The media reaction to the deadly attack on Jewish Hanukah celebrants at Bondi Beach in Australia has revealed far more about entrenched bias and selective outrage than about the incident itself. Within hours, large parts of the press and broadcast media shifted their focus away from the massacre and toward exploiting the attack to mount an assault on pro-Palestine demonstrations around the world, branding them as complicit in antisemitic violence.
This response followed a familiar pattern: a criminal act was weaponized to smear a global protest movement that has consistently mobilized against mass killing, genocide, and state violence--Israel's ongoing assault on Gaza. Framing the Palestine rights movement as responsible deliberately obscures a basic truth--our demonstrations have always been against killing, mass slaughter, starvation, and genocide. They are protests against the destruction of civilian life, not against Jews or anyone else.
Many of the shocked, shocked commentators now expressing alarm about violence are the same figures who, over the past two years, justified or remained silent about Israel's bombardment of Gaza, rationalized the killing of tens of thousands of civilians, or said nothing as hospitals, schools, and refugee camps were reduced to rubble.
It's also interesting to note what has been minimized, marginalized, and played down: a Syrian Arab Muslim man, Ahmad Al-Ahmad, jumped one of the shooters and prevented him from continuing his killing spree. His actions should have been central to the story; instead, they are nearly erased. Why? Because the facts interfere with the false notion that Muslims are inherently violent, driven by hatred of Jews.
Conflating peaceful protests against genocidal atrocities with a criminal act draws attention away from those atrocities and chills legitimate dissent.
But we will not be chilled. We refuse to allow smears to replace facts, or selective outrage to silence a movement rooted in the most basic moral demand of all--that human life, Palestinian life, must matter.
JOIN US!
Entrenched bias and selective outrage
Woefully silent
To the Editor:
Jesus is love - Christmas his birth. Churches have been woefully silent about Israels two year genocide in Gaza. Considering that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and would be Palestinian, it seems inexplicable that the churches are so quiet (except for the Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac in Palestine). Jesus message, “love the poor, the sick, the oppressed.”
The State of Israel, despite the “ceasefire” continues to bomb, bury, and kill innocent Palestinian women, children, babies, and men. The people of Gaza are still being deprived of food, water, and medicine. Two million are trapped and terrified by the IDF. Our government supports and funds these atrocities with your tax dollars. What would Jesus do? Pray, witness, speak, act? What are the churches doing? What are you doing? Are Christians supporting genocide and starvation with silence? Learn the truth at electronicintifada.net or read about Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac.
Consider joining a local group like mideastcrisis.org or jewishvoiceforpeace.org. Perhaps, join with Women In Black who stand peacefully in solidarity with Palestine every Saturday from 12:30-1:30 in front of the New Paltz Elting Library. You might even feel motivated to call the White House 202-456-1111 or Pat Ryan 202-225-5614 and say “No U.S. weapons or money to fund Israeli genocide.” So as we celebrate his birth the question, “What would Jesus do?”
The Gaza "Ceasefire" is a total fraud.
The deliberate starvation hasn't ended either, as only around 200 trucks of aid per day are being allowed into Gaza, far short of the agreed-upon 600. Malnutrition is still off the charts.
And the IDF hasn't withdrawn from Gaza,, with 40 active Israeli sites still operating beyond the partition line, in clear breach of the ceasefire agreement.
But most U.S. journalists seem happy to close their eyes to these facts and pretend that the ceasefire is holding. As a result, charities that deal with humanitarian aid for Palestinians have seen a catastrophic drop-off in donations--the world thinks Gaza doesn't need our help anymore!
We need to renew the pressure on our leaders to actually end the violence, withdraw the Israeli troops, and allow in the humanitarian aid Gaza now depends on. We cannot shrug and look away.
According to Mondoweiss, Israel is exploiting the "ceasefire" agreements to establish new realities on the ground, projecting itself as the regional hegemon by launching increasing attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank.
We Will Not Be Silent! Join Us!
Starving the Children
The United Staes has reached a new low in its foreign policy. We are starving tens of thousands of children to death in Gaza. First we destroyed their schools and colleges. Then we blasted their houses into dust. We demolished all their hospitals and medical facilities, and destroyed their access to potable water. At this point, we have turned the Gaza Strip into a killing field, with millions of Palestinians digging through the rubble just to find their children.
Of course, there have been other holocausts in history. But even the Nazis tried to cover up their mass extermination of Jews and Romany. Towards the end of World War II, they buried millions in secret graves. Even the Nazis knew that their slaughter was beyond any boundaries of human kind. Even the Nazis knew enough to feel shame.
We, as citizens of the most powerful military empire the world has ever seen, have complete access to pictures and stories of this Palestinian holocaust. Our mainstream media doesn't dwell on it much, but the charnel house of Gaza isn't kept a secret. An internet search of "children" and "Gaza" will fill your mind with the unbearable images of our country's war crimes. Yet few in our government seem to care very much. They sit around and spout Israeli talking points while collecting their hundreds of thousands in bribes from Zionist billionaires.
And we are oblivious to what our government is doing, as we turn a blind eye to this wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian people.
Fred Nagel
Dear Mr. Levine:
Disgusting and disturbing racist incident in New Paltz
I watched the recent New Paltz Town Board meeting on 10/9 where the discussion focused on a recent act of vile racism directed at Town Board member Esi Lewis and her daughter. All of the remarks and comments were heart-felt and upsetting. The question of racism in New Paltz was explored and discussed. However, the racism on display every Saturday in New Paltz was not mentioned. I sent the letter below to the Town Board and Hudson Valley One for publication. I hope it generates some discussion.
Peace,
Eli
To the editor:
As the result of a disgusting and disturbing racist incident in New Paltz, the Town Board is addressing racism in our own hometown. I join with the community in condemning this despicable and cowardly act of hatred. Perhaps, the Board needs to also consider the racism on display every Saturday in New Paltz where demonstrators carry Israeli/Zionist flags and spew vile and violent language and messages. At its core Zionism is racist. Zionists (mostly white Europeans) support the murder and forced removal of indigenous, dark skinned Palestinians. Since 1948 millions of Palestinians have been murdered, expelled, or forced into refugee camps like Gaza. The Zionist, apartheid, ethno-supremacist State of Israel’s ongoing genocide, land theft, and ethnic cleansing of indigenous Palestinians is racist. In addition to the flag waving and unbridled support for the murderous State of Israel, frequent expressions of violence, sexism, and trans-phobia are hurled at passing cars and pedestrians. Perhaps, the Town Board should consider a statement condemning this blatant weekly display of racism here in New Paltz?