Tribalism, Alive and Well In Israel and The West

Ukrainian native Ereena, hugs her girls after 9 years locked in an Israeli jail, she was arrested with her husband in Bethlehem, sentenced to 40 years.


The West and Israel love to brag about how democratic and how much they value the life of all humans...they claim their armies operate under an ethical code of conduct. But watching the media reaction of today's prisoner swap between Israeli and the Palestinians, I couldn't help but notice how biased the media reports are. While most Arab media outlets covered the Palestinian prisoners and their stories, they have also treated Shalit with humility and refrained from using dehumanizing the solider--even though he wore a uniform, carried a gun and was ready to kill. The stories in Arabic in my conclusion are a lot more fair to the other side than the Israeli ones.

Here's a sample of what many Israeli officials/politicians had to say about this swap:

1. Those are Palestinians murderers--Israeli president
   
2. Europe/White House only Welcomes the release of the Israeli solider Gilad Shalit
3. We value the life of our own, we care less about those others--Ehud Barak
4. Our one solider is worth more than those 1027 Palestinians--Haartez, Bibi
5. Israeli soldiers should kill terrorists 'in their beds' following Shalit deal, former IDF rabbi

Not sure how such statements make you the enlightened one, and the other guy the "savage". One of the freed Palestinian prisoners is two years old, if this is the way you describe a two year old, then your heart and soul are dead.


I know this no one in Israel is happy that the prisoners are home with their loved ones, they all wish these people would die. But I know this, the people of Palestine and namely Gaza are genuinely happy to see the Israeli solider back with his family.