Honey Kessler Amado
October 11, 2023
Response to NPR – Weekend Edition Sunday, October 8, 2023
“How the Al-Aqsa Mosque became a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Ayesha Rascoe, Host, and Hadeed Al-Shalchi
https://www.npr.org/
In the story “How the Al-Aqsa Mosque became a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” host Ayesha Rascoe interviewed Yousef Munayyer, senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington, D.C. and director of the Palestine/Israel program, to give background on the Saturday morning, October 7, terror attack by Hamas against unarmed Israeli civilians in their homes.
Mr. Munayyer put forward Palestinian grievances justifying the brutality: 1) Palestinians have been refugees for over 75 years, ignoring that their refugee status after 75 years indicts not the circumstances which led to their initial status, but the unwillingness of Arab countries to absorb their refugee brethren; 2) the military occupation and siege of Gaza, ignoring that Israel left Gaza nearly two decades ago, leaving it to govern itself; and 3) escalating violence against Palestinians, ignoring that the violence against Palestinians has been largely located in the West Bank, has been perpetrated by right-wing religious extremists, and has been condemned by many in the Israeli public.
Mr. Munayyer also cites to the displacement of Palestinians from their towns and villages and denial of freedom to Palestinians, implying both from the foundation of the State of Israel, ignoring that only some, not all, Palestinians were involuntarily displaced during Israel’s War of Independence in 1948 (some 75 years ago) and further ignoring that Arab-Israelis, sometimes called Palestinian-Israelis, are not denied any rights of citizenship. (Many Arab-Israelis living in East Jerusalem have declined citizenship in Israel in favor of permanent-residency status, which gives them many of the same rights and privileges as citizens, with the exceptions of voting and holding an Israeli passport.)
Nevertheless, whatever the real or perceived grievances against the government, the attack by Hamas was an attack against civilians, not against government installations or military targets. It was a brutal, vicious attack against families in their homes, our most sacred places. Whole families were murdered, children in the presence of their parents; parents in the presence of their children. Children, women, and elderly were taken as hostages at gun point. Women and girls have been repeatedly raped; children have been beheaded.
This is the work of cowards. It shocks sensibilities. There is no excuse or grievance which justifies such violence, such depravity. NPR has no business presenting such arguments in the guise of “background” as if there is an explanation that could justify the attack on civilians for political causes. As of October 10, over 1,000 Israelis have been killed; over 2,700 Israelis critically injured; over 130 kidnapped; over 5,000 rockets launched against Israel.
Hamas, the perpetrators of this heinous, unprovoked attack, is not a government which seeks to improve the lives of the residents of Gaza. It is a militant terrorist organization, backed by Iran, which has suppressed and oppressed the residents of Gaza for years, with little care about the consequences to Gaza and Gazans from its provocations. Hamas has only one goal: the elimination of Israel. And, failing that, it seeks to derail any efforts by Israel’s neighbors to normalize relations with Israel, normalizations which are creating partnerships for the economic benefit of the region and as a counterbalance against Iran. Arab countries are turning to Israel, seeing her as a reliable partner in the region, and are effectively ending the Palestinians’ veto over these countries’ future. This is the real provocation to Hamas.
