{"id":249522,"date":"2023-12-04T12:00:27","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=249522"},"modified":"2023-12-01T08:31:04","modified_gmt":"2023-12-01T08:31:04","slug":"israels-savagery-is-so-shocking-its-sometimes-hard-to-take-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2023\/12\/israels-savagery-is-so-shocking-its-sometimes-hard-to-take-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s Savagery Is So Shocking It\u2019s Sometimes Hard to Take in"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/israel-flag-stain-genocide-palestine-antisemitism.jpeg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-249110\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/israel-flag-stain-genocide-palestine-antisemitism-1024x585.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"257\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/israel-flag-stain-genocide-palestine-antisemitism-1024x585.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/israel-flag-stain-genocide-palestine-antisemitism-300x171.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/israel-flag-stain-genocide-palestine-antisemitism-768x439.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/israel-flag-stain-genocide-palestine-antisemitism.jpeg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>If there\u2019s anything positive to be found in this living nightmare, it\u2019s that it\u2019s so earth-shakingly ugly that it just might shake the world awake. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>30 Nov 2023<\/em> &#8211; Sometimes Israel\u2019s crimes are so horrific that at first you don\u2019t even understand what you\u2019re looking at. You just stare at it trying to make sense of what you\u2019re seeing for a bit, like you would if you suddenly saw a space alien or a leprechaun or something.<\/p>\n<p>It happened to me yesterday when I was watching <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SkyNews\/status\/1729200784955379784\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a Sky News report<\/a> about a teenage boy who was shot by Israeli forces in Jerusalem for celebrating the release of Palestinian prisoners in the hostage negotiations with Hamas. I was watching it thinking to myself, I must be misunderstanding what I\u2019m looking at. I know that Israel does gross things, but surely the story here isn\u2019t that they shot a kid for being happy about something.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I don\u2019t understand. Was a teenager shot for celebrating? <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zAJdcHRK4K\" >https:\/\/t.co\/zAJdcHRK4K<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Katie Halper is a Jew For #CeasefireNow (@kthalps) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kthalps\/status\/1729685286722888059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >November 29, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Then, as has happened so many times over the last two months, I kept watching and learned that yes, that is indeed what happened. The deputy mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan-Nahoum is seen defending the shooting by saying \u201cpart of the deal is that there would be no celebrations for the release of attempted murderers\u201d (this was actually not a part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/israelhamas-war-hostage-deal-ceasefire-gaza-2023-11-22\/\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the deal<\/a>, it was just a <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/W2NuJ\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decree issued<\/a> by Israel\u2019s national security minister) and claiming dishonestly that \u201cwe\u2019re talking about the release of attempted murderers\u201d (the vast majority <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/j869B\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">have not been convicted<\/a> of any crime and have been denied any due process for the accusations against them).<\/p>\n<p>The band Eve6 nicely summed up what it felt like watching the clip of the deputy mayor\u2019s comments, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Eve6\/status\/1729691602635853995\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tweeting<\/a>, \u201cThe remarkable thing about this clip is her self assurance. Like she\u2019s supremely confident that \u2018we shot the teenager because he was celebrating\u2019 is a thing that people will find reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Five tiny infants died starving, cold and alone. Their bodies decomposed. They were still connected to ventilation and intravenous tubes, 17 days after Israeli soldiers stormed the al-Nasr pediatric hospital and ordered doctors to leave <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IBLdmH0kvJ\" >https:\/\/t.co\/IBLdmH0kvJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Electronic Intifada (@intifada) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intifada\/status\/1729946899782721835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >November 29, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I had the same experience reading about the <a href=\"https:\/\/electronicintifada.net\/blogs\/nora-barrows-friedman\/israeli-military-left-palestinian-infants-die\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">five premature babies<\/a> who were left to die after the IDF <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/patients-in-gaza-hospital-dying-israeli-bombardment-report-2023-11\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">raided al-Nasr Pediatric Hospital<\/a> in Gaza earlier this month, their decomposing bodies only discovered when the temporary ceasefire allowed access to the hospital.