Maybe I hadn't read the right articles in the past, focusing only on those espousing pro-Palestinian views. Today, however, it didn't matter which I chose, be it the pan-Arabic AlSharq Alawsat, Haaretz, Israel's oldest newspaper, or the local New York Times and Los Angeles Times. They all resonated with the same message: human rights before politics. Oh, and, further noncompliance from Israel will result in more negative sentiment from the international community.
After beginning with the NYT article, I was prompted to search for other viewpoints, or rather, for alternative-leaning newspapers, to see if there was truly a shift in tone with respect to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, or whether I was hoping against hope. What I found surprised me. And it was definitely a good surprise.
All the articles noted Israel's leveraging of its role in the attempted re-ignition of the peace process to keep from cooperating with UNHC report requests. I'm not used to reading about Israel being called out on its war crimes, only about Hamas and their rockets. Which I don't condone in the least, but as I said, I'm used to seeing the finger pointed at only one of the guilty sides.
An interesting accompanying article to the main entry in Haaretz attempted to trace back the roots of the conflict--not the well-known casualty numbers and highly publicized "concessions" on each side's part. It focuses specifically on the mentality behind the Israeli standpoint.
It's a sad, ironic, and recurring pattern throughout history that the death of thousands is a requisite for peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment