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Living And Dying In The West Bank
2 months ago
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/86.....ther-territory
This episode of the always excellent and thoughtful This American Life gives an intimate look into what Israel is doing to Palestinians, and is really important. I would strongly encourage everybody to listen to it.
This episode of the always excellent and thoughtful This American Life gives an intimate look into what Israel is doing to Palestinians, and is really important. I would strongly encourage everybody to listen to it.
Normally, I avoid narrativized journalism, but these insights into
the terrible extremes of life on the West Bank are conveyed
without much sugar or spice, and the interviews and events
speak for themselves.
It takes me back to all the times when various pro-Israel pundits
dismissed the idea of making a hostage exchange deal with Hamas
because Israel would have to release "thousands of convicted terrorists",
meaning all of the Palestinians held in Israeli detention system.
Walid Khaled Abdullah Ahmad's story is a grim illustration
to the kind of "terrorists" are being held there.
Looking up that victim of Israeli prisons,
I've found another Walid
who had died under similar conditions and circumstances.
A very hollow feeling after stories like that,
knowing how many more of them are being written
every day.
I nreally appreciate that you took the time to listen to this. Very few if any other people will.
from absorbing endless streams of information
are my poor eyesight and executive dysfunction.
Your journals are often very thoroughly researched and contextualized,
or they promote overlooked pieces of exceptional journalism and art,
and deserve so much more attention and response,
but digital popularity is a sea of chaos,
there are fantastic artists who languish in obscurity
after a decade of sharing stellar creations,
and non-entertainment materials
are even less inherently appealing.
A thankless job, even if valuable, commendable and necessary.
From the other hand, here in Poland I meet a lot of people who just sympathize with Palestinians from the simply humanitarian point of view, which lightens my heart. But equally numerous are real antisemites who don't really care for Palestinians but rather use their situation to fuel their anti-jewish views. We are not directly affected by it, bombs aren't falling upon our heads, our relatives aren't murdered. I can understand that an Israeli whose family was killed by Hamas can be blinded by hatred, not accepting the fact that Israel and sionists were the ones who untangled this hell. I can understand equally how a Palestinian whose whole family has been slaughtered by Israelis can feel deep hate towards Jews in general. But why the hell here in Poland are so many people who are either completely pro-Israeli and pro-genocide or "pro-Palestinian" with antisemitic twist, without any rational approach, it's beyond me...
Israel has a well financed industry whose job it is to spread that sort of hasbara. It's such obviously laughable propaganda as often as not.
Israel's actions are increasing real antisemitism around the world, and they're increasingly making themselves a pariah state. They're their own worst enemy.
You may enjoy this:
https://www.youtube.com/@Badhasbara