Why is propaganda so much more successful when it stirs up hatred than when it tries to stir up friendly feeling?
– Bertrand Russell
Amid the hostage and “prisoner” exchanges happening this week during a tenuous ceasefire, I have watched with joy and horror the scenes on news broadcasts of tens of thousands of Palestinians returning to the North of the Gaza Strip.
The horror, of course, resulted from witnessing the true scale of destruction that fifteen months of indiscriminate bombing by Israel had wreaked on this tiny strip of land. New aerial shots released in videos from the news channel Al Jazeera below leave one astounded that this many people survived the bombing that many describe as exceeding levels experienced in WW2 and Vietnam.
It is mind-boggling how these Palestinians, who were haphazardly and incessantly displaced for more than a year, survived the bombing, the targeted destruction of their healthcare facilities, the constant sniping by cowardly IDF soldiers, which included the targeting of children, the futile yet inhumane collusion by the entire Western world together with their biased media empires, and the depraved attempts by Israel to starve them out.
They essentially had all of the Western world’s power, influence and propaganda machinery, combined with Israel’s vengeful spite lined up against them. Yet, they displayed courage and resilience, which I had never seen or experienced before. While all that power and cruelty did result in the massacre of more than 45,000 Palestinians (estimated, and climbing as more bodies are discovered under the rubble), it exposed an injustice to a slumbering world, which will now never be forgotten.
Are my eyes deceiving me, or do the Palestinians look positively regal in their resistance, despite the hardship and torment they’re being subjected to?
There is a quote frequently misattributed to the late chef, Anthony Bourdain, posted on social media describing the Palestinian people, which is quite eloquent and speaks volumes.
Today, nearly everything is made in China. Except for courage. Courage is made in Palestine.
In stark contrast to the humility, courage, and determination of the Palestinians to cling to the land they were so unjustly robbed of, the Israelis did their claimed cause a great disservice. In fact, they have become more despised and hated even than ever before.
The various attempts by Israel to dehumanize the Palestinians were an utter failure. Their vile propaganda was so weak as to be laughable. After months of Israelis claiming that the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, were being systematically raped, starved and ill-treated, the world saw this week on live television, several hostages being released in apparently perfect health. In comparison, Palestinian prisoners being released by Israel were clearly poorly treated, some looking emaciated, with visible signs of torture.
The scenes coming out of Gaza must be a source of great humiliation for Prime Minister Netanyahu and, indeed, Israel itself. Clearly, his spiteful military retaliation achieved nothing. Tragically, it only resulted in the unnecessary deaths of many hostages, IDF soldiers and Palestinians while exposing Israel as a lying, oppressive monster.
The depths of Israel’s depravity seem to know no bounds. Even while a fragile ceasefire is in place and efforts to move humanitarian aid into Gaza are underway, their Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, made a cruel announcement just two days ago that legislation to ban UNRWA in Israel comes into effect today. This will hamper efforts to get much-needed aid to many Palestinians who are trying to return to their homes, which are now just rubble.
I perceive that Israel has no intention of upholding the ceasefire. Even Anthony Bourdain, years ago, in the Israeli-Palestine episode of his hit TV show, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, saw minimal possibility of both sides living in peace side by side.
One can be forgiven for thinking, when you see how similar they are, the two peoples, both of whom cook with pride, eat with passion, love their kids, love the land in which they live or the land they dream of returning to, who live so close, who are locked in such an intimate, if deadly embrace, might somehow, someday, figure out how to live with each other. But that would be very mushy thinking indeed. Those things, in the end, probably don’t count for much at all.
I sincerely hope we’re both wrong.
lenny unencumbered 