The Media Calls Israeli Captives “Hostages” and Palestinians “Prisoners”

There are several methods to describe someone held against their will each with its own implications The word prisoner suggests someone detained on suspicion of crimes or captured during times of war Hostage on the other hand signifies a civilian held against their will Since the start of Israel s genocidal war in Gaza corporate media outlets in the U S typically describe Israeli captives as hostages even if they are soldiers and Palestinian captives as prisoners even if they are children This semantic choice was once again on display in the coverage of the release of dual American Israeli citizen Edan Alexander a soldier in the Israeli military captured from an Israel Defense Forces outpost along the Gaza dividing line on October by Hamas militants Alexander a -year-old New Jersey native was freed after negotiations between Hamas and a U S -led delegation His release kicked off Donald Trump s Middle East trip where the president is expected to meet with leaders of Saudi Arabia the United Arab Emirates and Qatar American news outlets on Monday referred to Alexander as the last living American hostage in Hamas custody Anchors and analysts alike made little to no mention of his system with the IDF instead grouping him with civilians who were also taken by Hamas It s an omission notable to Palestinians who say that when the Israeli military captures their countrymen even those who unlike Alexander are civilians they are seldom granted a similar reception For Omar Baddar a Palestinian American political analyst who was previously with the Institute for Middle East Understanding the news coverage of Alexander is a perfect example of anti-Palestinian bias within media Multiple outlets failed to mention crucial context Baddar noted such as his proceeding membership in a foreign military at the time of his capture and more precisely the Israeli occupation army that was enforcing the illegal blockade on Gaza even before October The humanizing coverage Alexander received and the deep concern about the conditions he was held in stands in sharp contrast to the thousands of Palestinian hostages who are rounded up by the Israeli military without any charge or trial to use as bargaining chips and who are frequently brutalized beyond recognition and who are sometimes killed in Israel s dungeons without anyone in U S media even bothering to ask their names Baddar advised The Intercept Related Prisoners Propaganda and the Battle Over the Gaza War Narrative Throughout Israel s occupation of the West Bank and its long-standing decadeslong military conflict with militants in Gaza Israel s military has arbitrarily detained Palestinians a great number of of them civilians holding them in prisons indefinitely without charges Those in arbitrary detention often lack communication with attorneys or their relatives Such practices accelerated after Hamas s October attack As of last December Palestinians remained in arbitrary detention within Israel s prisons which have a long history of reports of abuse torture and death according to B Tselem an Israeli human rights organization Among those arbitrarily held were Palestinian children a record high commented Defense for Children International While the Israeli regime has circulated high-profile Palestinian leaders during so-called prisoner swaps with Hamas a multitude of of those circulated in the exchanges were Palestinian children under arbitrary detention Palestinians who are arbitrarily detained are often taken from their homes by IDF soldiers during evening raids mentioned Yousef Munayyer a senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington D C who heads its Palestine Israel Initiative I don t think any of these news outlets are referring to them as hostages but that s precisely what they are he declared Read our complete coverage Israel s War on Gaza During a CNN broadcast on Monday afternoon national safety correspondent Alex Marquardt declared Alexander s release was a moment of hope for the families of the remaining Israeli captives toward a new ceasefire agreement There was no mention of Palestinian families who are suffering behind an unlawful nine-week Israeli blockade on food water fuel and medicine entering Gaza Israeli airstrikes and ground offensives have escalated within that span Leading up to the release of Alexander military strikes in Gaza killed at least Palestinians the bulk of them women and children It s incumbent on legitimate journalistic outfits to get the facts right Munayyer declared such as acknowledging that Alexander is an American Israeli who was held in Gaza and likely would have been used as a bargaining chip It s also true that Alexander was taken captive while serving in the Israeli military a military that is involved in an occupation that is involved in serial violations of international law and human rights abuses That s all part of the facts in the context too Munayyer also pointed to a sharp contrast between responses to the captivity of Tenafly native Alexander and the killing of another New Jersey native Amer Rabee a -year-old Palestinian American boy who was shot dead by an Israeli soldier in the West Bank in April Munayyer who grew up in the New Jersey area noted that Rabee an American citizen was from Saddle Brook a half-hour drive from Tenafly The same administration that worked to get this Israeli soldier issued from Gaza has done nothing to really demand accountability for the killing of this Palestinian American citizen who hails from right next door he explained And so it s a very glaring double standard Related Israel s Ruthless Propaganda Campaign to Dehumanize Palestinians The day after Rabee was killed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu happened to be in Washington D C and took questions from reporters in the Oval Office with Trump Not a single journalist required about Rabee s killing Baddar recalled Between a media beliefs that dehumanizes Palestinians and puts Israel above accountability we are dooming the American masses to biased coverage Imagine what coverage would be like if any other foreign administration had killed an American child and how much grilling U S administrators would receive if they hadn t bothered to seek accountability Baddar noted But between a media tradition that dehumanizes Palestinians and puts Israel above accountability we are dooming the American society to biased coverage that is tantamount to journalistic malpractice and manufacturing consent for the morally broken and strategically idiotic foreign plan that traces an identical bias Just before news of Alexander s imminent release had broken on Sunday MSNBC posted a sit-down interview with Palestinian poet and writer Mosab Abu Toha who in the past few days won the Pulitzer Prize in criticism for his essays on Gaza Abu Toha without delay faced backlash from various pro-Israeli groups and news outlets over social media posts questioning why Western media outlets refer to Israelis as hostages namely Emily Damari and Israeli soldier Agam Berger One group started a petition to revoke the award In the interview co-host Catherine Rampell questioned Abu Toha about the dispute Why are our sufferings not acknowledged why are we called terrorists why are we called prisoners of war while the Israelis kidnapped from Israel are named hostages he responded adding that he and his family members had also been arbitrarily detained and beaten at Israeli checkpoints Does this give them more humanity if they are Israelis while my loved ones are being named prisoners and are tortured Rampell then sought why Abu Toha spoke against Western media outlets who humanized the hostages and petitioned Why can t you just humanize wouldn t the better approach be to humanize everyone Thirty-one family members were killed in one airstrike and you are questioning me how to use language here he mentioned He later clarified that he wasn t trying to question the humanity of the Israeli soldiers taken captive but petitioned Why should we sympathize with this soldier who a minimal days later after her release went to celebrate her sister who had graduated from the air force what is the Israeli air force They are responsible for the killing of my family The deal to release Alexander came as a outcome of negotiations between a U S envoy led by Trump adviser Steve Witkoff with Egypt and Qatar serving as intermediaries with Hamas Israel was notably absent from the talks Last week Netanyahu stated plans for the Israeli military to indefinitely occupy all of Gaza and flatten the Palestinian territory if Hamas didn t agree to a deal with Israel before Trump s visit to the region With Trump not planning to visit Israel during his trip countless speculated a wedge had been driven between the two leaders After the release of Alexander on Monday Netanyahu attempted to spin the narrative in his favor crediting Israel s vigorous initiative and military pressure of IDF soldiers in the Gaza Strip for the release of the -year-old American Hamas however had offered to release Alexander months ago in March along with other hostages as talks continued during a temporary ceasefire It was Netanyahu who shortly after the offer broke the peace agreement ramping up military strikes in Gaza Alexander may choose to meet with Trump in Doha during his visit in the coming days according to his family The optics of such a meeting without Netanyahu or members of his Cabinet will signal further pressure on the embattled Israeli leader Munayyer declared The post The Media Calls Israeli Captives Hostages and Palestinians Prisoners appeared first on The Intercept