Israeli journalist Gideon Levy: Israel's media diminishes the humanity of the Palestinians

A news item from Yedioth Ahronoth – Itamar Eichner

Translated by/ Jihad Abu Salim – Pal-Think for Strategic Studies

The Israelis believe that they are God's chosen people; their way of thinking is detached from reality and they accuse everyone who does not agree with them of being anti-Semitic.

The lecture was held within the events of Israeli Apartheid Week at Ireland's oldest universities. Levy was the guest of honour at the event. He spoke while standing beside the Palestinian flag.

Levy sharply criticised the Israeli media, saying that its distorted reporting attempts to lend legitimacy to the crimes against the Palestinians. Levy accused the media of pushing the army to move against the Palestinians; he said that the news described Operation Cast Lead as though it were a war, despite the absence of significant resistance on the Palestinian side, and pointed out that for every Israeli killed in the operation there were at least a hundred Palestinians.

Levy said: “The Israeli media systematically diminishes the humanity of the Palestinians year after year and decade after decade, and this represents in my view the best explanation for the strange phenomenon of Israelis living at peace with themselves”, as Levy explained.

A propaganda machine

Levy went so far in his statements as to say that the Israeli “propaganda machine” undermines and belittles any opinion opposed to Israel. He affirmed that the few groups that dare to demonstrate and take a position against the occupation and refuse to serve in the army are groups that are fought by stripping them of their legitimacy.

According to Levy, this phenomenon has led to a situation “in which 5 million Israelis are absolutely convinced that they are right and that seven billion in the world are wrong”.

The journalist Levy addressed Israel's attempt to seize the Marmara ship and the peaceful activists as a step against terrorists. He added that the circumstances surrounding the Marmara incident prove that Israel does as it pleases in international waters.

Levy also described the settlements as a crime, and said that Israel never intended to achieve peace — the proof of that being that this peace process is the longest peace process in history. He accused the government of creating justifications and casting the blame on the leaders of the other side such as Arafat and Hamas.

Addiction to occupation
Levy added that Israel's demand to be recognised as a Jewish state is a trivial and absurd demand; he said that the Israeli occupation is like an addiction, and that Israel's friends must help it to rid itself of this state of addiction.

Levy said “With the enormous and stirring upheavals in the Arab world in recent weeks .. there is finally a new spirit in the world and in the Arab world, and tyranny will not last for ever”, and he also said: “And the Israeli occupation too is one of those tyrants”

Levy concluded the lecture with the story of a Palestinian girl who was killed while sleeping in her mother's arms when a bullet struck her in her home in the city of Khan Younis.

Haaretz responded to Levy's speech by saying “he has full freedom to express his opinion, and this is what the newspaper grants its major writers”.