ISRAEL-HAMAS SIMCHAT TORAH WAR NEWS AND DISCUSSION

[AsherO]

https://open.substack.com/pub/futureofjewish/p/uncomfortable-truths-kidnapped

What’s notably missing from this article is that the 240 figure includes an unknown amount of bodies, who were either killed on Oct. 7th or have passed away since.

[mgarfin]

I think the argument in favor of the media outlets that used the freelance reporters is

These reporters are ordinary Gaza citizens trying to make a living off freelance photography
They were tipped off that there will be photo worthy activity near the fence but have no idea what actually will happen
Once they were there they photographed everything they saw
They had no ability in stopping anything as they weren't armed and stopping hamas would result in them being injured

If this is the case, the media outlets believe that there is no moral issue purchasing images from these photographers

@CountValentine did I get it right?

[aygart]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2023/11/08/washington-post-hamas-cartoon-michael-ramirez/

This is what they consider racist. A caricature of Hanniyeh with human shields.

[mevinyavin]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2023/11/08/washington-post-hamas-cartoon-michael-ramirez/

This is what they consider racist. A caricature of Hanniyeh with human shields.

You should see the response in today's paper.

Editor’s note: As editor of the opinion section, I am
responsible for what appears in its pages and on its
screens. The section depends on my judgment. A
cartoon published by Michael Ramirez on the war in
Gaza, a cartoon whose publication I approved, was
seen by many readers as racist. This was not my
intent. I saw the drawing as a caricature of a specific
individual, the Hamas spokesperson who celebrated
the attacks on unarmed civilians in Israel.
However, the reaction to the image convinced me
that I had missed something profound, and divisive,
and I regret that. Our section is aimed at finding
commonalities, understanding the bonds that hold
us together, even in the darkest times.
In this spirit, we have taken down the drawing.
We are also publishing a selection of responses to the
caricature. And we will continue to make the section
home to a range of views and perspectives, including
ones that challenge readers. This is the spirit of
opinion journalism, to move imperfectly toward a
constructive exchange of ideas at all possible speed,
listening and learning along the way.
David Shipley, Opinion Editor

