Although reading your ever expanding reports makes me sick and depressed, I hope you will continue what may be a recipe for your own detention. Stay safe but keep up the good work.
I'm going to nerd out a bit here. Sorry! I studied linguistics & did my master thesis on language & meaning using George Lakoff's ideas. He talks about frames, metaphors & conceptual systems. It's based on a wider concept in cognitive linguistics - entrenchment - the double standard is SO baked in b/c of the decades long repetition of certain word pairings that it becomes automatic & feels natural. Prisoners in this context fits neatly into a legal framework while hostages evokes the whole innocent victim taken captive by barbarians narrative.
Words are never just words. They activate emotions, entire storylines. Even those of us aware of the power assymetry sometimes default to using the same words. Even I catch myself saying Israeli hostages even though I'm fully aware of the propaganda & biases. It sounds like I momentarily forget that the law was written by the jailers & their 'prisoners' are actually hostages. But I didn't forget. Just that the mental framing is that entrenched & it reveals the power of language & propaganda. That's partly b/c language changes much more slowly than perception or narrative. So I agree with you in that the linguistic double standards has played a central role in shaping the discourse. It's decades of conditioning.
The good news is that the global consensus has significantly shifted in the last two years. People are now calling out these mental frames & not simply swapping words b/c that's not enough, since one of the downsides of language is that words and phrases can become so automated that we can use them without conscious thought. But the larger narrative built on power assymetry is being called into question and reframed👏👏
I was going to say similar. I did my PhD in linguistics and terrorism studies (looking at a lot of Ruth Wodak's theories on linguistics). The entrenchment of certain phrases are no accident. I have recently been researching the portrayal of Palestinians in Israeli schoolbooks, including the work of Nurit Peled. There are some extremely interesting studies into the linguistics and multimodality of Israeli schoolbooks and the early indoctrination of a population - you might be interested in that too.
I think it's important, when we are looking at a population who have mandatory conscription when they finish education, to see what it is in the education that prepares them for the role of enacting segregation - usually with the use of violence and heavy discrimination - in the name of keeping public order,
I have felt from mid-October 2023 that it was a mistake for those campaigning for Palestinians' human rights to not demand that Joe Biden and Netanyahu prioritize the return of all the hostages through diplomatic negotiation, which would include the release of Palestinian politcial prisoners. In reality, Biden had no moral or legal right as President to delegate the fate of American citizens kidnapped abroad to Netanyahu. But tactically it was also a mistake to compromise what was a solid universal human rights and international law argument, leaving open an avenue of attack on stateside Palestinian advocates that was indefensible. Demanding Biden take seriously his job to release the US citizens being held by Hamas would have helped expose Netanyahu's willingness to sacrifice their lives and Israeli captives lives, and caused more people to question what Israel's real aims were sooner. But bottom line is that it is harder to argue for the human rights of anybody anywhere if one doesn't take up the cause when faced with the most ambiguous of cases. Whatever complicity individuals have had in the long history of Israel's criminal behavior against the Palestinian people, however unsympathetic they are and deserving of condemnation, the protectons of due process and rule of law must apply to their cases too, and people who want an end to the occupation and an end of a genocide do best to be unwavering about that.
Once again, an exhaustive and exemplary journalistic treatise. This time, I find it almost impossible to read word by word, because your documentation and thoroughgoing inclusion of so many sources, illustrated by individual cases and videos, makes me personally feel sick to my stomach, here in London where our feeble government continues to provide weaponry and tacit or not-so-tacit support to Netanyahu and to the IDF.
My daughter was on the March aligned to Palestine Action on Saturday 09 August in London. 500+ people were arrested, as PA is a ‘proscribed terrorist organization’. Many of the marchers were over 50. I feared for her safety, although I think she is OK. We are not entirely powerless, yet it often feels this way.
I ask myself why there has never been any actual physical intervention in Gaza/Palestine by any of the morally outraged European & international entities since the launch of the genocide by the IDF following the 7/10/2023 border massacre. I do realise that this makes me sound incredibly naive, but it is clear that none of the words or actions taken by our so-called leaders over two years has achieved any realistic effect upon the untrammeled atrocities being committed in the name of the Israeli people.
