Ethan Bronner has a great piece on the clamping down of the international press. He is distinguishing himself.
Like all wars, this one is partly about public relations. But unlike
any war in Israel’s history, in this one the government is seeking to
entirely control the message and narrative for reasons both of politics
and military strategy.
Meanwhile, here from the Ingaza blog, is a claim that the family of 60 allegedly killed in Zaytoun was methodically massacred:
The Shifa director also told me that emergency medics still cannot
reach the Zaytoun house that yesterday morning was bombed with
inhabitants locked inside. There are two main accounts of the story,
both criminal. One: Israeli soldiers rounded up the inhabitants of the
multi-story house, separated the men –15, I was told–and shot them
point blank in front of the women and children of the family, 20, I was
told. Then, laid explosives around the house and bombed the rest of the
extended family.
Two: Israeli soldiers rounded up the inhabitants of the multi-story
house, locked them in one room for a day, and bombed it the following
morning.
I asked a friend for some basis for this account. And of course I wonder if reports like this will now proliferate. And if some may be true.
That's shocking. You will find few greater critics of Israel than myself but even I can't believe it. I hate false rumors. They go around the internet and when they get shot down, it hurts credibility.
Besides, what's the advantage? And imagine if someone had a camera with them, or one of the soldiers had an attack of conscience later and blabbed? The risk is too great.
Also, let us not be distracted from what they ARE doing, which is bombing from the air with the intent if making the populace miserable. That's bad enough.
Unless more evidence comes out, I don't want to spread a false rumor.
whoever it was that posted an online petition form protesting the media coverage , please post it again. was it phil? i want to send it out again.
Atrocities happen in war, even when the two sides don't have the long history of enmity and violence that the Israelis and Palestinians have, so this story just may be true. But we'll see what evidence emerges.
@Lysander,
One of the soldiers probably WILL get an attack of conscience and blab later, ten or fifteen years later when this most recent chapter in the history of Israeli war crimes disappears down the memory hole.
IDF mission accomplished!!
As far as this line:
"bombing from the air with the intent if making the populace miserable."
I would edit it to read
"bombing from the air with the intent if making the populace dead."
Accuracy matters here.
PM
Let's remember though,
Michael W has no sympathy for ANYONE who voted for Hamas, as if filling out a ballot is enough to warrant a death sentence.
Talk about true colors shining through…
PM
where's witty with the typical shallow remark about how both sides are to blame?
"I hate false rumors."
Alright, suppose they are rumors. Israel has no excuse to whine about those rumors. If it wanted to avoid being "defamed" by what it alleges are "lies", then it should have allowed foreign correspondents and filming crews in. Again, let us not try to deflect attention away from the real issue, and that is, why has Israel banned foreign coverage of the true targets — and the true impact — of its actions in Gaza? What's that I heard? No humanitarian crisis said Livni? And no civilians are being harmed, says she and her fellow fascist propagandists ? And only a few Israeli soldiers killed, all but one of them killed in friendly fire? I can see that the Palestinian Resistance factions are so incompetent that Israel has refrained from going into Gaza City, Khan Yunis, etc…..? And what a coincidence, all of those killed by friendly fire happen to be high-ranking brigade-leaders: officers, captains, etc. I guess Israel can't bring itself to admit that its top ranking officers were killed by Hamas. Admitting that soldiers were killed by Hamas — if the admission will be forthcoming at all; they are probably already buried in Israel hush-hush — would be a smaller blow than admitting that high-ranking personnel were killed by them.
Mr. Weiss,
I would just like to recommend philosopher Slavoj Zizek's new book, The Parallax View.
Its premise: Modern-day Zionism, as manifested by the State of Israel’s policy, is itself anti-Semitic, since it is premised on anti-Semitic ideological fundamentals.
Basically, he argues what you've been articulating so eloquently here for the last few years. Do read it if you get a chance.
Keep in mind that certain military units are made up of religious settlers who have extreme views. The US forces in Iraq have similar problems.
Bradley Burston, a Haaretz columnist, has written a rather thoughtful prayer for the children of Gaza. The usual 'balance' formula is injected in an anodyne tone ('Shield them from us and from their own') which doesn't detract from the sentiment expressed.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1052871.html
It's a surprise, but a pleasant surprise. Maybe one of those photos posted by Eva Smagacz finally got to him. As Phil says, 'Join us here, Bradley, we need you!'
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