Jonathan Cook, journalist
My latest for the National: Israel's dovish generals are at loggerheads with Israel's hawkish politicians about how to stop Palestinian unrest. The deeper truth, however, is that both are wrong.
An
Israeli soldier aims fire during clashes with Palestinian youths in the
village of Qabatiya, near the West Bank town of Jenin on February 6,
2016. Jaafar Ashtiyeh / AFP Photo
Jonathan Cook
Military and government disagree sharply in Israel
Israel’s frantic cocoon-weaving entered a new phase last week, as
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government stepped up efforts to stifle the last
vestiges of dissent.
The military censor’s office, a draconian
70-year-old hangover from British rule in Palestine, extended its powers
over Israeli press and TV to prominent blogs and social media.
The
government has also threatened to revoke the press cards of
“journalists and editors who are negligent in their work” – aimed at
those who depart too obviously from the official line.
These
moves follow culture minister Miri Regev’s announcement of a “loyalty
law” that will deny state funding to artists and cultural institutions
that are not sufficiently patriotic.
The education minister,
settler leader Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, is reportedly preparing a
raft of measures: a ban on access for pupils to literature and theatre
not in line with government thinking, cuts to already very limited
pluralism education and a new civics textbook vilifying the Palestinian
minority.
In this atmosphere of inculcated ignorance and
prejudice, it is easy for Mr Netanyahu to persuade public opinion that
the recent wave of Palestinian protests and attacks, which have left
more than 160 Palestinians and 29 Israelis dead, is solely the result of
“incitement” from Palestinian officials and media. The Israeli right
suggests that Palestinians who stab or drive cars at their oppressors,
most often soldiers and settlers, are easily inflamed into action by
words that appeal to ancient prejudice.
