By Ranjona Banerji
There is a conversation on how the Western media has exposed its biases terribly clearly with Israel’s attacks on Gaza and on Palestinians.
Like this headline and the rest of the article from the most venerable journal, The Economist:
“Israel faces agonizing choices”.
Really?
So far, there has been so sign that the Israeli government is remotely agonized by the obliteration of neighbourhoods in Gaza and the increasing death toll.
The only agony was a reaction to the terrible October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
Since then, it is Palestinians who have been in agony and it is agonizing for all those in the world who believe that Israel’s response to the Hamas attack has been brutal and gone on for too long.
In this, you can include most members of the United Nations, several Jewish organisations calling for peace, many Jewish intellectuals and all humanitarian agencies.
What you cannot include are the most powerful Western democracies and the bulk of the Western media.
They remain in that extremely clever mode where human death and suffering are couched in strictly military, tactical terms. This dehumanization makes words and opinions sound more palatable.
And sentences like this: “For as long as Hamas is in power, Israelis will not feel secure.”
Flip the words and another truth emerges: As long as Israel continues with its assault on Gaza, Palestinians will not feel secure.
But you cannot say that. The lives of Israelis are more important.
This Economist analysis also tells you that this a “harsh truth”, that the people of Gaza has to live – or right now, die – with: that it’s practically their fault that Hamas attacked Israel.
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/10/29/israel-faces-agonising-choices-in-the-battle-for-gaza?utm_campaign=a.the-economist-sunday-today&utm_medium=email.internal-newsletter.np&utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud&utm_term=10/29/2023&utm_id=1804180
Interestingly, the Israeli newspaper The Haaretz has been more consistent in calling out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his various failures, especially with regard to this “war”. Or rather, demanding his resignation for a huge list of his failures, including his cosying up to Hamas and ignoring warnings of a Hamas attack.
However, it is only from a few individual columnists that the plight of the Palestinians is highlighted.
The Economist is one of many Western well-respected journals and television news channels which have taken sides, and notably the side of the oppressor. Their language has been different for Israeli casualties and Palestinian casualties. Israelis have been “killed” by Hamas, but Palestinians have just sort of mysteriously died in massive numbers. An attack on a rave party in Israel caused tremendous pain in the West. But attacks on hospitals in Gaza caused scarcely a tear.
This is how the media can consistently toe a political line to dehumanize sections of people. We have seen it in India in recent times. And of course, in those agonizing circles of irony, it was the Nazi propaganda machine which perfected this vile device to dehumanize Jews in the 1930s.
In the midst of these despicable double standards from the cream of the Western media, the satirical website The Onion manages to hit the spot on the double standards and lies of the West:
As for our Indian TV stars, are they still romping about Israeli suburbs in their camouflage vests? I heard a rumour that they’re now romping about their own studios in their camouflage vests?
*
Back in India, the morning of October 31 began with the news that a few opposition politicians – especially those most vocal in their criticism of the BJP and its governments – received a message from Apple that their Iphones may have been infiltrated by state-sponsored snooping. “State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iphone” read the messages.
Mahua Moitra (TMC), Priyanka Chaturvedi (SS-Uddhav), Sitaram Yechury (CPM), Akhilesh Yadav (SP), Raghav Chaddha (AAP), Pawan Khera (INC), Siddharth Vardajaran of The Wire are some of the people who have received this message. The list appears to be growing as I write this.
https://thewire.in/rights/apple-india-state-sponsored-spyware
The dangers are self-evident. As is the strategy of a regime which tolerates no criticism and no dissent. And is blessed by a largely captive media which capitulates even while performing in a camouflage vest.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.