It's a shame some news doesn't get reported by the liberal-oriented western media. Anyone who knows me knows I'm certainly not the biggest fan of the settler enterprise. But last night pulling out of Efrat in the West Bank just past Bethlehem, I noticed a scene I have come upon once or twice in the past. An Arab family was sitting at the gate looking on hopefully while Jewish paramedics in full settler attire (if such a thing exists) were working frantically to save a Palestinian from a neighboring village. Being that Efrat has better first response medical supplies and personnel than many of the local Palestinian villages, Palestinians in dire need come right up to the gate of this settlement for emergency care when they truly require it.
I'm sure there was no time for these 'settler' paramedics to take a security history of this dying Palestinian. He or his family could have been terrorists or terrorist sympathizers for all they knew. But a human being in need showed up in desperate shape and they treated him as any decent person would: like a human being. Race, religion or creed played no factor in their medical decisions. And if the settlers were so damn dangerous, would a whole family of Palestinians really risk coming right up to the gate of a settlement and risk getting medical treatment? Clearly they wouldn't.
The NY Times, Haaretz, and assorted European media outlets should take note: Things in the territories are rarely what they seem. Or do some members of the western media elite already know this and choose to paint a far more black and white picture of things anyway just to further a predetermined agenda? Either way, these sorts of omissions in reporting on life in the Territories is nothing short of criminal. And instead of focussing on things that bring could people together, they create an unnecessary level of distrust between people for no real reason.
P.S. Thanks to Simone for this title - she exclaimed it immediately after we witnessed the scene described above and I instantly knew it would be the title of my next blog post.
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2 comments:
You should write them a letter. Just so they know that there are other opinions out there.
I also totally agree on your last point- I feel like western news sources feel like they're doing some sort of service by representing what they perceive to be the 'underdog' side. But they're just putting words into the mouths of Palestinians and fabricating an argument without letting them speak for themselves. In turn, they're weakening the Palestinians and pissing off the Israelis instead of engendering sympathy. So basically they're accomplishing worse than nothing. Their whole view of Israelis is so dehumanizing and their view of Palestinians is condescending at best. We should all just team up against the NY Times.
Yes, the NY Times is evil ;-) well put!
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