Hedges simply ignorant, or is this another case of deliberate misinformation? A's response: I am not a ballistic expert, but given the critics own inaccuracies, I'm not sure his explanation is correct either. In any case, the point is moot - Hedges witnessed Israeli soldiers deliberately targeting Palestinian kids. And we already learned during the first Intifada that both plastic and rubber bullets are lethal when used at close range, which is usually the case in this conflict. (10) Hedges accuses the Israeli army of indiscriminate fire on Palestinian civilians. Buried in his story, however, is evidence that the Israeli troops are actually firing in self-defense. Hedges describes how the soldiers "fire down on the roofs" of the Palestinian shacks. But later he adds, "Bands of Palestinian gunmen, who often initiate the shooting, fire back." He adds later, "Bands of Palestinian gunmen creep up to shoot at the Israeli positions." A's response: Once again there is an issue of chronology here. During the first few months of the intifada, there were very few instances of gunfire used. Most of the violence was characteristic of civilian protests - marching and stone throwing. Yet during this period, hundreds of young Palestinians were killed and thousands injured. In fact, the use of guns came much later, as Israel escalated the violence against the Palestinians. In any case, there is no doubt that many soldiers are acting, or feel that they are acting in self-defense. The question is why is the Israeli leadership putting them in positions where their lives at are risk, and innocent civilians will surely be killed? (11) Hedges cites an Islamic preacher who claims that he "implores the young boys" not to confront the Israeli soldiers. The reporter fails to report on the extensive and pervasive anti-Israel and anti-Semitic rhetoric spewed forth by the Palestinian religious leadership, school curricula, and television even before the intifada began. A's response: There is an interesting article on this claim re: anti-semitic (actually, in this context, anti-Jewish would be a more appropriate word) incitement, at the Electronic Intifada. (12) Hedges concludes his screed, "War reduces the ambiguities of life to blacks and whites." That's what Hedges has done, reduced Israel to the "black." The "dark force" is evident throughout his article: The Israeli press center is "dirty poorly lit," Israeli guns have "black nozzles," Israeli gunboats have "black silhouettes," Israeli munitions are "black flechettes," an Israeli checkpoint is "blackened." Get the point? And who wears white? A senior Hamas leader in Gaza "enters dressed in a white robe," Hedges writes. A's response: This is so pathetic it doesn't deserve a response! Hedges, Sacco and Harper's have joined to present one of the worst piece of reporting from the Middle East in recent memory. Reporting? Propaganda is a more accurate description. A's response: I think this last statement is an accurate description of the critique itself. < | >
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"Entre los individuos, como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz -- Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace" -Benito Juárez
"It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." -Eleanor Roosevelt "Let them call me a rebel and welcome. I feel no concern from it. But should I suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul" -Thomas Paine | |
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A Gaza Diary
