Really a habitual situation: Sunday evening, the news on RTL: A habitual scheme of the European press, everybody is hacking on issues like Israel.
“No wonder, if you make yourself some target like they do”, critics say.
But has Israel really made itself a target of the press? Aren’t there other states in this world bargaining wrongly, of which we know nothing?
For example, let’s take a look at Africa: There are happening genocides which have a magnitude, that can’t be compared with the aftermaths of the Near East conflict,
which are funnily enough not in our news and not criticized very often!
Israel has a much bigger problem: Now left-wing leaned groups are boycotting Israeli products! But who would boycott Somalian or Iranian products?
Recently the Iranian government took a Nobel prize for peace from an Iranian woman, who was against the regime there.
Or in Somalia where the genital mutilation of girls in puberty doesn’t end and soldiers are killing people in the name of the “state”,
Why does nobody care about the real infringements of human rights?
Of course it’s easier and more comfortable to criticize a state like Israel than like Iran,
reacting more fiercely, but this just shows the cowardice of the critic.
I think your article is a good summary of just some of all those problems.
But I don’t really think that it is “easier and more comfortable” to critize Israel than Iran. Most people are not able to speak about their real opinion regarding Iran and other countries. That’s why my opinion is that your headline descibes the problem best: “Nobody cares about anything”.
Comment by talg · 6. January 2010 @ 09:50 · Direct Reply
You cannot compare Israel and Somalia. In Somalia, you have one “bad guy”, the state, but you cannot bluntly say it’s the Israeli’s or the Palestinians’ fault. Because of that the discussion about Israel is more extreme. But you’re right: boycotting Somalian products would be wiser than the boycott of Israelian products.
Comment by ab · 19. January 2010 @ 18:05 · Direct Reply
It’s true that Israel is often criticized, but in the recent past Iran was attacked much more than Israel. And Israel wages a war, so they can’t demand approval.
Comment by Oromis · 19. January 2010 @ 18:15 · Direct Reply