Letters from readers
The Nov. 8 editorial cartoon has been perceived as
deeply malicious and offensive by a considerable
number of readers, including me.
The caricatures employ racial stereotypes that
were offensive and disturbing. Depicting Arabs with
exaggerated features and portraying women in
derogatory, stereotypical roles perpetuates racism
and gender bias, which is wholly unacceptable.
The essence of responsible journalism lies in its
ability to give voice to those who might not have one,
to champion transparency and to promote informed
dialogue. When content is published that contradicts
these principles, it raises legitimate questions about
the editorial processes, integrity and reliability.
Hind Kamal, Fairfax
There is no topic in reporting in which word
choice is as fraught as in reporting on the Gaza Strip.
Why does The Post not subject the visual language of
its cartoons to the same scrutiny?
I am a scholar of religion and media; I recognize a
deeply racist depiction of the “heathen” and his
barbarous cruelty toward women and children when
I see it again in Michael Ramirez’s Nov. 8 editorial
cartoon. It is in no way informative, helpful or
thought-provoking to look at this conflict through
the glasses of 19th-century colonialists.
Suzanne van Geuns, Princeton, N.J.
The writer is a postdoctoral research associate
 at the Center for Culture, Society and Religion
 at Princeton University.
Michael Ramirez’s Nov. 8 editorial cartoon
depicted a Hamas representative tying women and
children to himself to use as human shields, then
blaming Israel for their deaths. Though no one
disputes that Hamas hides in civilian areas to evade
the Israeli army, this cartoon amounted to an
attempt at excusing Israeli war crimes.
Every major human rights organization has
accused Israel of committing war crimes with its
massive and indiscriminate bombing campaigns of
civilian areas. So, thousands of Palestinian children
are getting killed, not because Israel is making a
pinpointed effort to kill Hamas and failing but because
Israel is making no meaningful effort to spare civilians.
The Israeli military also has a documented
record of using Palestinian civilians as human
shields and has protested the Israeli Supreme
Court’s 2005 ban of the practice. Even after the ban,
the Israeli military still occasionally used
Palestinian children as human shields.
In light of all this, laying the deaths of Palestinian
civilians at the feet of Hamas instead of the people
actually killing them is a gross mischaracterization
of the situation.
Omar Baddar, Washington
Michael Ramirez’s Nov. 8 editorial cartoon
depicting Hamas hostages with the Hamas character
condemning Israeli attacks on civilians was full of
bias and prejudice.
Is the message meant to be that Israel is justified
in bombing civilians? And is the Palestinian flag on
one side of the cartoon meant to conflate Hamas
with all Palestinians? And is the background photo
— on the other side of the cartoon, of the Dome of the
Rock, meant to conflate Hamas ideology with Islam?
Ramirez ought to have thought about these elements
in the cartoon. They are offensive not only to
Muslims but to me and all of my Palestinian
Christian sisters and brothers.
Philip Farah, Vienna
The writer is a co-founder and board member
of the Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace.
Michael Ramirez’s Nov. 8 editorial cartoon
showing babies strapped to a Hamas leader is clearly
intended to criticize Hamas for using civilians as
cover. But Mr. Ramirez unintentionally put his finger
on the reason Israel’s response is indefensible: If
everyday police encountered a similar one-on-one
hostage situation, nobody would support a solution
that involved murdering all the children just to get
the bad guy. Instead they would negotiate, negotiate,
negotiate — and put all their effort into saving lives.
Only when Israel starts working that hard to
rescue the innocent hospital patients that Hamas is
hiding behind will it be able to claim the high ground.
Geoff Kuenning, Claremont, Calif.
I was profoundly dismayed over the blatant
mockery of human beings in the Nov. 8 editorial
cartoon. This caricature is outrageously offensive,
not only to the Arabs who are unfairly portrayed but
also to the countless innocent lives lost in the
ongoing war. It is a morally reprehensible depiction
that implies a justification for the deaths of more
than 10,000 individuals, with the overwhelming
majority being women and children. An apology, not
just to readers, but to the countless victims of Israel’s
heinous actions, is in order.
Diana Barahona, Columbia
Finally, an editorial cartoon that captured the
essence of the Hamas terrorism. Please keep it up.
Henry Romberg, Round Hill, Va.
I object in the strongest terms to the Nov. 8
editorial cartoon by Michael Ramirez. As I write,
10,000 Gazans, including more than 4,000 children,
have been killed. Based on the Israeli army’s own
count of having successfully targeted 60 Hamas
leaders, the civilian kill rate in the Gaza Strip is now
at 99.5 percent. If mere logic was what was at play,
Mr. Ramirez’s regurgitation of one of the Israeli
military’s favorite talking points could not possibly
explain how we find ourselves at such a
catastrophically skewed percentage of civilian
deaths.
But it is not just logic that is at play. It is also
morality. It is the height of irresponsibility for a
publication with the history and reach of The Post to
publish a cartoon that encourages people to
continue justifying the atrocities taking place in
Gaza 31 days into its bombardment and after an
untold amount of human suffering. To do so while
trading in the same grotesque, racist imagery that
has jeopardized Arabs’ and Muslims’ safety since the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is all the more distressing.
What is happening in Gaza, in the words of Craig
Mokhiber, a former high commissioner for human
rights with the United Nations, is a “textbook case of
genocide.” Mr. Ramirez’s rhetoric enables it.
Nora Eltahawy, San Jose
From the comments section
What a statement Michael Ramirez made in his
Nov. 8 editorial cartoon. I wonder whether he would
try to caricature the brutal killing, land
dispossession, ethnic cleansing and apartheid
oppression that Israel has perpetrated over the past
75 years and continues? Let’s see some real bravery,
not this self-indulgent, self-righteous parroting of
the Israeli government’s line and craven mainstream
media miscoverage. Yeesh. — Tru2Pow
Michael Ramirez has perfectly depicted the
question no one has been able to answer: How do
you eliminate Hamas without civilian casualties?
Hamas is getting what it wanted: martyrdom for all
its citizens, opprobrium for Israel and a new
generation of traumatized children primed to join
the cause. — roaxle
The cartoon captures that the so-called human
shields are little more than hostages. It doesn’t
matter what they think when they have no power to
change their situation.
— SmarterthantheaverageBear1
So if a mass shooter eluding police runs into your
neighborhood, you would be cool with authorities
bombing the whole neighborhood and killing
everyone to get him? I didn’t think so.
— Wheresthecenter
Hamas is not only there to kill Jews but to kill the
possibility of peace. — Al Gorhythm
Hamas does use human shields. Callously, its top
leaders tell ordinary Palestinians not to flee Gaza in
the face of bombardment while they stay well away
from the danger zone, living a prosperous life in total
safety. — GI Joanne
Yes, what Hamas did is a terrible crime against
humanity. But it seems Israel feels justified in killing
the terrorist by shooting innocents as well. How
many dead Palestinian children will it take to pay
back for the dead Israeli children? This cartoon had
no redeeming value. We all know how evil Hamas is
with its way of waging war. Israel is not doing
enough to avoid the slaughter of innocents. More
than 10,000 dead Palestinians vs. 1,400 Israelis. And
the butcher’s bill is still mounting up. And that’s not
counting the noncombat deaths that will result from
the humanitarian crisis. — Dr. Bill S
How about Hamas release the hostages and come
out with its hands up? — Atllaw
Maybe it’s not about exacting a number of dead
civilians for revenge (at least one would hope) but a
military objective of taking out a threat that has
attacked before and will attack again that’s right next
door. Hamas built a system of tunnels going into
Israel’s territory to keep repeating the attacks. Hamas
has proved its brutality and is committed to the
elimination or extermination of a Jewish state, as
echoed by America’s university activists “from the
river to the sea”; it’s their objective, and it’s written
black on white. If Israel didn’t have the Iron Dome, the
number of dead Israelis would have far outnumbered
the number of fallen Palestinians long ago. Any
government that has a sense of responsibility for the
security of its people shouldn’t stop until the threat is
eliminated. However, it should be mindful of civilians
and make every effort to minimize the deaths of the
many innocent. But the other side uses ambulances to
move military assets, and it’s built a system of human
shields to the point that any action taken against
Hamas results in the loss of innocent lives.
— Giant-slayer
The cowardice of Hamas does not diminish the
crime of choosing to bomb civilians instead of going
in and taking responsibility for who is shot.Israel
could end the bombing. It could go in and fight on
the ground. There would be more casualties to the
Israel Defense Forces, but at least they wouldn’t need
to flatten apartment buildings and refugee camps.
— Middle-aged News
If a terrorist took a family hostage, you wouldn’t
think it was okay for the police just to blow up the
crime scene. I am for peace. Hamas is not. If the
Gazans’ reaction to the action taken by Hamas on
Oct. 7 was to recognize Hamas as a terrorist
organization and do everything to turn over every
member of Hamas to a governing authority that
would try them as terrorists, then I would see that
they are working for peace. But I suspect that some
Gazans support Hamas and cheered the action taken
on Oct. 7. I don’t like the killing of civilians on either
side, but I understand why it is happening.
— Onewouldthink
I care very much about those innocent people
suffering in Gaza. Do you think Hamas cares about
the Palestinian civilians? Hamas brought this upon
them. It is hoarding fuel that can power the hospitals.
It can release the hostages and bring about a ceasefire. It can surrender and stop the war. Yet some
blame only Israel, which was attacked by a group
who slaughtered and rejoiced — and has promised to
do it over and over again. — Lets be honest
Whatever one thinks of the political point being
made, the depiction of Hamas is a grotesque racist
caricature, and anyone — sympathetic to Israel or
not — should recognize that. — DavidHK-NY

