There’s a straight line between calling people “animals” in Gaza and an Islamophobic murder of a six-year-old boy in Illinois.
In the midst of conflict, analysts and policymakers should always be aware that words have meaning, and impact on real life events. At home in America, as well as within Israel/Palestine, we have seen how that happens, with disastrous effect.
The Islamophobic murder of a young boy in Illinois over the weekend only reminds us how our rhetoric about events happening far away can have deleterious consequences at home.
Against the backdrop of Hamas’ brutal attacks on hundreds of mostly Israeli civilians this past weekend, Israel is gearing up for an invasion into Gaza, having begun bombardments that have already led to the killing of thousands of mostly Palestinian civilians.
The opening of the article. The full text is at Daily Beast.
Cite this
H.A. Hellyer, “Don’t Let Politicians Normalize the Dehumanization of Palestinians,” Daily Beast, 16 October 2023, https://www.thedailybeast.com/dont-let-politicians-normalize-the-dehumanization-of-palestinians.
Hellyer, H.A. (2023, October 16). Don’t Let Politicians Normalize the Dehumanization of Palestinians. Daily Beast. https://www.thedailybeast.com/dont-let-politicians-normalize-the-dehumanization-of-palestinians
Get Dr Hellyer’s analysis by email
Arcs & Dis-Order: Where Dr Hellyer interprets the geopolitics and geoeconomics of the wider Arab world and Middle East region.