Dehumanising of Palestinians

[dreamingdays]

The persistent dehumanising of Palestinian civilians is everywhere, including here on MN and across social media, the news and more.

From branding all civilians including babies and young children as terrorists, to people saying innocent children sent to jail as deserving it, posts smearing all Palestinians with celebrating terrorist atrocities, others celebrating the death of young children (yes really), to politicians branding them “children of darkness”. To Palestinian men all lumped as Hamas or rapists. Palestinians called human animals or worse.

To the language used to describe Palestinians in the news is completely different, often using double standards. I also feel that leeway and downplaying is given towards people being racist towards Palestinians. It is brushed off or ignored or denied, not always taken seriously.

Maltreatment of Palestinian civilians is also ignored or excused or waved away and minimised, outright denied or ignored by many.

it just really gets me down. Please everyone, remember Palestinians are human beings. They have families, jobs, culture, skills, likes and dislikes, empathy and humanity.

if you see anyone displaying or downplaying racist attitudes, or making offensive dehumanising remarks please call them out. Please also take time to recognise and challenge dehumanising language used in the media and elsewhere.

On a broader level this dehumanising emboldens those undertaking their mistreatment, excuses and justifies illegal violence made towards them, as well as affecting each Palestinian on an individual level.

The same obviously goes for anyone using dehumanising language to anyone, whatever their nationality or religion.

Palestinians need support now.

It may seem inappropriate to quote satire, but I feel this Granny Weatherwax quote is suitable:
”And sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. That’s what sin is.
“It’s a lot more complicated than that . . .”
“No. It ain’t. When people say things are a lot more complicated than that, they means they’re getting worried that they won’t like the truth. People as things, that’s where it starts.”
“Oh, I’m sure there are worse crimes . . .”
“But they starts with thinking about people as things . . . ”

I wish I could give you a hug. I don't always agree with you and I probably will continue to disagree with you but I did feel sad when I saw your post

As a wise person once said 'this too shall pass'

That should say disagree on some issues

But yes dehumanising of all is wrong

Amen to a long lasting peace

So apt 😢. Thankfully the world is waking up and very few are feeling the situation is "complicated" now.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/11/3/covering-gaza-dehumanisation-of-an-entire-population

Interesting article about the dehumanisation of Palestinians by the British media

Palestinian lives don't matter, it seems.
Even before October 7th Israeli citizens were transporting Palestinian children with cancer to hospital in Israel for treatment.
No matter how well intended this was, why did children in Gaza need transport to Israel for treatment? Even if it's perfectly reasonable to expect that these treatments weren't available in Gaza, why couldn't they just travel with their families?
Because it's illegal for adult Palestinians to even travel on most of the roads in Israel unless they have a special permit.
Terrible things always happen when people are treated as second class citizens. When people have nothing to lose and are treated as worthless, they begin to see their oppressors as worthless too.

@ismu great point. thank you.

The Israeli government are committing war crimes against the Palestinian people.

This is a disturbing modern war where the Palestinian people have no human rights, no protection and safety.

The west are compliance in their war crimes. Since 9/11 the eradion of the human rights and war convention due to terrorism is shocking.

@ismu well you don't have to worry about that because most of those people who did the transporting where murdered by Hamas on 7/10.

Which has left them in the unenviable position of being airlifted to Jordan and Egypt for Treatment

There was also treatment for children in Gaza ... Al Rantisi.

There was also treatment for children in Gaza ... Al Rantisi.

You say was? What happened to the children's hospital?

Not currently functioning (AFAIK) as the IDF claim Hamas were using it as a base/to store weapons... same old, same old.

Err surely everyone needs a special permit ‘aka a passport’ to enter into a separate country including travelling on roads? Countries can deny entry even with passports if terrorist affiliation is suspected. Visas can be denied.

Gazans have no free right of entry to Israel as a separate state in the same way that Israeli civilians don’t into Gaza. Strangely enough this issue has probably been conflated by the history of suicide bombings and terrorist attacks committed in Israel as well as the terrorist government that controls Gaza that calls for jihad to annihilate Israel.

The Israeli government were absolutely right to restrict entry if Oct 7th was anything to go by!

More wide eyed false naïveté lacking critical thinking.

Just a polite request to keep this thread on topic - the dehumanisation of Palestinians. Thank you!

If you think treatment prior to 7th October was fair, that checkpoints weren't sometimes used simply to hold people up for hours on end or deny them passage for no reason at all, then that is extreme naivete.
No terrorist affiliation or suspicion needed either.
When you are annexed into a fairly small area of land, which keeps getting smaller, funnily enough the need to travel out of it may come up from time to time.

Sorry if I was off topic @dreamingdays, it wasn't my intention.