I will take out a pledge/subscription to your writing & work as soon as I am able to do. And, on a lighter note, it is good to see you talking in one of the interviews, against a backdrop of hundreds of books.
If there is anything I can practically do here in London, in terms of providing a place in which to rest and/or work for you or any of your colleagues, please let me know.
Keep up your inestimable efforts on behalf of those of us who really feel rendered silent in the face of our ‘representatives’ who are in so many ways complicit.
Those zionists will kill everyone no matter what, plenty of countries are refusing to cut ties (above all the economical ones) with this racist genocidal fundamentalist regime. Larry Johnson has said it best, there is plenty the world can do but simple refuses. As a pro BRICS person, the performance of Russia and China are overwhelmingly dissapointing
Funny, I feel zero empathy for the war criminal israhelli POWs. They are illegal occupiers. They shouldn't be in Palestine to begin with. Unless they are PALESTINIAN JEWS WHO'VE BEEN IN PALESTINE FOR GENERATIONS, THEN THEY ARE ILLEGAL OCCUPIERS. Veeeery simple.
That’s fine. Like I said, it has nothing to do with politics or ideology, and certainly doesn’t influence my sense of justice. I just have sympathy for just about anybody who is suffering.
You do you. I've seen enough to not give a fig about Israhellis. Some have given up their fake citizenship and moved, and they are the only ones that deserve empathy. Ex: Ilan Pappe, Shir Hever, Alon Mizrahi. Other than those types, NAAAAAH. I've seen in person how they've terrorized Palestinians. No empathy, no forgiveness. Ever.
Although reading your ever expanding reports makes me sick and depressed, I hope you will continue what may be a recipe for your own detention. Stay safe but keep up the good work.
I'm going to nerd out a bit here. Sorry! I studied linguistics & did my master thesis on language & meaning using George Lakoff's ideas. He talks about frames, metaphors & conceptual systems. It's based on a wider concept in cognitive linguistics - entrenchment - the double standard is SO baked in b/c of the decades long repetition of certain word pairings that it becomes automatic & feels natural. Prisoners in this context fits neatly into a legal framework while hostages evokes the whole innocent victim taken captive by barbarians narrative.
Words are never just words. They activate emotions, entire storylines. Even those of us aware of the power assymetry sometimes default to using the same words. Even I catch myself saying Israeli hostages even though I'm fully aware of the propaganda & biases. It sounds like I momentarily forget that the law was written by the jailers & their 'prisoners' are actually hostages. But I didn't forget. Just that the mental framing is that entrenched & it reveals the power of language & propaganda. That's partly b/c language changes much more slowly than perception or narrative. So I agree with you in that the linguistic double standards has played a central role in shaping the discourse. It's decades of conditioning.
The good news is that the global consensus has significantly shifted in the last two years. People are now calling out these mental frames & not simply swapping words b/c that's not enough, since one of the downsides of language is that words and phrases can become so automated that we can use them without conscious thought. But the larger narrative built on power assymetry is being called into question and reframed👏👏
I was going to say similar. I did my PhD in linguistics and terrorism studies (looking at a lot of Ruth Wodak's theories on linguistics). The entrenchment of certain phrases are no accident. I have recently been researching the portrayal of Palestinians in Israeli schoolbooks, including the work of Nurit Peled. There are some extremely interesting studies into the linguistics and multimodality of Israeli schoolbooks and the early indoctrination of a population - you might be interested in that too.
I think it's important, when we are looking at a population who have mandatory conscription when they finish education, to see what it is in the education that prepares them for the role of enacting segregation - usually with the use of violence and heavy discrimination - in the name of keeping public order,
You're right. The entrenchment is no accident.
Thanks for the recommendations 🙏 I'll definitely look into it!
I have felt from mid-October 2023 that it was a mistake for those campaigning for Palestinians' human rights to not demand that Joe Biden and Netanyahu prioritize the return of all the hostages through diplomatic negotiation, which would include the release of Palestinian politcial prisoners. In reality, Biden had no moral or legal right as President to delegate the fate of American citizens kidnapped abroad to Netanyahu. But tactically it was also a mistake to compromise what was a solid universal human rights and international law argument, leaving open an avenue of attack on stateside Palestinian advocates that was indefensible. Demanding Biden take seriously his job to release the US citizens being held by Hamas would have helped expose Netanyahu's willingness to sacrifice their lives and Israeli captives lives, and caused more people to question what Israel's real aims were sooner. But bottom line is that it is harder to argue for the human rights of anybody anywhere if one doesn't take up the cause when faced with the most ambiguous of cases. Whatever complicity individuals have had in the long history of Israel's criminal behavior against the Palestinian people, however unsympathetic they are and deserving of condemnation, the protectons of due process and rule of law must apply to their cases too, and people who want an end to the occupation and an end of a genocide do best to be unwavering about that.
