Words of the Week, V
More current-events items culled from the news (& the blogosphere).
From Terrence McCoy, “Why Hamas Stores Its Weapons Inside Hospitals, Mosques, and Schools,” in The Washington Post:
“During one short-lived lull in rocket fire, The Washington Post’s William Booth saw a ‘group of men’ at a mosque in northern Gaza. They said they had returned to clean up glass from shattered windows. ‘But they could be seen moving small rockets into the mosque,’ Booth wrote. He also reported that Shifa Hospital in Gaza City had ‘become a de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices.
Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Casey tweeted an image of a Hamas spokesman giving an interview at a Gaza hospital. With the shelling, ‘You have to wonder … how patients at Shifa hospital feel as Hamas uses it as a safe place to see media.’ The tweet was later deleted.”
The trend of attributing photos of the dead from Syria and elsewhere to Israel is a good metaphor for how Israel is blamed for world's sins.
— Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) July 31, 2014
#Hamas accepted a ceasefire almost indentical to what #Egypt proposed on july 15, when death count was at 200 and Gaza still had electricity
— Amir Tibon (@amirtibon) July 31, 2014
From Jane Eisner’s essay, “Convergence of Hate,” in The Forward:
“‘I’ve never been as concerned, frightened, worried and confused as this,’ the historian Deborah Lipstadt told me. ‘Maybe it’s not 1939, but it may be 1934.'”
From Rabbi Daniel M. Cohen, “The Day That Facebook Removed the Word ‘Standards’ from Its Dictionary,” in The Times of Israel:
“But when somebody posts a page entitled ‘Death to…’ Whether the page is entitled Death to Israel and Zionists or Death to Gaza and Hamas it crosses the line. It is not a page looking to have a discussion. It is not a page looking to solve issues. It is not a page that is concerned about the loss on both sides. It isn’t even a page arguing a firmly held position. No, when somebody creates a page with a title such as that, it is simply a hateful attempt to tap into the most base instincts that far too many have and to stir up those emotions. Sadly, the world knows only too well what happens when there are instigators whose message of hate arrives at the doorstep of those who are fanatical or unstable. That is the real threat of hate speech, and that is why this page crosses the line.”
From Liel Leibovitz, “Hey, Liberals Who Oppose Israel: You’re All Right-Wingers Now,” in Tablet:
“These, dear liberals, are the values you claim to espouse. Before you say one more thing about this conflict, ask yourself which side is fighting for a society most like the one in which you’re likely to want to live, and then support that side passionately and vigorously. And understand, please, that we’re at war, and that philosophical inquiries, existential ponderings, and musings about identity are all welcomed and valued in free societies, but that to entertain such soulful pursuits said free societies must first survive the attacks of their enemies. Unless you’re willing to embrace everything you claim to despise, we’d love to see you joining us in this war; Lord knows we could use all the help we can get.”
From Michael Koplow, “Dealing with the World that Is Rather than the One We Want,” on the Ottomans and Zionists blog:
“Let’s deal with the world as it is, not the world as we want it.”