I have removed a posting concerning claims that a Israeli soldier bragged on Instagram that he had killed a sizable number of Palestinian children. I took it down not because it was inflammatory, but because it was insufficiently vetted and does not appear to be correct. I did so after being criticized by someone I very much respect and with whom I agree on many issues, @Steven Reisner . One of the things that I have learned about Steven over the years of struggle against mental health professionals’ involvement in torture is that he can stare evil in the eyes, recognize it as I do, but remain calmer than I do. I recommend befriending him on Facebook in order to get some excellent post concerning social justice you will not otherwise receive. If you go to his Facebook wall, you can see, for instance, good arguments and evidence that the Israeli government deliberately withheld information that Hamas was not involved in the killing of three Israeli teenagers, setting the stage for what followed. Steven counters a small bit of the misinformation available in the dominant media, as does the post from Israel’s oldest daily newspaper to which this comment is attached. It should go without saying, but is often forgotten that we are subject to miss information from both sides of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict, but the ability of one side to get their misrepresentations into the major media is lopsided. I have been criticized for presenting a lopsided portrayal of unfolding events in the Middle East. When I fail to vet something sufficiently like the post I took down, I will self correct. However, I am wary of admonishments to remain civil, noninflamatory, and open to dialogue, when the sources insist, but do not reveal that their conditions are (1) not to challenge the illegality of the occupation and the blockade (2) to reject the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to resist occupation and blockade. (3) acceptance of disproportionate response and justification for killing such large numbers of women, children and other noncombatants. Adherence to these restrictions is simply bowing to Orwellian conditions of discussion.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 14:21:31 +0000
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