\u00a0It\u2019s just too insane to believe \u2014 <em>they attacked a pediatric hospital? And then they left the babies there to die? What??<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The only reason we\u2019re learning about this now is because the pause in fighting allowed journalists to get cameras into the building and show the dead infants to the world. This calls to mind the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2023\/11\/21\/biden-hostage-israel-hamas-war-00128351\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politico report<\/a> immediately prior to the ceasefire which said that the White House was worried \u201can unintended consequence of the pause\u201d would be \u201cthat it would allow journalists broader access to Gaza and the opportunity to further illuminate the devastation there and turn public opinion on Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, since the pause in fighting began the world has been <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/muhammadshehad2\/status\/1729115111909212264?s=20\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">receiving drone footage<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/washingtonpost\/status\/1729323222632415666?s=20\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mainstream platforms like Reuters and The Washington Post<\/a> revealing vast expanses of urban terrain completely destroyed by a blanket of Israeli military explosives spanning from city block to city block. Looking at the blatantly indiscriminate devastation that\u2019s been caused by Israel\u2019s assault on Gaza since October 7 makes it clear that the IDF are not targeting Hamas but Gaza itself.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Drone footage captured the wide-scale destruction of Gaza City. The territory\u2019s northern population was advised by Israeli authorities to evacuate south as Israel waged war. Israel recently indicated the military operation may move south. <\/p>\n<p>Live updates: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5mnahfQYxN\" >https:\/\/t.co\/5mnahfQYxN<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2qAlaDUZvY\" >pic.twitter.com\/2qAlaDUZvY<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/washingtonpost\/status\/1729323222632415666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" >November 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve been amazed at how much I\u2019ve been sleeping since the ceasefire started; that\u2019s why I haven\u2019t been writing as much. I guess spending weeks staring at unbelievable horrors unfolding on your screen can be pretty hard on your system if you\u2019re sensitive to that sort of thing, so my body\u2019s been resting up as much as it can while there\u2019s an opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>And I\u2019m just here watching this all unfold safely from my home in Melbourne. I cannot imagine what it\u2019s like to be living in the midst of this horror for the last two months, trying to figure out the best way to survive while also grieving the family, friends and neighbors you\u2019re losing along the way. These people have all been deeply traumatized in ways that will haunt them for the rest of their lives, if they survive the violence, disease and deprivation that\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n<p>This thing is so astonishingly ugly, and it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aa.com.tr\/en\/middle-east\/israel-to-fight-across-all-of-gaza-after-humanitarian-pause-defense-minister\/3066541\"  target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">could get a whole lot uglier<\/a> after the ceasefire ends. If there\u2019s anything positive to be found in this living nightmare, it\u2019s that it\u2019s so earth-shakingly ugly that it just might shake the world awake.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Caitlin-Johnstone.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-236973\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Caitlin-Johnstone.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"56\" height=\"56\" \/><\/a> <em>Caitlin Johnstone is a rogue journalist, poet, and utopia prepper who publishes regularly\u00a0<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@caityjohnstone\" ><em>at <\/em><\/a><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@caityjohnstone\" >Medium<\/a>. <em>Contact: <\/em><a href=\"..\/..\/..\/..\/TRANSCEND\/T%20M%20S\/TO%20POST\/A%20BYLINES\/admin@caitlinjohnstone.com\">admin@caitlinjohnstone.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/caitlinjohnstone.com.au\/2023\/11\/30\/israels-savagery-is-so-shocking-its-sometimes-hard-to-take-in\/\" >Go to Original \u2013 caitlinjohnstone.com.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>30 Nov 2023 &#8211; If there\u2019s anything positive to be found in this living nightmare, it\u2019s that it\u2019s so earth-shakingly ugly that it just might shake the world awake. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[1559,2898,1199,87,865,1029,1049,88,2416,715,427,481],"class_list":["post-249522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-palestine-israel-gaza-genocide","tag-collective-punishment","tag-ecocide","tag-ethnic-cleansing","tag-gaza","tag-genocide","tag-hamas","tag-inhuman-punishment","tag-israel","tag-israeli-occupation","tag-massacre","tag-palestine","tag-warfare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249522"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":249524,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249522\/revisions\/249524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}