Haaretz: Incitement to genocide Palestinians is prevalent in Israel

Israeli journalist and author, Gideon Levy spoke in his latest article, in Haaretz newspaper about the Israeli media’s rhetoric and statements inciting genocide and starvation of the entire Palestinian people as having taken on a Nazi character.

Levy wrote, “Israeli television channels and media outlets have removed all masks and legitimized the bloodshed”.

Peretz, Saadeh, and those like them are thirsty for Arab blood, but they “want us to be silent, too”.

He pointed out that Israeli Knesset member Moshe Saadeh told the channel that he was concerned with starving the entire Palestinian people.

He quoted him as saying, “Yes, I’ll starve the people of Gaza, yes, this is our duty”.

He added that Israeli singer Kobi Peretz followed the same path when he expressed his belief that the Jews were commanded in the Torah to exterminate the Amalekites, their sworn enemy.

According to Levy, Saadeh and Peretz are two small examples, but the arena is full of such statements, and some are keen to highlight them in order to attract public opinion.

He said that if any public figure in Europe—whether a member of his country’s parliament or a singer—had made such statements, he would have been labeled a neo-Nazi, his career would have been halted, and he would have become an outcast forever.

If any public figure in Europe – whether a member of parliament or a singer – had made such statements, he would have been labeled a neo-Nazi, his career would have been halted, and he would have become an outcast forever.

However, Levy believes that Saadeh and Peretz are to be credited for dropping all masks and avoiding flowery rhetoric.

What was sometimes considered trivial talk has become the dominant language in the media, raising questions about who supports genocide and who stands against it.

The irony, according to Levy, is that both Saadeh and Peretz support the killing, while others support preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

He considers the two positions to be one and the same, “the same brutality,” even if the latter opinion is expressed in a polite manner.

Levy believes that such statements have eliminated, perhaps forever, what remains of what he calls the “camp of peace and humanity,” and have legitimized “barbarism”.

He explained that there is no longer any “allowed” or “forbidden” regarding Israel’s evil actions toward the Palestinians; it allows the killing of dozens of prisoners and the starvation of an entire people to death.

Perhaps worst of all, in Levy’s opinion, is that a “satirical and populist” outlet like Yedioth Ahronoth, which is often called “the nation’s newspaper,” attaches great importance to discussions of genocide, not only to legitimize it but also to please its readers.

It’s not just Yedioth Ahronoth and Channel 14, but all Israeli television channels that host former military leaders who incite genocide “without batting an eyelid”.

Gideon Levy concluded his fierce attack by saying that Peretz, Saadeh, and those like them are thirsty for Arab blood, but “they want us to keep quiet, too”.