1/ Hebrew is deserting me. Reading about Gaza in the Hebrew media, talking to people about Gaza, I see and hear words the meaning of which I used to know, but realize that this meaning has changed utterly. It is self-defeating to write about Hebrew in English, but here goes. --->
2/ An article on , Israel's most popular news site, mentioned the "expectation that a multinational force from moderate Sunni countries will enter the Gaza strip has not materialized". Only in a parallel universe could Israel have "expected" this.ynet.com
3/ "Expectations" are not pipe dreams or escapist fantasies where a country assumes it can get aways with annhiliating a territory and a people and have someone else come and clean up the mess. The Hebrew word, "tzipiyah", no longer means what I thought it does. --->
4/ The article, written by the "journalist" (another word changed utterly) Yoav Zitun, carries numerous other egregious examples. Perhaps the most offensive ones have to do with the starvation of Gaza. Writing about Jordanian aid making its way into Gaza, Zitun says: --->
5/ "According to every monitoring system used by the Israeli security establisment, there really is no famine in Gaza. The bakeries are full and no humanitarian crisis is expected". Let us consider the word "really" (in Hebrew, "be'emet") and its use and meaning. --->
6/ Really, in the real world, there is famine in Gaza. For Zitun and for the IDF and Shin Bet, there is no famine and no humanitarian crisis. At worst, he says in the following sentence, "the economic situation is difficult". This can only be real in a fantasy world. --->
7/ In that world Israel has determined that Gazans have enough food in "bakeries" to not just prevent famine, but deny its existence. In that world Israel left Gazans with sufficient infrastructure to produce bread (Israel bombed bakeries into rubble). --->
8/ In that world children have
not died of starvation, nor have the inhumane conditions in the Gazan desolation helped spread the famine. The bakeries are full. Gazans, if they have money, can just buy bread. This is what is "really" happening inside Gaza. --->
not died of starvation, nor have the inhumane conditions in the Gazan desolation helped spread the famine. The bakeries are full. Gazans, if they have money, can just buy bread. This is what is "really" happening inside Gaza. --->
9/ The final word for today is "gratis" (in Hebrew, "hinam"). Zitun writes about Israeli frustration. Frustrated why? Because it is allowing the entry of aid into Gaza gratis, without it being part of a hostage deal. This is an admission that Israel has been starving Gaza. --->
10/ That isn't my point. For Zitun, and for official Israel, this is gratis, a perk, a win for the Gazans. When Israel lifts the starvation blockade, the aid that the Gazans get is proof of their superior deal making skills. It is a win for Hamas, this gratis aid. --->
11/ There is nothing gratis in the desolation that is Gaza. Israel is responsible for the Gazans' welfare. It is an occupying power and it the annihilating power. Israel is obligated not just to let aid through but to provide the aid itself. Nothing gratis whatsoever. --->
12/ Words lose their meaning when you are talking to yourself. Israelis are talking to themselves. We have fully dehumanized the Palestinians. We are in full denial of the world. Our words are empty. Emptiness breeds fear. Fear fuels anger. Anger isolates. We are alone.
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