Yes, pretty shocking but also totally predictable.
One thing which I noticed was that the 7 victims were initially reported as "Westerners" ... and it took a few hours before it was realised by the UK media that 3 of the victims were British. So in fact the UK media's initial strong sense of alarm was aroused by the thought of Western helpers having been killed, and therefore not specifically a "national-centric" thing as such.
I don't know if that makes it worse or better though! The brutal truth is that the Palestinians are captives in an Apartheid state, and that that IDF is profoundly incompetent, and that the State of Israel is run by incompetents who are also vicious. The IDF always goes in all guns blazing into civilian areas, and all the more so this time because of the scale of the obscenity perpetrated on 7 October (which could probably have been foreseen and certainly prevented with a less incompetent government). The IDF's utter recklessness and incompetence even led to the killing of 3 of its own hostages.
The thing about those Western aid workers, which perhaps puts a slightly different light on the story of "different ethnicities, different values for their lives", is that they were there in that terribly dangerous situation *voluntarily*. Everyone knows that none of them had to be there. Unlike the Palestinians.
Thank you Barbara for speaking with a balanced perspective showing humanity and decency on this touchy subject. As you say each life should have equal value irrespective of nationality or ethnicity.
I really hope it is a turning point & brings closer to ceasefire. Horrible tragedies. But to be honest, unless all the civilian hostages are returned (dead or alive) to Israel I cannot see the IDF ending the war.
Excellent piece, as always. What struck me yesterday was how even Biden is now threatening (albeit with caveats) to stop aiding Israel (despite having agreed to send so many millions less than a week ago). It’s awful that it’s taken this for the West to even think about making an about-face - but as you say, let’s hope this is the turning point.
Perhaps tangentially, your point on the English-language thing reminded me of something. Early on in the war I watched the start of a German news bulletin (RTL Aktuell). The lead story was about the war and the lead-in was so biased towards Israel (along the lines of “Israel fighting Hamas terrorists”). I won’t get into the whole “are they/aren’t they terrorists” because that’s not relevant. But it shows, rightly or wrongly, how dominant the Israeli narrative has historically been in the West.
Excellent piece, Barbara. The turning point of war in Gaza hinges on two important factors; the pressure on Israel from the western powers, especially USA, and the pressure from within Israel itself. The people of Israel are asking for a ceasefire and negotiations to get the hostages back home, and I hope they will also ask for stopping the genocide. I hope this last word isn't considered taboo anymore in the mainstream media; strong qualifiers of the atrocities committed by Israel's army in Gaza are long overdue. I just watched a Palestinian official being interviewed by a colleague of your's on SkyNews, your "mothership". The reporter was questioning the guest adamantly, doing her job very well. However, when a similar exchange took place a few months ago, with a government official from Israel, SkyNews backtracked badly and issued an apology while also sacking the reporter. Maybe she wasn't stacked, only kept off air, or some kind of arrangement has been worked out. I suspect everyone at SkyNews was advised to avoid making any public comments on the matter, and I don't expect you to shed light on it. I guess I just wish Al Jazeera still had a media hub in UK, and they would hire her. Anyway, SkyNews has terrific reporters, and I enjoy watching the channel, but I was rather disappointed when this episode took place.
Barbara, once again you bring a unique perspective I hadn’t thought of. Thank you for that. And you’re absolutely 100% correct. One reason I tune in to Sky is to get a *world* perspective, because what happens overseas just isn’t covered here (US).
Sure, we hear about Israel, but that’s only because there’s a sizable Jewish population here and both parties clamor for their votes. But I doubt more than 5-10% could find Ukraine on a map. Almost nobody cares what is happening to the Gazans.
So thank you again for pointing out the complete inadequacy of “the news”.
Yes, pretty shocking but also totally predictable.
One thing which I noticed was that the 7 victims were initially reported as "Westerners" ... and it took a few hours before it was realised by the UK media that 3 of the victims were British. So in fact the UK media's initial strong sense of alarm was aroused by the thought of Western helpers having been killed, and therefore not specifically a "national-centric" thing as such.
I don't know if that makes it worse or better though! The brutal truth is that the Palestinians are captives in an Apartheid state, and that that IDF is profoundly incompetent, and that the State of Israel is run by incompetents who are also vicious. The IDF always goes in all guns blazing into civilian areas, and all the more so this time because of the scale of the obscenity perpetrated on 7 October (which could probably have been foreseen and certainly prevented with a less incompetent government). The IDF's utter recklessness and incompetence even led to the killing of 3 of its own hostages.
The thing about those Western aid workers, which perhaps puts a slightly different light on the story of "different ethnicities, different values for their lives", is that they were there in that terribly dangerous situation *voluntarily*. Everyone knows that none of them had to be there. Unlike the Palestinians.
Thank you Barbara for speaking with a balanced perspective showing humanity and decency on this touchy subject. As you say each life should have equal value irrespective of nationality or ethnicity.
I really hope it is a turning point & brings closer to ceasefire. Horrible tragedies. But to be honest, unless all the civilian hostages are returned (dead or alive) to Israel I cannot see the IDF ending the war.
Excellent piece, as always. What struck me yesterday was how even Biden is now threatening (albeit with caveats) to stop aiding Israel (despite having agreed to send so many millions less than a week ago). It’s awful that it’s taken this for the West to even think about making an about-face - but as you say, let’s hope this is the turning point.
Perhaps tangentially, your point on the English-language thing reminded me of something. Early on in the war I watched the start of a German news bulletin (RTL Aktuell). The lead story was about the war and the lead-in was so biased towards Israel (along the lines of “Israel fighting Hamas terrorists”). I won’t get into the whole “are they/aren’t they terrorists” because that’s not relevant. But it shows, rightly or wrongly, how dominant the Israeli narrative has historically been in the West.
No more words about this atrocity. Only tears and anger.
Excellent piece, Barbara. The turning point of war in Gaza hinges on two important factors; the pressure on Israel from the western powers, especially USA, and the pressure from within Israel itself. The people of Israel are asking for a ceasefire and negotiations to get the hostages back home, and I hope they will also ask for stopping the genocide. I hope this last word isn't considered taboo anymore in the mainstream media; strong qualifiers of the atrocities committed by Israel's army in Gaza are long overdue. I just watched a Palestinian official being interviewed by a colleague of your's on SkyNews, your "mothership". The reporter was questioning the guest adamantly, doing her job very well. However, when a similar exchange took place a few months ago, with a government official from Israel, SkyNews backtracked badly and issued an apology while also sacking the reporter. Maybe she wasn't stacked, only kept off air, or some kind of arrangement has been worked out. I suspect everyone at SkyNews was advised to avoid making any public comments on the matter, and I don't expect you to shed light on it. I guess I just wish Al Jazeera still had a media hub in UK, and they would hire her. Anyway, SkyNews has terrific reporters, and I enjoy watching the channel, but I was rather disappointed when this episode took place.
Barbara, once again you bring a unique perspective I hadn’t thought of. Thank you for that. And you’re absolutely 100% correct. One reason I tune in to Sky is to get a *world* perspective, because what happens overseas just isn’t covered here (US).
Sure, we hear about Israel, but that’s only because there’s a sizable Jewish population here and both parties clamor for their votes. But I doubt more than 5-10% could find Ukraine on a map. Almost nobody cares what is happening to the Gazans.
So thank you again for pointing out the complete inadequacy of “the news”.