Jasper -
Once again, an exhaustive and exemplary journalistic treatise. This time, I find it almost impossible to read word by word, because your documentation and thoroughgoing inclusion of so many sources, illustrated by individual cases and videos, makes me personally feel sick to my stomach, here in London where our feeble government continues to provide weaponry and tacit or not-so-tacit support to Netanyahu and to the IDF.
My daughter was on the March aligned to Palestine Action on Saturday 09 August in London. 500+ people were arrested, as PA is a ‘proscribed terrorist organization’. Many of the marchers were over 50. I feared for her safety, although I think she is OK. We are not entirely powerless, yet it often feels this way.
I ask myself why there has never been any actual physical intervention in Gaza/Palestine by any of the morally outraged European & international entities since the launch of the genocide by the IDF following the 7/10/2023 border massacre. I do realise that this makes me sound incredibly naive, but it is clear that none of the words or actions taken by our so-called leaders over two years has achieved any realistic effect upon the untrammeled atrocities being committed in the name of the Israeli people.
I will take out a pledge/subscription to your writing & work as soon as I am able to do. And, on a lighter note, it is good to see you talking in one of the interviews, against a backdrop of hundreds of books.
If there is anything I can practically do here in London, in terms of providing a place in which to rest and/or work for you or any of your colleagues, please let me know.
Keep up your inestimable efforts on behalf of those of us who really feel rendered silent in the face of our ‘representatives’ who are in so many ways complicit.
Wow. That's a lot. Thanks Jasper. I'm new to your Substack having seen you on Drop Site or Breaking Points (or both!). Excellent work!!
How many Atrocities has Israel systematically and repeatedly committed . . .
That Hamas has Never Done,
And would Never Do? ~
How many Intentional Crippling's?
How many Pregnant Women Belly-Shot?
How many New Graduates Assassinated?
How many Journalists Assassinated?
How many Men, Women, Children Abducted?
How many Protesters Bulldozed to Death?
How many Tear Gas Cannisters Shot Directly into Faces?
How many Abductees Raped by Dogs?
How many Doctors Anally Raped to Death with Broomsticks?
How many Prisoners Tortured to Death?
How many Record Holders for Sniper Knee Shots in One Day?
How many Home Invasions?
How many Home Appropriations?
How many Hospitals Bombed?
How many Medical Staff Targeted for Murder. Then their Families?
And on.
And on.
And on.
Those zionists will kill everyone no matter what, plenty of countries are refusing to cut ties (above all the economical ones) with this racist genocidal fundamentalist regime. Larry Johnson has said it best, there is plenty the world can do but simple refuses. As a pro BRICS person, the performance of Russia and China are overwhelmingly dissapointing
Funny, I feel zero empathy for the war criminal israhelli POWs. They are illegal occupiers. They shouldn't be in Palestine to begin with. Unless they are PALESTINIAN JEWS WHO'VE BEEN IN PALESTINE FOR GENERATIONS, THEN THEY ARE ILLEGAL OCCUPIERS. Veeeery simple.
That’s fine. Like I said, it has nothing to do with politics or ideology, and certainly doesn’t influence my sense of justice. I just have sympathy for just about anybody who is suffering.
You do you. I've seen enough to not give a fig about Israhellis. Some have given up their fake citizenship and moved, and they are the only ones that deserve empathy. Ex: Ilan Pappe, Shir Hever, Alon Mizrahi. Other than those types, NAAAAAH. I've seen in person how they've terrorized Palestinians. No empathy, no forgiveness. Ever.
Beautifully said. I can't with the selective empathy.
Israel has held thousands of hostages for decades, what about them?
Alan Dershowitz bringing a signed copy of his book is hilarious.