This post is about Hebron. I gave 40 days of my life to the settlers of Hebron. 40 days for which I will never forgive them. Precisely now, when blood once again washes the cobblestones of those streets, now I feel compelled to write. But first, let us recall how American Jews and Israelis were enraged about media bias against Israel when they reported there was a “massacre” in Jenin. As the Electronic Intifada pointed out at the time, the true media distortion was the claim that Palestinian officials had used the word “massacre” in connection to Israeli war crimes in Jenin. Now however, before the blood had been cleaned off the streets of Hebron, the Israel Foreign Ministry’s website rushes to bring us lies and distortions about what really happened. The piece de resistance is the Ministry’s new boss who described the incident as the “Friday night massacre of worshipers.” Why does this seeming quibbling over words matter? Because the Israeli government and army have long ago given up on telling the people the truth and live in a world of spinning lies. And these lies, as Gideon Levy tells us lead to more useless death, more blood spilt. Yes Hebron always gets me brooding on death and lies. It was in Hebron, after all, that I first learned about the lies of the occupation and how the settlement movement was leading Israel and the Palestinians headlong into a never-ending bloodbath. Read James Bennet’s piece. He is far too kind to these people. I will tell you more about them in Part I.
Tags: City of the Dead, Feature, Hebron, Settlers
