Exaggeration only plays into Israel's hands
Despite a distinct pro-Israeli bias in most of the major press organizations, the tide of world opinion is moving distinctly against Israel and its latest attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. However, in the west and particularly America, the only country capable of reigning Israel in, the traditional view of Israel as a civilized democratic David confronting a swarm of hostile brutal and totalitarian Goliaths remains strong. This flows partly from the identification of the west with the western lifestyle and values they perceive the Israelis as sharing with them, partly form a guilt complex over the allowing the holocaust to occur, and partly from fear of the influential Jewish lobby which is more than happy to label any of Israel's critics as anti-Semitic and therefore "like Hitler", who has replaced Satan in the largely secular west as the icon of evil.
Israel's favourite public relations trick is to hide behind the second world war in general and the holocaust in particular. For example, a few days ago when an IDF spokesman was questioned on BBC how two hostages and seven dead soldiers could justify such a brutal and disproportionate response he dodged the question in two sideways steps. The first step was to label the hostage taking as a threat to Israel's sovereignty, the second was to compare Israel's bombing of Lebanon to the bombing of Dresden and other places by the allies in World War Two. The whole worm-like move was tied together with a suggestion that the west remembered how far they were prepared to go to protect their sovereignty. It is more than a stretch of the imagination to equate the raid by Hezbollah on Israeli troops at a disputed border with the armies of the Third Reich steam-rolling across Europe and Asia - it is patently absurd.
The voice of reason speaks clearly on this issue in favour of Lebanon and the Palestinians.
If people could simply be made aware of the facts of the situation in an even handed and humanistic rather than the ideologically weighted fashion favoured by CNN and the like, the condemnations of Israel would be weighted. Exaggeration by Israel's enemies is not only unnecessary but counter productive as it contributes to the image of Israel's enemies as irrational, unreasonable people who can only be dealt with at gun point.
Comments like those of the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who labeled Israel's attack on Lebanon a "genocidal war" are not only inaccurate they are counter productive. The term Genocide became popularized in Nuremberg, where the authors of the Holocaust were tried for their crimes against humanity. To use this word to describe the horror that is unfolding in Lebanon as we speak only lessens the impact of the hundreds of deaths by placing them in the same sentence as the millions of Jews who died in the holocaust. You could not hand the Israelis a better chance to hide behind the corpses of Hitler's victims if you were trying.
It is possible, perhaps, that Israel's long running attempt to erase the Palestinian people from history and from their land, and to destroy their identity of could be labelled as genocidal, though to do so would be an exercise in definitions rather than a meaningful description of a unique historical crime. It is not possible however to stretch this definition to describe current events. This is a war of aggression, largely inspired and condoned by anti-Arab racism. This is a crime against humanity and has been called that by the UN. It is not genocide. The Israelis are not trying to wipe out the Lebanese or even the Shi'a. I do not doubt that there are those in Israel that would like to pursue such an agenda, but there are limits to what the American government will be held accountable for by their people. And without American military sponsorship Israel has no capacity to act.
If the current situation could be made clear and real to the American people I feel no doubt that their anger would be great enough compel their government to rein Israel in. I do not know if this is a possible, but exaggeration and inaccuracy will not help.
Austin Gerassimos Mackell
Israel's favourite public relations trick is to hide behind the second world war in general and the holocaust in particular. For example, a few days ago when an IDF spokesman was questioned on BBC how two hostages and seven dead soldiers could justify such a brutal and disproportionate response he dodged the question in two sideways steps. The first step was to label the hostage taking as a threat to Israel's sovereignty, the second was to compare Israel's bombing of Lebanon to the bombing of Dresden and other places by the allies in World War Two. The whole worm-like move was tied together with a suggestion that the west remembered how far they were prepared to go to protect their sovereignty. It is more than a stretch of the imagination to equate the raid by Hezbollah on Israeli troops at a disputed border with the armies of the Third Reich steam-rolling across Europe and Asia - it is patently absurd.
The voice of reason speaks clearly on this issue in favour of Lebanon and the Palestinians.
If people could simply be made aware of the facts of the situation in an even handed and humanistic rather than the ideologically weighted fashion favoured by CNN and the like, the condemnations of Israel would be weighted. Exaggeration by Israel's enemies is not only unnecessary but counter productive as it contributes to the image of Israel's enemies as irrational, unreasonable people who can only be dealt with at gun point.
Comments like those of the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, who labeled Israel's attack on Lebanon a "genocidal war" are not only inaccurate they are counter productive. The term Genocide became popularized in Nuremberg, where the authors of the Holocaust were tried for their crimes against humanity. To use this word to describe the horror that is unfolding in Lebanon as we speak only lessens the impact of the hundreds of deaths by placing them in the same sentence as the millions of Jews who died in the holocaust. You could not hand the Israelis a better chance to hide behind the corpses of Hitler's victims if you were trying.
It is possible, perhaps, that Israel's long running attempt to erase the Palestinian people from history and from their land, and to destroy their identity of could be labelled as genocidal, though to do so would be an exercise in definitions rather than a meaningful description of a unique historical crime. It is not possible however to stretch this definition to describe current events. This is a war of aggression, largely inspired and condoned by anti-Arab racism. This is a crime against humanity and has been called that by the UN. It is not genocide. The Israelis are not trying to wipe out the Lebanese or even the Shi'a. I do not doubt that there are those in Israel that would like to pursue such an agenda, but there are limits to what the American government will be held accountable for by their people. And without American military sponsorship Israel has no capacity to act.
If the current situation could be made clear and real to the American people I feel no doubt that their anger would be great enough compel their government to rein Israel in. I do not know if this is a possible, but exaggeration and inaccuracy will not help.
Austin Gerassimos Mackell
posted by Austin Gerassimos Mackell at 12:50 AM
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