Expert: Le Anne Clausen - 1/14/2009

Question
Hi-

I am puzzled at Israel not being able to win the publicity or perhaps one could call it the propaganda battle. It seems that most nations are against Israel. Even if Israel defeats Hamas militarily, they will probably lose the propaganda war. The debate usually goes this way: Israel is responding militarily to the Hamas rockets. They have a right to defend themselves. (I agree.) The Hamas rockets and most negative opinion is in response to "the treatment of the Palestinians." The latter would include: detainment of thousands of Palestinian prisoners without a fair trial, "the continued Israeli occupation, which culminates in punishing a whole population and forcing them into inhumane circumstances," "Palestinian workers in Israel have been facing economic hardship and a deterioration in living conditions as a result of the Israeli policy of closure and which denies them access to work in Israel," and a number of other charges.(I am quoting from internet sources.) Although I am suspicious of these charges, I rarely hear them answered. What is the truth about Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, and why can't that truth be broadcast widely? For instance Israel could hold a special press week, inviting all the world press (CNN, CBS, AlJazeera, etc.) to the Palestinian territories, and thereby show the world once and for all what the situation really is. What's your opinion? Thank you!  

Answer
Greetings David, and thanks for your question.  As a human rights worker who lived in this area for four years, the simplest way I can put it is that these charges are true, as attested to by dozens of human rights agencies, including Israeli-led human rights agencies (such as B'Tselem, the Rabbis for Human Rights, and the Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolitions).  It would probably be rather embarrassing for Israel to answer these charges, so they feel it is better to ignore them.

In the current Gaza crisis, Israel is responding militarily to Hamas rockets, which is allowable under international human rights law; but they are choosing not to take adequate precautions to protect the civilian population from harm in their military strategy, and as the UNRWA, Human Rights Watch, and the above-mentioned Israeli agencies have reported this week, Palestinian civilians, including many women and children, have borne the brunt of the deaths and injuries.  The civilian population has also not been given the option of leaving the area of fighting, because the borders are closed.  There is also the need to respond to the threat proportionately; if only a dozen Israeli soldiers and civilians have been harmed or killed in this crisis, there's no reason the Israeli military should have killed over a thousand Palestinians.

So, these are the primary concerns, and you may be interested in looking at the websites of the agencies I've mentioned above for more information.  I hope this helps!

peace,

Le Anne