Coverage of the violence between Israel and Palestine often reduces the conflict to a “cycle of violence” that periodically flares up (FAIR Action Alert, 6/30/06; FAIR Blog, 12/19/08). The same is true now, with corporate media embracing the narrative that Israel’s attacks against Palestine are “retaliations,” implying that it is solely the fault of Palestinians for provoking and initiating the deadly attacks on Gaza (FAIR Blog, 7/2/14).
But determining when such a “cycle” begins is a political act. The current conflict is usually traced back to the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers on the West Bank (CNN, 7/7/14). When their bodies were found on June 30, Israel “retaliated” by attacking Gaza. The July 2 killing of Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khdeir, allegedly a revenge murder by Israeli extremists, was reported as further escalating the conflict.
But is it really that easy to pin down when these cycles of violence begin? You won’t see corporate media making serious attempts to answer this question very often. A notable exception occurred on MSNBC’s All In (7/8/14), where correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin brought up the recent deaths of Palestinian teenagers at the hands of Israeli security forces in May:
But even before the kidnapping of three Israeli-Jewish teenagers and killing of the Palestinian teenager last week, two Palestinians were killed back in May and didn’t trigger the kind of international outcry and international outrage that the killing of the three Israeli teens have. And that is always the difficult point when you’re looking at the starting of a cycle of violence in this part of the Middle East. It’s about which is the act, or which act is the one that triggered or exacerbated the latest round of tensions?
The deaths occurred at a Nakba Day protest, when the two unarmed Palestinian teenagers were shot in the West Bank by the Israeli military. Video footage and further investigation showed that neither of the teenagers posed a significant threat to the Israeli military (Guardian, 5/20/14).
While these killings were covered by many media outlets, they have not been connected with any “cycle of violence”–perhaps because that framing is usually invoked in order to justify a narrative of Israeli retaliation against Palestinians.
Or maybe because these kinds of killings are sadly all too common. According to human rights group B’Tselem, 568 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli security forces from January 2009 till the end of May 2014; 84 of those fatalities were children. Over the same time period, 38 Israelis were killed by Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Territories.
Aldo Guerrero is a FAIR intern.
You’d probably have to go back to 1948 to find the beginning of the cycle of violence.
What bothers me most is the double standard I see in the progressive media. it’s often the opposite of the mainstream media, making the Palestinians out to be the victims and Israel to be the aggressors, when anyone that follows the issue knows that there’s plenty of enough blame to go around.
The Israelis should not be faulted simply because they have better aim, which is thanks to the fact that the minds of its children don’t waste away in a madrassah.
Tell me which you’d rather be – an Arab living in Israel or a Jew living in any single one of the Arab countries? I wonder who gets better treatment?
That is sad really. The comment above that is.
‘The Israelis should not be faulted simply because they have better aim, which is thanks to the fact that the minds of its children don’t waste away in a madrassah.’
I’d say it’s more likely due to the billions of dollars of military aid the Israelis receive from the US. Twat.
Considering the issue is usually framed as Israel vs Hamas, it’s notable that, according to Human Rights Watch, it’s either “Islamic Jihad” or “ISIS” who did the kidnapping. The Hamas rockets were the response to Israel deciding to crush the Palestinians of Gaza.
First, this brings up the issue that Israel is not defending itself, it’s rather provoking Hamas, and using the response to hold Palestinians in prison longer and some say to take more natural gas. If Israel has been planning an attack on Hamas, and using the kidnapping as a pretext, it’s no more a retaliation than the Iraq war was for the US.
Second, if indeed the kidnapping was ISIS, that lends some plausibility the popular Palestinian opinion that the kidnapping was orchestrated in order to attack them. ISIS is connected to US-armed networks in countries like Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
Re: Art Glick
As Mikhail Bakunin once said, you would have to be a sophist to deny the existence of the abyss which separates these two classes today.
As has become standard when FAIR ways in on this conflict, it once again gets it wrong. The Nakba Day shooting was covered heavily, by the likes of CNN, which uncovered video of the incident (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/22/world/meast/israel-west-bank-shooting/), the NY Times, and other “corporate media.”
