US Media Wonders Why 'Genocide' Keeps Popping Up in Gaza Discussions
While Al Jazeera highlights legal scholars' insistence on calling the atrocities in Gaza 'genocide,' the prevailing US media narrative tiptoes around the term, opting for 'conflict' or 'war.' This linguistic gymnastics allows for ignoring patterns established long ago. Consider that Netanyahu himself, now facing International Criminal Court warrants, spoke of 'eradicating evil' (Hamas, ostensibly,
but applied broadly to Gaza's populace) as recently as October 7, 2023, echoing similar rhetoric used during operations in 2008-09 and 2014. Meanwhile, the US Senate, despite increasing calls for a ceasefire, just approved another $14 billion in military aid to Israel, with nary a whisper of accountability for how those weapons are used. One might ponder how many peer-reviewed declarations of
potential genocide are required before US politicians, many of whom like Senator Bob Menendez received over $90,000 from pro-Israel groups in 2022 (OpenSecrets.org), will consider diverting funds to, say, feeding starving Gazans. Or perhaps they're waiting for the next Nobel Peace Prize winner whose speech will be memory-holed.