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Diana Leonie

Components of a weapon

I wrote the following in November of 2012 during Operation Pillar of Defense.

When Hamas say, as they frequently do, in their absurd and violent language, we want all Jews dead, we Jews understand; after all, they only exist in the first place to hate us. To hate Israel and seek its destruction is their primary occupation, their raison d’être – their highest aspiration. It brings them status amongst like minded organizations as well as Nations with like minded ideals. Without Jews and Israel what would they be? Also, hating Israel is a lucrative business offering tremendous funding opportunities and guarantees notice from the World’s premiere  media outlets.  We hear that the top Hamas guys make a fantastic living, and at the lower echelons opportunities exist for paragliding courses, deep sea diving, trips overseas, summer camps  and other such exciting activities.

Their priorities are manifest in Gaza. It was meant to be a place to call home for the Palestinian people. Hamas use this home of their people as a launching pad to bring down destruction on Israel.  We understand that they have no limits on how to achieve their goal and innocence in the form of a child casualty can be a useful a tool to bring them support. They never weary of the formula of drawing fire to their children, making them cannon fodder, and then, finally – a photo opp.

My problem is not with understanding them. They do not pretend to be anything other than what they are, conveyors of hatred and violence, purveyors of death. It is those journalists who refuse to acknowledge that which Hamas themselves declare so loud and clear; who report the civilian deaths and destruction in Gaza as if Hamas had not set the whole scene themselves; who, through their reporting increase the sympathy and support for Hamas; who refuse to see that Hamas is sacrificing its own civilians, schools, hospitals and homes, in order to bring outrage down on Israel.

Through the combustion of distressing images and the human emotions of compassion and horror, media reports are an essential element of a Hamas weapon, they detonate an explosion of repulsion and disgust against Israel, guaranteeing Hamas will continue to exploit them.

It is patently obvious, even from a solely military perspective that it is  highly detrimental to Israel’s ability to fight when there are civilian casualties in Gaza. Always they result in pressure being brought to bear on Israel, globally, from allies and foes alike, to desist from the Operation, to settle for less than is required to bring security to Israel ; as well as causing Israel to once again be perceived as possibly the cruelest country in the world.

In contrast, every-time there are civilian casualties in Gaza, Hamas receives increased support. They tout the figures of their dead as if they are the score in a game. Hamas stock rises amongst their fellow terrorists, Politically their hand is strengthened.

Their high numbers clearly indicate a victory.

If, instead of making it so profitable for them, the media exposed this reality, questioned why civilians being killed are living by rocket launchers and other Hamas centre’s of operations, while Hamas members themselves cower safely below ground, and by doing so brought charges of cruelty to bear on Hamas for their inhumane exploitation of innocent lives, they could potentially help spare the lives of those civilians who are being prepared now, positioned now, to be in future lines of fire.

Surely, anyone who truly cares about the condition of the Palestinian civil population would want to see everything possible being done to protect them from being used as human shields. By reducing any benefit that could be extracted by their leaders from their deaths, innocent civilians would be spared a  fate where the meaning of their existence becomes to increase the Hamas fatality score.

Hamas and their followers rejoice at our civilian deaths. Hamas gains lofty praise amongst their supporters for killing Israelis. No matter if they are a child or an adult, they celebrate. And when we hear of their civilian fatalities, our hearts sink, we feel at once, the pain of the loss of an innocent life, anger at its staging, despair at the waste, as well as a bracing for the impending accusations that inevitably follow; Israel will be vilified. The deaths will be used to increase hatred for our people.

Hamas succeed to paint us with their venomous brush, as if we were like them and sought the death of innocents. By universal demand the Government of Israel will be prevented from taking the steps necessary to defend her people. Hamas will give interviews on CNN.

As long as Hamas receive such profits as these ,they will continue to exploit this avenue of terror with its lethal consequences against their own people, and, ultimately, through the fomenting of hatred, against ours. Peace, which has never been their aspiration, will be one step further away.

Those in the media who persist in reporting the civilian casualties according to the Hamas representation are not impartial journalist, they provide an incentive to Hamas, they are complicit with Hamas, they are very much an essential component of a Hamas weapon.

Today we are in  August 2014, nearly two years since I wrote the above and today I watched the report from Gaza by the journalist Sreenivasan Jain of India’s NDTV, and read the timely TOI blog  by Izzy Lemberg: Is Journalism Dead, both of which bring some light to the issue.

My thanks to the most courageous Sreenivasan Jain for demonstrating that  journalism is still breathing. The fact is, he risked his life to tell the truth and that is a very serious matter that also requires being reported about. May he be safe.

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