{"id":29409,"date":"2023-10-27T12:38:29","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T19:38:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=29409"},"modified":"2023-10-27T12:38:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T19:38:30","slug":"human-animals-the-sordid-language-behind-israels-genocide-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/10\/27\/human-animals-the-sordid-language-behind-israels-genocide-in-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Human Animals\u2019: The Sordid Language Behind Israel\u2019s Genocide in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Israeli<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who called Palestinians \u201chuman animals,\u201d (L) stand side by side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)\/Handout\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post-October 7 vocabulary used by Israelis, but also many Americans, created the atmosphere necessary for the savage Israeli response which followed.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

RAMZY BAROUD<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 26, 2023 Common Dreams<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(Tutsis) are cockroaches. We will kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arabs are like \u201cdrugged cockroaches in a bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first quote was a line repeated frequently by the Radio T\u00e9l\u00e9vision Libre des Mille Collines<\/em>, a Rwandan radio station, which is largely blamed for inciting hatred towards the Tutsi people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second is by former Israeli army Chief-of-Staff Gen. Rafael Eitan in 1983, speaking<\/a> at an Israeli parliament\u2019s committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rwanda\u2019s hate-filled radio station operated<\/a> for only one year (1993-94), yet the outcome of its incitement resulted in one of the saddest and most tragic episodes in modern human history: the genocide of the Tutsis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compare \u201cRadio Genocide\u201d to the massive Israeli-U.S.-Western propaganda, dehumanizing Palestinians almost with identical language to that used by Hutus\u2019 media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Israel\u2019s top political authorities have already declared that all Palestinians are collectively responsible for the October 7 events, this means that all Palestinians are, per Gallant\u2019s assessment, \u201chuman animals,\u201d deserving no mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many seem to forget that, long before the Gaza war on October 7, and even long before the establishment of Israel itself in 1948, the Zionist-Israeli discourse has always been that of racism, dehumanization, erasure and, at times, outright genocide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If one is to randomly select any period of Israeli history to examine the political discourse emanating from Israeli officials, institutions and even intellectuals, one is to draw the same conclusion: Israel has always built a narrative of incitement and hatred, thus making a constant case for the genocide of Palestinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only recently, this genocidal intent is becoming obvious to many people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is… a risk of genocide against the Palestinian People,\u201d the U.N. experts said<\/a> in a statement on October 19. But this \u201crisk of genocide\u201d is not born out of recent events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, effective political or military actions anywhere in the world hardly take place without an edifice of text and language that facilitates, rationalizes, and justifies those actions. Israel\u2019s perception of Palestinians is a perfect illustration of this claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the establishment of Israel, Zionists denied the very existence of the Palestinians. Many still do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When that is the case, it becomes only logical to draw a conclusion that Israel, in its own collective mind, cannot be morally culpable of killing those who have never existed in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even when Palestinians factor into the Israeli political discourse, they become \u201cbloodthirsty animals<\/a>,\u201d \u201cterrorists,\u201d or \u201cdrugged cockroaches<\/a> in a bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be too convenient to label this as just \u201cracist.\u201d Though racism is at work here, this sense of racial supremacy does not exist to merely maintain a sociopolitical order, in which Israelis are masters and Palestinians are serfs. It is far more complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As soon as Palestinian fighters from Gaza crossed<\/a> into the southern border of Israel, killing hundreds, not a single Israeli politician, analyst, or mainstream intellectual seemed interested in the context of the daring act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post-October 7 language used by Israelis, but also many Americans, created the atmosphere necessary for the savage Israeli response which followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of Palestinians killed in the first eight days of the Israeli war against Gaza has reportedly exceeded the number of casualties who were killed during the longest and most destructive Israeli war on the strip, dubbed \u201cProtective Edge,\u201d in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The Defense for Children International\u2013Palestine, a Palestinian child is killed<\/a> every 15 minutes, and, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, over 70%<\/a> of all of Gaza\u2019s casualties are women and children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Israel, none of these facts matter. In the mind<\/a> of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, often perceived as a \u201cmoderate,\u201d the \u201crhetoric about civilians not (being) involved (is) absolutely not true.\u201d They are legitimate targets, simply because they \u201ccould\u2019ve risen up, they could have fought against that evil regime,\u201d he said, referring to Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, \u201cIt is an entire nation out there that is responsible,\u201d according to Herzog, who promised payback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ariel Kallner, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party, explained<\/a> Israel\u2019s goal behind the Gaza war. \u201cRight now, one goal: Nakba! A Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of 1948,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same sentiment was conveyed<\/a> by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the man responsible for translating Israel\u2019s declaration of war into an action plan: \u201cWe are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly,\u201d he said on October 9. \u201cAccordingly,\u201d here, meant that \u201cthere will be no electricity, no food, no fuel. Everything is closed.\u201d And, of course, thousands of dead civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Israel\u2019s top political authorities have already declared that all Palestinians are collectively responsible for the October 7 events, this means that all Palestinians are, per Gallant\u2019s assessment<\/a>, \u201chuman animals,\u201d deserving no mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expectedly, Israel\u2019s supporters in the U.S. and other Western countries joined the chorus, also using the most violent and dehumanizing language, thus cementing mainstream Israeli political discourse among ordinary people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. presidential hopeful Nikki Haley told<\/a>Fox News<\/em> on October 10 that the Hamas attack was not just on Israel but \u201cis an attack on America.\u201d It was then that she made her sinister declaration, while looking directly at the camera, \u201cNetanyahu, finish them, finish them… finish them!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though U.S. President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not use the exact same words, they both made comparisons<\/a> between the October 7 events and the terrorist attacks of 9\/11. The meaning<\/a> behind this requires no elaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For his part, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham rallied<\/a> American conservative and religious supporters, declaring on October 11, also on Fox News<\/em>, \u201cWe are in a religious war here… Do whatever the hell you have to do… Level the place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much more, equally sinister language was\u2014and continues\u2014to be uttered. The outcome is being broadcast around the clock. Israel is \u201cfinishing off\u201d the Gaza civilian population, it is \u201cleveling\u201d thousands of homes, mosques, hospitals, churches, and schools. Indeed, it is producing another painful episode of the Nakba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Golda Meir\u2019s \u201cPalestinians did not exist\u201d ( 1969<\/a>) to Menachem Begin\u2019s Palestinians are \u201cbeasts walking on two legs\u201d (1982<\/a>), to Eli Ben Dahan\u2019s \u201cPalestinians are like animals, they aren\u2019t human\u201d (2013<\/a>), to numerous other racist and dehumanizing references, the Zionist discourse remains unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, it is all coming together, the language and the action are in perfect alignment. Perhaps, it is time to start paying attention to how Israel\u2019s genocidal language is translated to an actual genocide on the ground. Sadly, for thousands of Palestinian civilians, this awareness is simply too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RAMZY BAROUD<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of the Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books including: “These Chains Will Be Broken: Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons” (2019), “My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story” (2010) and “The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People’s Struggle” (2006). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Istanbul Zaim University (IZU). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who called Palestinians \u201chuman animals,\u201d (L) stand side by side. \u00a0(Photo: Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)\/Handout\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) The post-October 7 vocabulary used by Israelis, but also many Americans, created the atmosphere necessary for the savage Israeli response… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1287],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29409"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29410,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29409\/revisions\/29410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}