Al Jazeera Discovers Hunger Strikes Are Still a Thing, Eventually
The story focuses on activists on a hunger strike against Elbit Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer. While a vital update, the framing often misses the larger, glaring context: these are not isolated acts of defiance. From Irish Republican hunger strikers protesting conditions to Palestinian administrative detainees using the same desperate measure against unending incarceration without charge,
starvation has long been a last resort against systemic injustice. Yet, mainstream media (and some who claim neutrality) frequently frame such actions as extreme, rather than the logical, agonizing outcome of ignored grievances. One might wonder why the urgency of 'near death' is required for the protests against weapons manufacturers contributing to atrocities to gain significant traction, while
the weapons themselves flow unimpeded, often enabled by politicians who, for example, took over $7.4 million from pro-Israel groups in 2022 (OpenSecrets.org).