Re: Glick
The excuse of the “rational” military was debunked by Norman G Finkelstein in the book “Image and Reality of the Palestine Conflict.” It’s common when committing atrocities to tell yourself you aren’t a monster, you’re not enjoying the murder, simply doing what’s necessary. Frightened people are easy to fool. The technology fetish goes along with that, but it’s discussed in a certain way — to absolve Israel of crimes. Recently BBC wrote an article celebrating Israel’s “Iron Dome” defense system, while detailing explicitly the types of rockets Palestinians used. “Rockets” are on the lips of the State Department but who can name the brand of helicopters, drones, and rifles that the Israeli military uses?
@ Art Glick
” in the progressive media. it’s often the opposite of the mainstream media, making the Palestinians out to be the victims and Israel to be the aggressors, when anyone that follows the issue knows that there’s plenty of enough blame to go around.”
Yes, very true. And yes the Isreali’s should not be faulted for their “better aim” or because their childrens minds waste away in a synagogue as opposed to a madrasa or, say, one of the many private christian schools in the united states.
“progressive press has become anti-Israel and is just as biased one way as the corporate media is the other way.”
And yes, I agree with this too. Even FAIR has a particular bias and agenda that is pretty easy to see. In fact, if you head on over to FAIR’s ‘About’ page, you can read all about their bias and the agenda they peruse.
One thing though, I don’t see how the idea of “making the Palestinians out to be the victims and Israel to be the aggressors” came to your mind when you read this article? Assuming your comment is a response of some sort to this article, what, in this article, gave you the impression that Palestinians were being made the victim and Israel the aggressor?
@ Jim
“As has become standard when FAIR ways in on this conflict, it once again gets it wrong. The Nakba Day shooting was covered heavily, by the likes of CNN, which uncovered video of the incident (http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/22/world/meast/israel-west-bank-shooting/), the NY Times, and other “corporate media.” ”
As Aldo stated following the paragraph you are referring to above,
“While these killings were covered by many media outlets, they have not been connected with any “cycle of violence”–perhaps because that framing is usually invoked in order to justify a narrative of Israeli retaliation against Palestinians.”
The writing before the hyphen in the above quote is a factual claim, the writing following the hyphen is an opinion.
Makes sense?
Dear Aldo Guerrero,
Thank you for this well written and researched FAIR blog. If the attention paid to your blog by the comments do not suffice as commendation, please accept mine. I look forward to reading your future FAIR writing.
@those providing civil replies to Art Glick, thank you for taking the time and effort to do so.
To point out the obvious, if the Israelis can warn Palestinian residents which houses should be evacuated before they strike, is it asking too much for Hamas to warn the same Palestinians that they should leave town before launching the rockets that are about to put them in danger of Israeli retaliation?
That would first require a true concern for human life though.
Trouble determining when the violence cycle start?
Ask NATO (ISAF), which in 2010 infamously accused British journalist Jerome Starkey of ‘lying’ about a NATO cover-up. NATO’s Rear Adm. Greg Smith compounded the felony by accusing Jerome of having misquoted him (when he did not include the word “armed” in the following sentence: “If you have got an [armed] individual stepping out of a compound, and if your assault force is there, that is often the trigger to neutralize the individual.) and went on to add: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE FIRED UPON TO FIRE BACK [sic] …
In 2008, I interviewed the political head of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal. These are his answers to two of my questions, which I think are relevant to some of the comments here:
Q: Can you foresee a day when Muslims, Jews and Christians will live together in harmony between the Jordan and the sea? What will have to happen to make it possible?
A: That was the case in the past, and it can be so again in the future. What matters is that occupation and aggression come to an end, and the Zionist ambitions on which the Zionist movement was based. If a Muslim comes to attack me and oppress me and take away my home and my rights, I will fight him, and the same applies to Christians and Jews. We do not resist Israelis because they are Jewish, we fight them because they are occupiers.
Q: I believe that the Qur’an, like the Jewish Bible, suggests that sometimes it is legitimate, and even proper, to hate other people. Can I ask you: Do you hate the Israelis?
