More Media

We're in the same boat. The Israelis and the Palestinians, both trying to win over world opinion, both failing miserably, both certain that everyone is against them, and both probably right to think so.
See, because Israelis are monsters. Palestinians are sub-human.

Israelis are racist monsters who want nothing other than to terrorize, occupy and kill anyone who isn't Jewish. Almost like Nazi Germany. Our goal is to take over the world by means of war and violence. Our policies are based on racism and discrimination and religion. This is what the world is seeing, and this is what our PR is trying to fix. (I'm only half exaggerating, by the way - I wouldn't be surprised if people actually felt this way. I mean, I feel this way about extreme Islamic organizations, so it's possible for a person to believe that this is true.) So Israel realized this and started working on improving our image in the eyes of the world. I believe we're doing a good job so far, judging by the support we seem to be getting from various world leaders.

Palestinians are sub-human, lead by a leadership that they are incapable of fighting against. They cannot 'show restraint,' or at least nobody expects them to. They are victims unable to fend for themselves, their world views are primitive. I have seen many leaders call on Israel to stop the fighting, but when addressing Hamas they do so in third person, as if not expecting them to really hear. And the Palestinians need to fight this image if they want respect from world leaders. Palestinians from Gaza need to write letters defending their cause, or at the very least make noise when they see that Hamas is using obvious lies in the media.
I'll give an example - when the three boys were kidnapped, there was a photo going viral of an Israeli soldier smiling next to two Palestinian prisoners. The photo claimed to be of one of the boys - one who is 16 years old, and definitly not a soldier. So on one of the Gaza Facebook pages someone had commented on the photo "This photo is not the kidnapped boy. If you respect youselves, remove this photo. Your cause is just, you don't need to lie," and yet the photo was never removed. The feeling I get from that is that there is no one to talk to on the Palestinian side. That I cannot have an intelligent conversation with a Palestinian. So I'm waiting for them to fight this image and to convince me that they are worthy humans with whom I can negotiate.
I guess part if me just wishes that instead of trying to foil Israel's PR efforts, the Palestinians would put the same efforts into making themselves look good, too. Israel has been fighting a media war and so far it is winning, it just doesn't seem right that the Palestinians are so far behind.

Media

So I came across this article on al-Jazeera:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/07/israel-media-strategy-2014716114935957662.html

In short, the author believes that Israel aims to use lies and deceit in order to promote its cause. At first it bothered me, but then I thought, isn't that what media is all about? Choosing the right words in order to convince your audience? So the author pointed this out, but really he wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know.

In the same context, I saw an article about the things that Hamas has told its activists to tell the media (I can't find the article now, but it said something about telling the world that all the people who were hurt are innocent civilians). So wait, are they lying? Or is this really what media is all about?

Sometimes I want to point out a news site that is obviously biased in some direction, but then I have to draw a line - because there is a difference between 'choosing your words' and actually lying. But then I realise that the difference is so subtle that I'm not sure that anyone can find it.

So eventually I reached one conclusion. Realise that there is no way to make writing objective.

So when you read, don't expect that you'll be receiving any perfect truth, and when you write, be sure that you are being honest with yourself and choosing words that best fit what you are trying to say. The reader will then decide if he wants to listen. That's all.

I'm so proud to be Israeli right now. Not from a political perspective - but just because of the people that this society is made of.

So many people with so many different opinions, but who don't try to paint a black and white picture. People who are sensitive and respectful and don't try to sound harsh and make grandiose statements, people who just say what they think from the heart, from a place that's so human.

I dunno, maybe it's just my friends (the ones I'm seeing on my Newsfeed), and all the other people really are extreme, but I don't care - I think my newsfeed represents many people in the Israeli society, and I like what I see.

That's why I share posts. Because I want the world to see what I see.

Lots of amazing humans.

People Are Awsome

There have been so many interesting projects starting up these past few weeks - Israelis trying to show support for one another. I'm constantly impressed by the creative ideas that people have.
Here's one I'd like to join -

http://unityquilts.blogspot.co.il/

Calling Out

We're all calling out - against violence, in favor of revenge, in favor of a two state solution, against settlements, in favor of justice, against murder, against radicals, against occuppation, in favor of annexation, against demonstrations, against media...

I have a call - I'm against interruption. Seriously, stop interrupting each other all the time.

I do it a lot - and only notice it some of the time. And I can't help but notice it on the news - there are all these interviews with politicians and public speakers, but it just looks like the interviewer is only there to be heard and doesn't really give a shit about what the person being interviewd is trying to say. Which kind of defeats the purpose of the interview. Nobody can finish a sentence! And I'm thinking, maybe if you stop and listen, and respond to what the other person is saying instead of what you think they're saying or what you want them to be saying, you might realise that we're all more alike than we think.

Just listen. Ask questions in order to hear an answer. It doesn't even hurt that much.

Galgalatz

Man, the music choices today... Every song makes me cry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrXfGxng89k

The boys have been found - their bodies were discovered under a pile of rocks just south of the junction where they were kidnapped.

