U.S. Media Struggles to Call 'Clash' a 'Shooting'
When two Palestinian youths, 18 and 16, are killed near Jerusalem by Israeli gunfire, mainstream U.S. media frequently defaults to euphemisms like 'clashes.' This framing, as seen in The New Arab's reporting, obscures the fundamental power imbalance between heavily armed military forces and unarmed or lightly armed civilians. Remember 2014, when similar 'clashes' resulted in hundreds of
Palestinian children dead, framed by many as symmetric conflict? This rhetorical sleight of hand isn't an accident. It's the byproduct of a media landscape often more comfortable with palatable narratives than painful truths, a landscape shaped by powerful lobbying. Politicians who receive significant funding, like Rep. Steny Hoyer, who received over $200,000 from pro-Israel groups in 2022 ,
rarely question such language. It’s easier to approve another aid package, like the recent H.R. 815 providing billions in military aid , when the victims are merely part of a 'clash,' not directly gunned down.