The Gaza Strip

A headline in today’s New York Times states: “Few in U.S. See Jazeera’s Coverage of Gaza War.” In a conflict where Western news media have been largely prevented from reporting from Gaza because of restrictions imposed by the Israeli military, Al Jazeera suddenly has had a distinct advantage—it was already there with six reporters in Gaza (two working for Al Jazeera English and four working for the much larger and more popular Arabic version of the network). Well, a valuable alternate source for news and opinion (from an Arab point of view) is now readily available to anyone at aljazeera.net.

I am very bothered by what’s happening in Gaza. It’s somewhat predictable, very troubling, yet not inevitable that the oppressed become oppressors (just as abused children often but not always become child abusers themselves—if they are unable to break the chain of violence). As Israel’s war in Gaza intensifies, it’s also not surprising to see the increased frequency of shock-value comparisons drawn in the media and the blogosphere between the plight of Gaza’s Palestinians today and the horrors experienced by Polish Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto and ensuing Holocaust nearly 70 years ago. (When) will we ever learn?

Political cartoons by Carlos Latuff.