A: No, hatred is not mentioned in the Qur’an. You judge actions, not people, and when someone changes his behaviour, you change the way you deal with him. For me myself, as for everyone in Palestine, our hatred is for the crimes the Israelis commit against us.
In our Islamic culture, whether your neighbour is a Muslim or a Christian or a Jew, you have to treat him well, and he has a right that we call ‘the right of the neighbour’. In such a culture, Muslims and Christians and Jews in this region lived without conflict. Do not forget that Palestine is the land of messengers and messages from heaven! It has always had a genuine culture of tolerance.
This is not a Jewish problem…This is a Israeli problem headed by that angry, ruthless Prime Minister Benjamin N., who never got over his brother’s death at Entebe. As long as he is the PM there will never be any harmony in Israle. He knows that as soon as he makes peace with the Palestinians, there will be a revolt among the Israelis within the country. An enemy outside keeps the country together if not united.
Glick, put down the coffee and open a history book.
Re: Thomas Blaney
In regard to part of your post
“To point out the obvious, if the Israelis can warn Palestinian residents which houses should be evacuated before they strike, is it asking too much for Hamas to warn the same Palestinians that they should leave town before launching the rockets that are about to put them in danger of Israeli retaliation? ”
Warning Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to evacuate for their safety is a sound principle except for a major problem for them; Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have nowhere to evacuate. The land borders of the Gaza Strip are (illegally) closed off for the Palestinians to freely cross at their will by Israel and Egypt. Furthermore, the waters outside the Gaza coast and the airspace above Gaza are controlled by the Israeli military-so evacuation by hovercraft and hot air balloon are not options. Finally, the Palestinians are unable to dig evacuation holes a la Bugs Bunny and are denied the materials to build their own bombardment shelters.
Re: Art Glick
Dearest Art Glick,
You stated “Lewis-How far back did you want to go? Educate me.”
Your use of the phrase “Educate Me” implies that you may potentially take Lewis for his word, following some possible future comment of his. From my own experiences and most likely Lewis’ as well, it’s best not to take people’s ‘word for it’, especially strangers. Hence Lewis’ suggestion of opening a history book, where any decent history book has references to primary source material. But do not take my word for it.
@Art Glick
“I was speaking of the progressive press in general, which seems more and more to be carrying water for the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah, although Jim does make a good point.”
Yeah, what’s the problem with this? According to you, “there’s plenty of enough blame to go around”, and “neither side is blameless”, and “It’s all “retaliation” – on both sides, all the time”, and “Until both sides are willing to say that the violence is not justified no matter which side commits it”, yet there is a problem when Hamas get’s treated as a legitimate political actor by CNN or whatever.
What is the problem with granting Hamas legitimacy in media coverage, when, according to you, they are culpable of equal or similar crimes?
@Art Glick
“It is no more valid to blame the Israelis more in this conflict simply because they’ve inflicted higher casualties than it is to say that such higher casualties are proof that God is on their side.”
This, to me, seems a very good point. The Israeli government has superior military, political, and economic might. That’s not in dispute. The IDF can kill Palestinians civilians hundred-fold. To point out that Israeli’s military might far outclasses that of the al-Qassam Brigades, would certainly be an odd criticism. It would be like pointing out that a lion has bigger claws that a zebra does hooves and trying to make the basis for charging the lion with committing war crimes when it goes to kill the zebra. It’s not a war crime to simply possess superior military hardware. Nor is it a war crime to simply have better trained personnel than, say, some other state.
Maybe some people here might fault Israel for having “better aim” as you say, but I’m not saying that. I don’t think that’s a real criticism. A murderer is not convicted simply on the size and sophistication of the murder weapon. That makes sense.
What doesn’t make sense, and what furthermore seems something similar to a double standard to me, is your admission on the inequality of the lethality of firepower with your unwillingness to place the larger burden of accountability on Israeli’s actions. That’s what doesn’t make sense to me, and this I suspect is the root cause of your being upset at the way this article presented the conflict.