This is what terror is all about. This wasn't an attempt to negotiate a prisoner exchange, it was a murder for the sake of murder.

The Palestinians were using the hashtag #BringBackOurBoys before the Israelis were - the hashtag is meant to raise awareness for Palestinian children imprisoned in Israeli prisons. Dozens of them, maybe hundreds, I don't know. Israelis adopted the hashtag two weeks ago - the world needs to see that we want our kidnapped boys home, too. But the difference is that a prisoner only becomes a prisoner if he is arrested, and is only arrested if he is suspect of committing a crime. Terror is about harming people who are simply present at the wrong place at the wrong time. It's about not feeling safe, no matter where you are.

Israel went through that recently, during the second intifada. I was too young to really be affected - it started when I was ten years old, I think I didn't completely grasp the situation. But now? What will I do in an intifada now? There's nothing you can do to ensure your own safety. It's not like you can say you'll just mind your own business and no one will bother you, because your own business is exactly where terror affects you. If we go back to that, and unfortunately I feel like eventually we will, every Israeli will have to be scared of taking a bus or eating at a restaurant, because you never know if it might just blow up and be tomorrow's news.

Why Kidnapping? Post from last week.

It's a big mistake, opening Facebook. Especially during school. Especially when there are hot political debates going on.

It's so distracting... While you're on, and also once you've closed the window, but you're still thinking about the things that you read.

I can't bring myself to respond to people's statuses because I know that then I'll piss people off even more, and get picked apart by anyone who disagrees, or maybe even agrees, with that I say. I'm scared. Actually, it might be a good exercise -- when people criticise your writing, you learn how to write better. Maybe I should try it. Anyway, for now I prefer to stick to my quiet little blog.

One status I read stated the following: kidnapping is horrible, and the writer's heart goes out to the families whose sons are missing. However, for Palestinians, kidnapping is understandable. And people who live in settlements are aware of the danger. They live there anyway out of religious ideals, and therefore should must suffer the consequences.

At first I was disgusted. Then I took a breath and read it again. I realised that I agree with almost everything that was written:

- Kidnapping is indeed horrible. Nobody deserves to have their children disappear on their way home from school. (I don't think this point needs further explanation. In general, I think most people would agree that the only time it is legitimate to take someones child from them by force is if the parent is abusing the child, and even that's a difficult subject.)

- For Palestinians, kidnapping is understandable. *I'll add that there is a clear difference between saying the a deed is "understandable" and justifying it. Many things are understandable even though they are clearly not OK. I do not intend to justify a kidnapping.*
One of the things that the Palestinians suffer from most is the daily arrests. Nearly every night, the IDF raids villages and refugee camps and arrests people who take part in supporting terror. These are generally people who coordinate transfers of weapons and funds intended for acts of terror. Sometimes they've even taken an active part in planning an attack that has been carried out -- which means that they have blood on their hands. Some of these people are released soon after, some are detained and questioned and then released, some are detained until they can have legal support and are then tried and, if found guilty, sentenced to prison (for varying amounts of time - naturally depending on their crime).
The problem arises when the IDF knows that someone is guilty, but the proof is only found in classified information. Meaning that in order to take the suspect to court, the IDF risks losing a source. This has two main results: the first is the danger to the source's safety - if your source is a person who lives in one of these villages and the person is exposed as sharing information with the IDF, he will be in danger - either the PA will choose to arrest him, or fellow villagers will be after his life; the second is, obviously, the fact that this source can no longer be used to obtain information. So the suspect arrested by the IDF stays in some sort of detainment, and since Israel has been known to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in exchange for a single abducted soldier, it is understandable that a Palestinian will believe that kidnapping Israelis will assist in bringing Palestinians back to their homes.

- People living in the settlements are aware of the danger. This is true. There have been several periods of time in the last 40-or-so years when there has been tension between Israelis and Palestinians (by tension I mean violence), and during these times the chances of an Israeli being harmed was higher if the Israeli lived in an area surrounded by Palestinian villages, rather than Israeli cities. However, the area where the kidnapping took place has been calm and quiet in the last few years, and more specifically - most people who hitchhike do not get kidnapped. In fact, a person is much more likely to be sexually harassed or get hurt in a car accident, but such things have little to do with where you live and more to do with the fact that there are still idiots out there who think it's ok to drink and drive, no matter where you are in the world. So residents may be aware of the danger, but it's not imminent danger so I don't see it as a consequence to living where they choose to live.

- They live there anyway out of religious ideals. Only partially true, and this is what really bothers me. There is a religious concept that says that the land of Israel belongs to the Jews, and it is our right to live in it. But most people don't live there for that reason. Most people live in West Bank settlements because the area is beautiful, the communities are warm and welcoming, and houses are relatively inexpensive - one can live in a big, beautiful house on a lovely quite street, just a half-hour drive from the major cities (no traffic), for the price of a tiny apartment in Tel Aviv. It's impossible to walk around Talmon and not fall in love with the place. So I have a problem with calling settlers "selfish people of religion," it's just too ignorant.