Daily humiliations

18Jun09

What was that phrase Obama used? The “daily humiliations — large and small — that come with occupation“.

[Ha'aretz] ‘Border Policemen have filmed themselves abusing and humiliating Palestinians in videos they have posted on YouTube over the past year.

In one clip uploaded to the video sharing website an Arab youth is shown in arid terrain, slapping himself, while a voice is heard instructing him to say “I love you, Border Police,” and “I will f**k you, Palestine,” in Arabic. The victim is forced to respond to everything he is ordered to do, to the raucous laughter of the cameraman and his friends, all Border Policemen.

In another video, a Palestinian is seen sitting inside a vehicle reciting the words “One Hummus and one ful [cooked broad beans], I love you Border Police” (which rhymes in Hebrew), while applause and shouting is heard in the background.

Forcing Palestinians to sing is a common occurrence and is perceived by Border Policeman as quite humorous, it has emerged from recent Haaretz interviews with Border policemen’.

Update: Video has been removed from YouTube (which has similarly censored Max Blumenthal’s recording of racist attitudes in Jerusalem), but it’s still available on Blip.tv. Ha’aretz has a longer article about it in the Friday magazine. [h/t JSF]


Filed under: Israeli / Palestinian, Videos   |  9 Comments
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9 Responses to “Daily humiliations”  

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  1. 1 ansel on June 19, 2009 said:

    Oh Youtube, what would we do without you…

    How was your trip? Glad to see you’re back and blogging.

  2. 2 JamieSW on June 20, 2009 said:

    It was great, thanks – a fantastic experience.

  3. 3 omyma on June 22, 2009 said:

    Again, this is so important – how many people are really aware of how destructive this constant barrage of indignity really is, and how profound an impact it can have? Why are the Israelis so profoundly cruel and desensitized to moral or human core issues, and does anybody see how ironic this is?

  4. 4 JamieSW on June 23, 2009 said:

    Thanks omyma. I think a growing number of people are aware of it – that’s the main positive sign that gives me hope for the future. Israeli propaganda is becoming increasingly ineffective, and they know it.

  5. 5 Chris on June 25, 2009 said:

    Wow, I just read the ‘increasingly ineffective’ piece – he’s quite mad.

  6. 6 Chris on June 25, 2009 said:

    By the way what’s your response to Olmert’s apparent offer to Abbas about Jerusalem? Another last-minute Taba-esque ditch?

  7. 7 JamieSW on June 25, 2009 said:

    I’m not quite sure what to make of it, actually. Chomsky dismisses it as a likely fabrication:

    “Diehl also refers to a recent Olmert peace plan of unprecedented generosity offered to Abbas, which he turned down, though it yielded just about everything to which Palestinians might reasonably aspire. Others have also confidently referred to this mysterious plan and its rejection by Abbas. Efforts to unearth the plan have so far been unavailing. The only sources detected in an assiduous search by David Peterson are comments by Palestinians in the Arab media that appear to be part of internal conflict about power sharing, not the usual source for Western commentators. Eliot Abrams dates the plan to January 2009 (WP, April 8, citing unspecified press reports, while also falsifying earlier plans for which records exist; June 3 response to query about his sources).

    If there were any truth to this tale, one can be confident that it would be trumpeted by Israeli propaganda and its enthusiasts here, as a welcome demonstration that Palestinians simply will not accept peace, even the most moderate of them. It is highly dubious on other grounds. For one thing, Olmert was in no position to offer any credible proposal, having announced his resignation as he was facing indictment for serious corruption charges. The alleged plan is also hard to reconcile with the steady ongoing expansion of settlement under Olmert, vitiating even far less forthcoming offers.”

    However, both Abbas and Erekat and stated that the offer was made. Perhaps these were simply statements made in the context of the conflict with Hamas – certainly this interpretation is supported by Olmert’s dramatic expansion of settlement construction in the West Bank. But if they’re telling the truth, it raises a couple of interesting questions: 1) why, if he was prepared to make such an offer, did Olmert do so much to undermine any basis for its realisation on the ground? 2) why did the PA apparently just sit on it for three months? Sure, Olmert was a lame duck, but some useful understandings could still have presumably been reached.

    The whole thing doesn’t really add up, and I’m inclined to agree with Chomsky’s take on it. Still, interesting stuff…

  8. 8 JamieSW on June 25, 2009 said:

    So, basically, I pretty much agree with Chomsky’s take. It’s probably a fabrication, but if it wasn’t then Olmert wasn’t in any position to be making offers like that anyway (hence the failure of the PA to make a counter).

  9. 9 JamieSW on June 26, 2009 said:

    btw, Obama’s language about “daily humiliations” was swiped straight from Bush, along with the rest of his speech.


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