"U.S. media are generally brave, except where Israel is concerned. So =
are members of Congress. So is the presidency. And the rest of us? =
Almost everyone is afraid to criticize Israel, no matter how barbaric =
its behavior."
Alison Weir, a California journalist and activist who chronicles the =
bias in U.S. media coverage of Middle East events, bestirred many =
Americans-perhaps many thousands-in early October with a powerful, =
chilling Internet account of the largely unre****ted murder of a =
Palestinian mother of 11 children by Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
Itemad Ismail Abu Mo'ammar was fatally shot while trying to rescue her =
deaf husband from a severe beating by Israeli soldiers, who were furious =
because he did not answer their questions.
Weir wrote:
"Foolishly or valiantly, how is one to say, the 35-year-old woman =
interfered. She tried to explain that her husband was deaf and couldn't =
hear their questions. Then she attempted to stop them from hitting him. =
So they shot her. Several times. She didn't die, though. That took =
longer, because the soldiers refused to allow an ambulance to trans****t =
her to a physician. Finally, after approximately five hours, one was =
permitted to take her to a hospital where physicians were able to render =
one service: pronounce her dead. Why did this all happen? The family =
lived behind the residence of a resistance fighter wanted by Israel. The =
death of Itemad was simply 'collateral damage' in a failed Israeli =
assassination-kidnapping operation."
Weir searched major U.S. media-broadcast and print-from coast to coast, =
and found Itemad's death re****ted in only three newspapers, a =
single-sentence notice in each. One of the three, The Wa****ngton Post, =
re****ted inaccurately that the woman was killed by an Israeli tank =
round. After exchanging messages with Weir, the Post cleared for =
publication her letter that explained that multiple bullets, fired close =
up-not a tank round-were the cause of death. But the Post reneged. The =
letter was not published. Why? Weir's explanation: "After all, these =
were only Palestinians, and it was just another mother dead."
Ponder the "why" of the shooting. Although the distraught woman =
struggled to get the armed soldiers to stop beating her deaf husband, =
she surely posed no physical threat to them. Even if they did not =
understand what she said, she was, at worst, an inconvenience, hardly =
deserving to be shot.
Now consider the "why" of the aftermath. Were the hearts of the Israeli =
squad so hardened that they could not act with compassion as the husband =
and children watched helplessly through unavailing tears as the woman =
bled to death? Why did they want her dead?
This Gaza atrocity is not an isolated aberration. Israeli brutality is =
commonplace, and so is American silence in response. What transformed =
the soldiers, their military superiors, as well as the civilian leaders =
of the Israeli government into callous brutes? Is the whole Israeli =
governmental system so corrupted with anti-Arab passion that mercy for a =
dying mother is nowhere to be found?
Other questions beg answers. Will the killers be punished or even =
rebuked? Will messages of regret, consolation, and-yes-compensation be =
sent to the survivors? Sadly, I know from the wells of memory the answer =
to these two questions is no.
Such messages should come from Wa****ngton, not just from Israel, as the =
guns and bullets used in the killing were almost certainly gifts of the =
U.S. government. Will the U.S. ambassador deliver messages to the =
aggrieved, as well as a threatening protest to Israeli officials, =
demanding an end to the brutal treatment of innocent people? Here again, =
the answer is no.
Why the cover-up in major U.S. media? The awful cir***stances of =
Itemad's death were not re****ted, because major media are afraid-yes, =
afraid-to feature Israeli criminal behavior. Israel's influence is =
suffocating. Imagine the intense, sustained coverage that would have =
dominated major media if the roles in Gaza had been reversed, with a =
dying Israeli woman denied medical service for hours by Palestinians who =
had shot her at close range for no good reason.
U.S. media are generally brave, except where Israel is concerned. So are =
members of Congress. So is the presidency. And the rest of us? Almost =
everyone is afraid to criticize Israel, no matter how barbaric its =
behavior.
U.S. silence in the face of an Israeli atrocity is a green light to more =
crime. If we look at our own hands, we may find a trace of Itemad's =
blood right there in plain sight.
- Source: mediamonitors.net, 7/2/2007.
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