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We condemn Israel. So why the silence on Syria?
Some questions just kind of answer themselves, you know?There are no mass demonstrations outside the Syrian embassy in London. The story is rarely on the front page or on the TV bulletins. Even when there is a shocking atrocity, such as the Daraya massacre of up to 400 people in August, it makes only a fleeting impact. It's not as if this is par for the course, that we never get exercised by the loss of innocent life in the Middle East. We do. Nearly four years ago Israel launched Operation Cast Lead, designed to halt Hamas rocket fire from Gaza. For nearly a month that story was never off the front page, and it often led the TV news, here and around the world. There were large and loud public demonstrations. The DEC set up a fund and sought to air a televised appeal, famously refused by the BBC. Of course, if the columnist -- one of the Guardian's regular nitwits-- really wanted to make his point he would ask about how the media covered the thousands of rockets fired into Israel. Anxious for answers, I called Lindsey German of Stop the War, who told me the organisation was not active on Syria because that "isn't Stop the War's job". Its focus is on what "Britain and the US are doing". "'Cause when Americans kill somebody, that guy is completely dead. But when Mooslims kill somebody, they're only mostly dead. See my point?" Why, then, was it so vocal on Gaza? Because the west "was very much in support of the Israelis, so it was very different". She adds that the Palestinian question "has its own dynamic, which isn't true of any other country". The real fun is in the comments, where the Guardianistas wrestle with this vexing question. You only have to read about 20 comments down for the US to be blamed for Syria, and as for Israel... Posted by: Matt 2012-10-20 |
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