Talking Points on Current Violence in Israel/Palestine

Please write, comment, tweet, or call the media on their one-sided coverage of the current violence in Israel/Palestine. Here are some talking points:

U.S. MAINSTREAM MEDIA COVERAGE IS HEAVILY BIASED TOWARD ISRAEL.

Whether it's FOX News, CNN, or the New York Times, most U.S. news reflects a right wing Israeli point of view. Ironically, Israeli media, notably Ha'aretz, cover many sides to the story.

NEW YORK TIMES IS PARTICULARLY BIASED. 

According to a Jewish Voice for Peace report (http://tellthenyt.org/) over 50% of New York Times headlines have depicted Palestinians as the instigators of violence, while no headlines depicted Israelis as aggressors. Palestinians were referred to as terrorists 41 times, while the term was used four times (including quotes from Palestinians) to refor to violent Israeli actions intended to terrorize Palestinians. The terms "attack/s" or "attackers" were used 110 times to describe Palestinian actions and people, and 17 times to desribe Israelis. This is important since no media organization is more influential in shaping the way American policymakers and news outlets think about Israel and Palestine than the New York Times.

VIOLENCE IN THE REGION IS DISPROPORTIONATE

Eight Jewish Israelis have died in attacks by Palestinians. 64 Palestinians have been killed (as of 10.30.15) by Israeli fire and over 7200 injured, many of whom were only suspected of engaging in violence.

PALESTINIAN FRUSTRATION HAS REACHED A BOILING POINT

Attacks by disaffected Palestinian youth are the inevitable result of decades of occupation, dispossession and state violence.

PALESTINIANS SUFFER MANY KINDS OF VIOLENCE

The emotional violence of humiliation at check points, imprisonment without trial, and seeing one's children snatched from their beds at night by heavily armed soldiers; the violence of words when racist mobs are allowed to roam the streets, or when Palestinian suffering is denied, diminished, or belittled, or when youth are forced to sign confessions in a language they do not understand; the violence against personal property when Palestinian homes, orchards, and water storage tanks are demolished; the violence of the deliberate destruction of critial infrastructure, such as Gaza's electrical grid and water treatment plant during Israeli bombing attacks in 2014; the physical violence of beatings, tear gas, and shooting with live fire; and the sadistic violence of all-out war against a population (in Gaza) that is not allowed any means of escape.

NO CENTRALIZED DIRECTION TO ATTACKS BY PALESTINIAN YOUTH

Knife attacks on Israelis by Palestinian youth are uncoordinated. None of the youth were recruited, indoctrinated, or controlled by others.

PALESTINIAN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS AND JOURNALISTS TARGETED

The Palestinian Medical Relief Society reports that Israeli security has targeted medical professionals, first aid providers, nurses, and ambulance drivers with live fire and metal bullets. Forty one journalists have been injured.

U.S. COMPLICIT IN THE VIOLENCE AGAINST PALESTINIANS

Under the current arrangement, Israel is receiving $3 billion in U.S. military aid per year, most of which is used to purchace U.S. military hardware such as fighter jets and missle defense systems. The U.S. has offered to increase military aid to Iarael by another $1.5 billion per year to ease tensions over the nuclear deal with Iran. https://www.rt.com/usa/310049-us-military-aid-israel/

WAYS TO SUPPORT A JUST PEACE IN ISRAEL/PALESTINE 

Heed the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel. Spread the word about the biased news coverage of the current violence. Write to U.S. administration officials. Visit your members of Congress. Sign on-line petitions. Write or tweet questions to presidential candidates during debates. Support campus student groups and faculty who are targeted by right-wing, pro-Israel organizations. Post articles on Facebook and Twitter. 

REMEMBER, as in all struggles for justice and human equality, “the oppressor” is not monolithic. Many thoughtful Israelis and American Jews support Palestinian freedom. (Photo courtesy Jewish Voice for Peace)

Some References:

•          972 http://972mag.com/ (Jewish/Israeli writers who oppose the occupation)

•          Ma’an News Agency http://www.maannews.com/

•          Ha’aretz http://www.haaretz.com/ (Israel’s liberal newspapter)

•          Mondoweiss http://mondoweiss.net/ (U.S. analyses of US foreign policy)

•          Electronic Intifada https://electronicintifada.net/  (Independent online news)

•          PIAG’s blog www.quakerpiag.blogspot.org

In the War of Information, Truth is the Loser

Since mid-September, violence in Israel/Palestine has spiraled out of control. 

Threats to the religious integrity of Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque have prompted a spate of stabbings by disaffected Palestinian youth on Israeli police, military personnel, and random citizens.

The deaths of eight Jewish Israelis from these attacks have led to an extreme crackdown by Israeli security forces.

According to the Ministry of Health, since October 1, 2015, 64 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and 7200 injured in the West Bank and Jeruselem, many of whom were only suspected of engaging in violence. See stats here. The Palestinian Medical Relief Society reports that Israeli security has targeted medical professionals, first aid providers, nurses, and ambulance drivers with live fire and metal bullets. Forty one journalists have been injured.

In the Israeli street, fear and rage have taken over. Racist mobs roam the streets of Jerusalem shouting "Death to Arabs." Video footage circulating on social media in mid-October showed 13-year-old Ahmad Manasra, whose limbs lay at unnatural angles after being run over following a knife attack in the Pisgat Zeev settlement near East Jerusalem (here). As he attempts to rise, onlookers taunt him: "Die! Son of a whore, die," and exhort police to "give him one in the head." Other videos show young people being shot with their hands raised, apparently in surrender, or shot in the back as they try to flee.

Instead of calming the population and reining in the police, some Israeli politicians and senior police officers have openly called for the extrajudicial killing of suspects and have urged civilians to carry weapons. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu recently added more fuel to the fire by claiming, bizarrely, that it was Jerusalem’s Grand Mufti who persuaded Adolf Hitler to exterminate the Jews. It took German Chancellor Angela Merkel to correct Netanyahu’s distorted view of history.

Despite the mayhem, mainstream US media continue to ignore Palestinian deaths and injuries and the decades of repression, isolation, and enforced poverty that have brought Palestinian youth to the breaking point. As Jewish Voice for Peace reports, “no media organization is more influential in shaping the way American policymakers and news outlets think about Israel and Palestine than the New York Times. But with some notable exceptions, the Times has done a shamefully poor job of including the historical and political context readers need to understand the roots of the current uprising.”

Some examples: Over 50% of New York Times headlines depicted Palestinians as the instigators of violence, while no headlines depicted Israelis as aggressors. Palestinians were referred to as terrorists 41 times, while the term was used four times (including quotes from Palestinians) to refer to violent Israeli actions intended to terrorize Palestinians. The terms “attack(s)” or “attackers” were used 110 times to describe Palestinian actions and people, and 17 times to describe Israelis.

Nor has the U.S. media reported the coalitions of Palestinians and Israelis who are marching together, vowing, "We will not surrender to despair!"

Peace Now

Please join PIAG in responding to one-sided media reports by calling, writing, or posting comments that add missing information and context, which can be found on alternative media such as Democracy Now, Juan Cole’s Informed Comment, the American Friends Service Committee and other posts on PIAG's blog.