By Ghassan Androni, PCR Exec. Dir.
11 February 2001
For the past few weeks an open debate has been held in Israel concerning its bad profile in the international media. Media people, officials, and academics discuss issues related to the images media deliver all over the world about the recent crisis.
What attracted my attention was the intensive discussion about why the number of children killed or injured is so high and how Israel should defend its doings. The image of Rami (Mohammad Al Dura) was discussed extensively. Most of the arguments I heard go in the following direction: Palestinians are sending their kids to the army posts around the cities to be killed so as to embarrass Israel. What does that mean?
Palestinians are not like other humans, they do not care for their kids, they do not love them, and they use them to embarrass Israelis. So, Palestinians do not grieve death like other humans and, maybe, they are bloodsuckers. Not a single spectator, including the very well-known media hero, Tomi Labid, even bothered to examine if there was something wrong on their side.
In an interview by CNN, [Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Barak was more disgusting than all. With his cold face, and after referring to the point of Palestinians using their kids in the front lines to embarrass Israel he said; "Look, why did Rami's father bring him to this remote place near by the Israeli military post?" Smart!! He brought him to embarrass Israeli soldiers, as a target to be shot at. Mr. Barak, have you seen the father of Rami on TV? Have you seen the fear in his face, the pain in his eyes? Have you seen how much he cried and appealed to your soldiers to stop shooting? How much he tried to protect his son with his own body? Or was that just acting in front of the camera? Mr. Barak, this is exactly why you can only be a war general and never a peacemaker.
Palestinians, like other humans, can fall into wrongdoing while being angry, oppressed, frustrated, due to living under occupation. Yet your soldiers and settlers are snipers planning death by orders.
Many are referring to the need to use excessive force, because among the Palestinian demonstrators there are some who carry weapons and use them. Need we be reminded that the day after [Ariel] Sharon forced himself into the Al-Aqsa Mosque yard, protesters inside the mosque who had no weapons were shot at randomly. Seven were killed and hundreds injured in one hour. May I ask what is the excuse in this case?
I have never seen this level of dehumanizing people employed, even by whites in the former apartheid regime of South Africa. This level of racism can only be found in societies that have one main function: to destroy themselves and their neighbors. for more information, please visit: http://www.rapprochement.org/realkids.htm