I’m not saying I’m right, or that I’m better than you or whatever. People can have prudent disagreements on matters they have given much thought and solemnity to. But this essentially was the question I was driving at. Don’t you think the Israel government has the greater burden of accountability for its actions, then does Hamas? I do. And if you don’t then that’s fine, I’m just wondering if you can elaborate on that, because it makes absolutely no sense to me.
^^
“lethality of firepower” sorry meant to say “lethal use of firepower”
From a statistical standpoint the cycle of violence starts with Hamas. Meaning looking at the time lagged correlation between israeli violence towards palestine is high after palestinian violence towards israel. While palestinian violence towards israel is nearly random and will occur regardless of what israel does or doesnt do.
@Art – “Could it be that the corporate owned mainstream “newsertainment” media is offering a more balanced view on this issue than the progressive media? That would certainly be a switch.”
That last sentence seems to (inadvertently?) be an admission that progressive media is more balanced than corporate media.
in response to your request for us to educate you, here is a good place to start. It’s a virtual day-in-the-life of Gazans, from the perspective of being under both Hamas rule and Israeli occupation. Hopefully, it will open your eyes a bit more. http://www.theguardian.com/world/blog/2012/jun/08/gaza-live-blog
If you would like, I have several more related articles.
One question about your last comment: “After so many years of Arabs trying to completely destroy Israel, you can’t be surprised that there are Jews over there now that would want to destroy any remnant of Palestine.”
What evidence can you provide to support the first part of that sentence?
One last note. Since its inception, the corporate-stream media has been pro-Israel. However, as we all know, there are always two (or three or four) sides to every story. Thus, the “progressive” media (as you term it) is not “pro-Palestine,” but rather is simply giving us another (and much-needed) side of the story; an alternative perspective to ponder.
Nicely done, Aldo!
@Art Glick
“But if you expect greater accountability and responsibility from one side, you have to think that this side is better and more responsible – somehow more human – and I’m not sure I can say this when I see the casualties.”
Hmmm, not sure where you are going with that. I don’t subscribe to the idea that some persons are inherently ‘more human’ than others. All persons should be afforded their humanity regardless of their beliefs or past actions. Even the most vile scumbag bastard on the planet still does not deserve to be treated any less then human. You can still punish people and remove the danger posed on society by their existence without resorting to dehumanizing treatment such as torture or humiliation.
However, I don’t really know what you meant by ‘better’? In what sense can one person or nation be ‘better’ than any other? The word ‘better’ doesn’t seem to mean anything. So, I’m not sure where you were headed with that.
Although I don’t expect greater accountability on Israel’s part, I do think that would be the correct thing to ask for, and to work towards if you are an activist on this issue. If for instance, I donated $10 a month to an organization working on the Palestinian cause, I would exclude any organizations that didn’t take as their agenda a demand for accountability from international mechanisms, such as, at the very least, a preliminary investigation by the ICC.
“but is that the greater accountability and responsibility of which you speak?”
In practical terms, the greater accountability I speak of would be a preliminary investigation by the ICC on the Israeli governments actions in the OPT. Such an Isaeli-focused investigation would, of course, also put Hama’s actions under the same level of scrutiny and incredulity. Although so many things would have to happen beforehand to make all that possible.
@Art Glick
Yeah, I know i missed your point entirely. That’s why I’ve been encouraging you to explain your position, because I don’t understand it. You can either accept my invitation to explain yourself, and I will give you a fair trial, or you can just talk into a mirror and bounce your opinions around in your own comments. Up to you.
“The global community expects Israel to act more responsibly than Hamas, and to do so would be to assert that the IDF is somehow better than Hamas. I’m not willing to make such assertions. Are you?”
Sure, I am willing to assert that Hamas is better than the IDF. They are better at being ineffectual, undermining their own political cause, and better at being militarily inferior. And the IDF is better at killing civilians, producing persuasive propaganda for an international audience, and pursing morally degenerate and self-destructive policies. IDF is also, incidentally, better than Hamas at garnering US support.
Lets keep it as simple as possible then. Take the following scenario: Israel bombs some building in Gaza and kills 10 people. Hamas launches a rocket and kills one Israeli. Now, who has committed the greater crime?