Gaza isn't a country. Its borders are controlled by Israel.

It’s going to be impossible to find a resolution until we value all lives equally.

I was disappointed to see on another thread, people who constantly (and rightly) criticise antisemitism, posting vaguely racist comments against immigrants.

We need to see that all people are deserving of kindness and respect and we are not that different inside. Nobody deserves ‘special treatment’ or censure based on their race, religion or ethnicity.

Palestinian lives matter too. They have names, families, and backstories as well.

The atrocities of Hamas we saw in graphic images. Innocent Israeli individuals being literally attacked, murdered, raped and humiliated. Their families reported their stories in anguish on mainstream TV. It was heart-rending. I feel in those early days, we really got to see the torment of those individuals and their families. They were ‘real people’ like us.

The Palestinian deaths have felt less ‘personally’ reported. Bombs flattening buildings and killing scores of people. Crowds fleeing. The reporting feels more anonymous and distant somehow. We are not being shown much footage of individual IDF soldiers murdering innocent people face to face.

I think that perhaps makes people feel less connected with the terrified and suffering Palestinians. They are just being killed en masse by bombs in huge numbers rather than in face to face combat.

Those early brutal images and stories of the Israeli victims were so unsettling and traumatising that it felt much more ‘personal’ somehow. There was also a huge ‘shock value’ (for want of a better phrase) as it felt like it came out of the blue and was massive in scale and traumatic.

Maybe the Palestinian victims are almost too many to ‘count’ now. Maybe people have stopped caring 😳

But every death like this is one too many. And every single innocent victim matters. I pray every night for victims and families on both sides.

@FrozenWindscreen Gaza isn't a separate country- and it's the size of the Isle of Wight. Palestinians can always only drive on certain roads within Israel and that's IF they have a permit, which is not the same as a passport. There are work permits and permits to sell at market etc.
When you go to Europe, once you're in the Schengen area you don't even have to show your passport between countries. You can walk anywhere no matter who you are. The only place I can think of where there used to be checkpoints and controls in such a small area is NI during the troubles, and even then there was more freedom of movement.
Imagine giving your sick child to your literal oppressors, trusting them to take care of your child and not being able to be there while they had cancer treatment. Something that Israelis would never need to experience. As sorry and upset as I am for those people who were killed, they should never, never have been needed to do that task.
So on balance, I would say that Palestinians are not treated equally- that's not naive.
I'd also like to add, and apologies if it's off topic, why is no one asking the question about the numbers of peace activists, Palestinian supporters and left wing Israelis who were killed on October 7th?? Why weren't settlers targeted, why weren't the festival goers protected, where was the IDF who can target individuals with their technology?

Yes unfortunately due to the ongoing human rights violations of Palestinians, and huge numbers of deaths in the last 50 days it's all become 'normalized' and they aren't seen as individuals, just numbers. If everyone who had lost someone to the Israeli atrocities were to speak on TV you'd need about six months to get through them.

Thank you OP for this post. I had given up on this section of Mumsnet until I saw the title of your post. It’s awful enough that horror is happening and the world is watching, but the dehumanizing of Palestinians is so hard to take. Most people I know never paid attention to the conflict in that area but now 100% against Israel and anyone justifying its actions. None of us is safe if this can happen and be normalized under the noses of the UN etc. Very very very sad

@Pinkdressinggownbelt

but now 100% against Israel

Really?

OP, thank you for this thread!

This week, I told someone I thought I was good friends with that I did not want them at my upcoming birthday dinner anymore if they were going to keep casually dismissing the deaths of Palestinian children as "sad but necessary so that Israel can be safe - also, they probably threw stones" - not only because I am disgusted by their callousness, but because two of my Palestinian friends will be coming, too! No way in hell am I going to expose my friends to people who believe they "probably deserved it" if they were killed, or if their families were!

I just cannot believe perfectly normal humans, people I used to like and respect, come out with shit like this!

100%

I think that perhaps makes people feel less connected with the terrified and suffering Palestinians. They are just being killed en masse by bombs in huge numbers rather than in face to face combat.

I think you are right RVers

The Hamas attackers on Oct 7 were killing and carrying out atrocities personally, savagely.

But nearly 18000 people killed by bombs ( Haaretz says 7000 killed Hamas fighters) and 48,000 wounded, carried out from the distance of the sky, with the press of a ‘bomb’ button like a video game, leaving all maimed, crushed, burned, buried alive, their whole families killed - with no actual blood on the IDF’s hands - comes over as just modern, rational defence!

It is a bit like seeing packet meat in a supermarket as fine, but a butcher stunning and cutting the necks of terrified cows as brutal and something unthinkable.