[CountValentine]

Both can be true.

Not in an EC. 🫢

[CountValentine]

@CountValentine did I get it right?

Not going to nitpick so yes.

[mgarfin]

The freelance reporter seems to be holding a grenade in this vide sec 12


https://x.com/amit_segal/status/1722548954246549974

[AsherO]

The freelance reporter seems to be holding a grenade in this vide sec 12


https://x.com/amit_segal/status/1722548954246549974

#hack, verify the facts before you post

[AsherO]

#hack, verify the facts before you post

The freelance reporter seems to be holding a grenade in this vide sec 12


https://x.com/amit_segal/status/1722548954246549974

Any context for where and when the video was recorded? Hopefully he’ll be on the growing list of dead “journalists” soon.

[sam2015]

These reporters are ordinary Gaza citizens…
They had no ability in stopping anything as they weren't armed and stopping hamas would result in them being injured…
did I get it right?

No, you didn’t. These were nothing like ‘ordinary Gaza citizens’. No one is asking why they couldn’t stop the attack, but to stay there and film?!

עָנַשׁ הַכָּתוּב לַנִּיטְפָּל לְעוֹבְרֵי עֲבֵירָה כְּעוֹבְרֵי עֲבֵירָה

[mgarfin]

Any context for where and when the video was recorded? Hopefully he’ll be on the growing list of dead “journalists” soon.

Source: his own FB page (prior to deleting it)

[yelped]

You should see the response in today's paper.

What the actual? I would never apologize for posting the truth like that, no matter how much terror supporters cry that they are being depicted in a factual manner.

[AsherO]

Source: his own FB page (prior to deleting it)

That doesn’t answer the questions:

Any context for where and when the video was recorded?

[Yehuda57]

Do any of these agencies have stated policies for accepting freelance submissions from active military personnel? Will they publish a photo taken by an active IDF soldier who was in the battle without press insignia?

[aygart]

Do any of these agencies have stated policies for accepting freelance submissions from active military personnel? Will they publish a photo taken by an active IDF soldier who was in the battle without press insignia?

It is definitely of questionable ethics but not the same as an employee. The difference is even greater when it is only a buying photos.

[AsherO]

Do any of these agencies have stated policies for accepting freelance submissions from active military personnel? Will they publish a photo taken by an active IDF soldier who was in the battle without press insignia?

Not really in their defense, but beggars can't be choosy.

[Dan]

You should see the response in today's paper.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/08/readers-response-hamas-cartoon/

[mgarfin]

https://x.com/AdinHaykin1/status/1722638728592547929

[Traveler718]

Wow, extremely powerful message from Alan Dershowitz lambasting Obama as an enemy of the Jewish people:

https://twitter.com/ReichmanShmuel/status/1722483534177116432

[yelped]

https://twitter.com/AdinHaykin1/status/1722350157470040488