While Josh Basson has made another case for Israel to push aggressively for negotiations with Palestinians (“True obstacles to peace,” Letters, March 25), he’s also continuing a remarkable vilification and hate campaign about them.
It’s of inflammatory words: “Savage killers” brings to mind European-British descriptions of “savage” black Africans; and our homegrown campaign of gross and ugly stereotyping (and eradication) in “taming the West” of “the noble savages” of the plains.
There is “horrific slaughter;” “what sort of human being deliberately butchers a human baby;” and “unspeakable evil.”
Is it any wonder a sizeable and vocal number of American Jews are fiercely opposed to a Palestinian state? Indeed, Jewish Israelis are more supportive of relinquishing the West Bank than American Jews.
Basson continues with linguistic fury: “Murder;” “point-blank range;” of students “gunned down;” and “the civilized mind struggling to make sense of such savagery.” He writes of Jews being described by the P.A. as “vermin,” “enemies to be destroyed” and “infidels.”
In June 2006 I was in a cab in Jerusalem; the Jewish cabbie called the Arabs “animals.” Didn’t the Nazis claim Jews, Romany and Sinti were “sub-human”? Is there any difference between the hate propaganda Mr. Basson detests and his own derision and contempt for Palestinians?
And what of the 750,000 Palestinians displaced in 1948? Will Mr. Basson speak out forcefully about their languishing in — what we euphemistically sanitize-by-name as — “refugee camps” for a mere 63 years?
What of Palestinian children and infants “killed” by missiles targeting Hamas? Are their deaths less “savage,” “toxic,” “hateful” or “violent” from an F-16 jet rather than a knife or handgun?
The settlers’ movement and their militants who wantonly murder Palestinians and destroy orchards and olive trees are the best friends Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs can hope for. And the Palestinians who “savagely” murder Israelis are the best friends the settlers movement can dream of.
So is it any wonder right-wing Israeli and settlers are enraged and infuriated over the West Bank Palestinian non-violent and civil disobedient oriented economic boycott of settler-made goods as they are about terror attacks?