Hello my friends!
Please sit and gather round and rest your weary legs while I
recant for you another short term update! The sun is high today and warm, the
rays burning away the clouds of last night’s rain. I sit here at school with a
large turquoise binder full of articles on emotion: what are emotions?
Sympathy, anger, joy, hate, sorrow. The words deceptive in their black and
white print. The duplicit nature of some of these is the exact subject of my research
which I will write more on later. For now, let me take you back to Election
night in the States.
I am a student of diplomacy and government. What better
place is there than Tel Aviv, at the U.S. Ambassador’s election-night party?
There may have been one, but I will tell you it was hysterically stereotypical,
and a wonderful evening. There were burgers, and hot dogs, French fries, and
popcorn (not sure why popcorn but…). I went with a friend of mine and his wife,
and I bumped into a number of people who I hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a
fantastic evening. To top it off, there was a quiz on American politics. About
the procedure of the election (What’s the magic number?) and the different
presidencies. And wouldn’t you know, I actually got called on?
I don’t know enough of Teddy to say he is my president, but
he is definitely one of the more extreme presidents we have had. I mean, he
rode a moose. I think to a professor I had who was absolutely in love with Putin
and his photo shoots. I need to read up more about him, when I actually have
time to continue reading I guess. So that is my story from Election night.
To address recent issues, I feel compelled to express my
contempt at media networks. I remember High School when I had a teacher who
encouraged us to stay up to date with current affairs and understand what was
happening in the world. I made it a daily habit to read two papers every
morning in college, and to keep myself informed. I still read one paper after I
graduated (I miss the schools reading program a little), and while I have been
abroad I have been trying to stay up with CNN and BBC. I am almost tempted to
say I’d know as much if I didn’t watch than if I did, at least I’d be just as
correct.
I understand I am at the heart of an issue, and I can see
that there is Israeli propaganda just as much as there is Palestinian and Arab
propaganda. I will be the first to tell you that both sides are trying to color
the argument in their favor (and the Israeli’s are not particularly good at
it). But just watching this CNN article has eradicated my faith for the
existence any vestige of integrity or objectivity within the global media
networks.
I concede that the Israeli military is much better equipped
than their Hamas counterparts. Israel is also considerably larger than Gaza and
enjoys many benefits including a thriving economy while Gaza is both smaller
and has a much smaller economic basis. Nevertheless, they are not destitute
people universally existing in slums. Recall the recent (2010) construction of
an upscale mall in Gaza. In the current conflict, Israel can certainly appear
as a bully with its tanks and planes, and the announcer makes it abundantly
clear that Israel is superior in war making. Israel has flaunted its muscle in
the past, this is true, but there are three glaring omissions I just want to
bring a little attention to.
1) The announcer says that Hamas has XK under uniform. If I
understand correctly, Hamas doesn’t exactly have a uniform. They wear black
masks with green head bands and paramilitary getups. Terrorists don’t use
uniforms. That being said, I doubt there is a roll call of who exactly who is
and is not a Hamas fighter; therefore, how accurate can that estimation be?
2) I find it a bit surprising that the anchor doesn’t seem
to consider the fact that Hamas shoot rockets across the border as anything but
trivial, but when he expands the radius from the Qassam rockets (which he takes
the time to say is very simple to make) to the Fajr rockets supplied by Iran I
would like you to take a moment to note how much of the country then falls
within range of the missiles. From Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem and everything in
between.
3) While there are many more things I would want to point
out in disgust I just want to finish with the anchors dismissive comment on the
accuracy of the Qassam. He says that the Qassam rockets are not very accurate,
and that is certainly true. They have no guidance, but neither did Germany’s V1
or V2 rockets. I wonder if there are any elderly British who would say they
didn’t worry about them. What is so very striking is what he says next. “If you
fire enough, you don’t have to be [accurate].” My jaw dropped. It doesn’t
matter what they hit, they just want to hit something.
To make matters worse, it is not as though they are aiming
at military bases, or power stations. They are aiming at Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem, the first a major population center and the second both a population
center and a Jewish and Muslim Holy city. Israel has much superior weaponry and
has killed innocent bystanders in Gaza, which is a tragic
reality; however, the gap in death counts are not representative of an Israeli
barbaric blood thirst or Hamas’ pacificity.
With warm tidings, your Traveler
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