The Cry Heard In Jerusalem

Things might be different if the media reported the news of Palestinians killed in the most recent Operation by Israel in Gaza the way the Ha’aretz reported the news of the deaths of two Israeli soldiers.

Beginning with the statement that the Israeli military announced the death of two soldiers, Yaniv Kubovich and Ofer Aderet of Ha’aretz, the new article specified that the soldiers died in combat in central Gaza. Before telling us that the soldiers had been killed in Gaza, we’re told the names of the dead Israeli soldiers – Ido Aviv and Kalkidan Merhari – and what cities they came from.

Aviv, Kuvovich and Aderet tell us, are survived by his parents. The names of his parents and his siblings are provided in the article. There’s a brief summary of Aviv’s life, culminating with his love for water sports. Merhari’s life as an immigrant from Ethiopia is described with similar summaries of his interests and his personality. The media – in this case Ha’aretz – briefly and kindly summarizes the lives of these two dead soldiers. They bring out, in journalistic prose, the humanity of the dead. They humanize the dead, and convey that they were human.

Merhari, who left Ethiopia on his on by himself on his own accord as a teenager, kept in touch with his mother Almaz and sent her money from Israel. Upon news of Merhari’s death, Almaz’ cry was “heard all the way to Jerusalem, and our hearts trembled” by account of Merhari’s niece.

Kubovich and Aderet never discuss why Israel has soldiers in central Gaza, and never mention how they died. Ha’aretz has covered the assault on Gaza extensively, and perhaps a long description of the presence of soldiers in Gaza doesn’t need to be mentioned. But it’s as though the article avoided talking about death or war, and instead tried to bring Aviv and Merhari back to life by humanize them.

Contrast this to more than 35,000 Palestinians killed by Israel over the last seven months. A few dozen were famous lawyers, journalists, doctors and others who had their stories told. Tens of thousands have been killed without mention by the media. It’s as though that if their stories were never told they don’t matter.