News Media Ignore Israeli Terrorism

[democract]

February 2, 2004
Mazin Qumsiyeh

On Jan. 28, Israeli occupation forces killed eight (some reports said 13) Palestinians in an assault on a neighborhood in the Gaza Strip. Among those killed were three teenagers: Sami Badawi, 16; Akram AbuAjami, 17; and Sameh Toteh, 16. Like many other such assaults, the mainstream media in the United States ignored this event or made cursory mention of it. No mainstream newspaper mentioned names of those killed, let alone described the Israeli assault as terrorism.

The next day, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 10 Israelis. These and other attacks inside Israel have been described in detail in major newspapers. The media have never shied from allowing such labels as "terrorism" in those stories.

The net result is that Israeli lives and deaths become valued while Palestinian lives and deaths are diminished or erased from our conscience.

According to human rights organizations, four times more Palestinian civilians have been killed by Israeli forces as Israeli civilians killed by Palestinian forces. These same organizations (including Amnesty International, the Israeli human rights group B'tselem, and Human Rights Watch) have clearly showed in past reports that Israeli forces do target civilians. State-sponsored terror is an organic part of colonization of native lands. The Israeli colonization program, over five decades, has left 5 million Palestinians as refugees or displaced people and cornered those remaining into ghettos surrounded by high walls and watchtowers.

http://www.ctnow.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-mazin0202.artfeb02,1,351974.story

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[rockymountaindem]

1. It doesn't matter if they are teenagers.

I recently turned 17 years old, and I think that my age are fully capable of carrying a gun and shooting it at people. Even the US Army accepts 17 year old recruits with their parent's permission. I don't see how the fact that some of those killed were teenagers makes Israel look bad. That reminds me of the story of Darrel Zaneck, the Fox movie executive who lied about his age and fought in WWI at the age of 14. I'm not saying that those teenagers killed in the raid were armed, but if they were Israel was completely justified in killing them.

[democract]

2. Indeed

this article mentions 17 year-olds. But some of them are as young as six and ten, throwing rocks.

[Name removed]

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[Jim Sagle]

3. Author is described as follows:

"Mazin Qumsiyeh is an associate professor of genetics at the Yale School of Medicine and national treasurer of the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition."

Yeah, like he's objective.

[democract]

4. Who really is?

But it sure looked like a mainstream paper to me. At least it profiles the author.

His points are valid, though.

[Jim Sagle]

5. According to you. According to me, they blow.

[Name removed]

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[Jim Sagle]

7. Now I'm confused. I have a quote about Baker stealing the election,

and you're complaining? Why?

[Forkboy]

8. Why do you believe a known liar?

You complain that sources can't be trusted.Well,Baker is one of the most untrustworthy people to roam the planet.Why do you believe him over some other things?

[GabysPoppy]

9. Check out the point he is making

Baker is admitting to the theft of the election in Florida!!!!!

Are you insinuating that Baker didn't help engineer the fraud?

You are much to intelligent I thought to miss the obvious.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[Gimel]

13. Hardly missed

Yassir Arafat pontificated as did Erekat and Abu Ala about the lack of attention on the 8 Palestinians killed. A new wave of media is now under way to write reminder after reminder of the news bias.

So biased he forgot to mention that the suicide attack death toll is now 11, as a foreign worker from Ethiopia is identified. Several victims remain in hospital.

The IDF, however, killed five terrorists, a small matter when you can claim there were eight shot dead.

[corporatewhore]

15. News Media Ignore Israeli Terrorism....Well Duh!!!