@ Art Glick
sorry, i’m not trying to be rude. but if you don’t want to have a dialogue with me, then just stop responding to my comments. i’m only tyring to provoke an explanation out of you, I’m not trying to personally attack you, tease you, or otherwise be mean. but if you aren’t interested in explaining or elaborating on the comments you’ve written here on this blog, then fine, you can do as you please. but i do think its still fair play to challenge you on what you’ve said.
@Sena
Ah, yes, I get it now. So, the FAIR intern decides when the ‘cycle of violence’ begins. Thanks for clearing that up.
@Art- Sorry but, “you must be joking” is not an acceptable answer. It was a legitimate question. I’ve studied this conflict for years, and I sincerely don’t recall the “many years of Arabs trying to completely destroy Israel.” So, I ask again, what evidence do you have to support that claim? Keep in mind your phrasing, “completely destroy.” That is what I’m looking for specifically. In other words, I’m trying to determine if it was simply a hyperbolic statement, or if you truly believe that because you have information (factual, mind you) that I don’t. I’d also like to get your thoughts on the article I provided.
@TeeJae
Got to throw in one more given its relevance. Hamas – the very organization that rejects cease fire agreements and continues to attack Israel in order that the world might take pity on the destruction that they’ve wreaked upon themselves is literally built upon the premise of the destruction of the State of Israel. From their preamble…
″Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it″
I think you’d have to be either considerably misinformed or uninformed to suggest, as you have, that there are not numerous forces working toward the destruction of Israel. Which is it in your case?
Stop and think how you might feel if those forces were threatening to obliterate your country. Replace your country’s name in Hamas’ preamble, and tell me how you’d feel about them then?
You have to wonder about any organization that considers it worthwhile to reject a truce and lob crude rockets on Israel. It’s not like it gains them a military advantage, as in the case of Israel’s attacks on Gaza. The aim of the rockets is only to terrorize the Israeli citizenry, and to provoke a response.
Hamas launches these rockets knowing full well that it means their continued decimation. What does that say about Hamas that they think any kind of press is worth that? Is it fair that Hamas should insist that all their neighbors share in their martyrdom?
@Art- You ask, “Why did Hamas reject the cease fire proffered by Egypt?”
C’mon. Asking Hamas to accept an agreement brokered by Israel and Egypt is like asking Israel to accept an agreement brokered by Hamas and Syria.
But for some much-needed perspective, these regional experts give a much better explanation: http://imeu.org/article/faq-on-failed-effort-to-arrange-ceasefire-between-israel-and-hamas
Israel did not attack Gaza ass retaliation act for the kidnappig. Hers the timeline:
Kidnapping-> numerous arrests in the west bank in an attempt to locate the teenagers–> rockets are fired from the Gaza strip -> Israel opens the offensive.
Its somewhat not fair not to mention the rockets that were fired before a single Israeli bomb landed in Gaza.
Hamas opened the war because its shattered economy, no money to pay for its thousands of its terrorists and other employees. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6061e232-1407-11e4-8485-00144feabdc0.html#axzz38Z8ArMog so they had intensifying the rhythm of launching rockets, knowing that only Israeli reaction will bring some Gulf state to cover their enormous debt. http://business.financialpost.com/2014/07/24/gaza-conflict-2014-economy/
@Art- Hamas’ motives for firing rockets into Israel is irrelevant to the bigger picture because (despite what the MSM would have you believe) Israel’s attacks on Gaza are NOT “retaliation.” Re-read the 3rd question in the link I gave you. That will explain Israel’s ACTUAL reasons for bombing Gaza.
@Art- And this (very eye-opening) link expands on that reasoning:
http://greenshadowcabinet.us/statements/witness-international-crime-israeli-state-terrorism-gaza
@Alex- That timeline is incorrect. Here is the ACTUAL order of events:
http://www.vox.com/cards/israel-palestine/gaza-israel-hamas-2104
And this link puts Israel’s intentions into larger context:
http://forward.com/articles/201764/how-politics-and-lies-triggered-an-unintended-war/?p=all#ixzz3757uoWOy