Article harshly criticizes Amnesty International in Israel for its stance on Israel's actions in Gaza
Date
12/17/2024 6:14:32 AM
(MENAFN) Haneen Majadleh published an article in Haaretz on 12/12, harshly criticizing Amnesty International in Israel for its stance on Israel's actions in Gaza, arguing that the organization fails to recognize the severity of these actions, particularly labeling them as genocide. According to her, Amnesty’s Israel branch is filled with "cowards" who are afraid of public backlash, and many members have military ties that prevent them from taking a bolder stand. Majadleh contends that those without such connections can more freely call the situation in Gaza what it is: not just war crimes, but genocide. She notes that terms like "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide" have gained prominence in recent years, often linked to events like the Rwandan genocide or the wars in the former Yugoslavia. However, she points out that these terms were not used for other brutal events, such as the French colonial war in Algeria, where hundreds of thousands of Arabs were killed, or the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, which saw the deaths of nearly a million civilians. Despite this, the Gaza conflict has been labeled "genocide" by some, a term that Majadleh feels has been applied inconsistently in the media and academic discourse.
In her view, Israel itself has contributed to the distortion of historical concepts, particularly with its portrayal of the October 7 attack as a "massacre against Jews"—an act that is portrayed as part of a wider historical catastrophe. While some Zionist leaders may have aimed to displace the Palestinian people, Majadleh argues that there is no actual intention for genocide. She emphasizes that the war in Gaza, though brutal and filled with war crimes, is a conflict rooted in oppression, not in the systematic extermination of a people. The immense loss of life, particularly among civilians, is a tragedy that Majadleh believes could be further exacerbated by Israel’s refusal to engage in an honest historical reckoning with the Palestinians. To understand the nature of the violence in Gaza, she suggests that critics should watch films about past atrocities like the Vietnam War, to grasp the depth of human disregard and brutality mirrored in the actions of the Israeli military.
MENAFN17122024000045015687ID1109001468
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.