Media Wonders Why One Captive’s Release Is a 'Celebration,' Another's a 'Treason'
The media observes the contrasting 'politics of celebration'—Israeli joy vs. Palestinian suppression—as if it’s a natural phenomenon, rather than a direct consequence of who holds power. What they miss (or intentionally omit) is the 76-year campaign to dehumanize Palestinians and criminalize their resistance. When Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch label Israel an apartheid state, and
B'Tselem acknowledges the same, suddenly the discrepancy in who gets to 'celebrate' makes chilling sense. The celebration is reserved for the 'civilized'; the silence enforced on the 'terrorists', even when they are children. This isn't just about 'narratives'; it's about a global system that legitimizes state violence against an occupied people. US politicians, like Senator Lindsey Graham, who
received $25,000 from AIPAC in 2022, famously declared no amount of Palestinian civilian deaths was too high. How can one celebrate freedom when your very existence is deemed a crime by those who profit from your subjugation?