Turning a Massacre Into Something Else

The same time the super bowl was playing to TVs across the US and Canada, Israel was bombing Rafah. The New Arab reported that Israeli forces killed more than 100 Palestinians in the city bordering Egypt during the strikes.

Rafah had previously been designated a safe zone by Israel. Palestinians across Gaza were driven from their homes in a genocidal act and told to seek refuge in the small city. Israel's "safe zones" are a cruel joke. Areas designated as safe from their onslaught have been repeatedly bombed since the beginning of this onslaught. Israel's military has repeatedly conducted attacks against hospitals. Now, the border city is being targeted for a ground invasion, despite warnings of "dire consequences" from the Egyptian government.

In short, the targeting of Palestinians in Rafah is a massacre. A ground invasion will have even more dire consequences. It must be prevented.

That is, unless you're the CBC. In which case it was in the "wake" of a hostage rescue.

The article by CBC News highlights the "hostage rescue," through a "joint operation" between the IOF, the Special Police Unit in Rafah, and Shin Bet, a security service in Israel. The article then glowingly details the specifics of the operation, and includes a photo of the former hostages in the hospital afterwards. Only halfway through the article does the piece pivot to the "'Worst night' in Rafah." Exonerative language is used immediately. Any claims of violence and strikes against structures, including two mosques, are attributed to Palestinians. The article ends with measured skepticism about the plans to evacuate Rafah, without mentioning that Israel has specifically planned to expel Palestinians into Egypt, despite this being something that CBC News itself has reported on.

Notably, the piece says that the million people living in Rafah were "displaced by Israel's war on Hamas." Palestinians were specifically forced to move southward by Israel. Forced displacement is a key factor in genocidal acts, as in the Trail of Tears and the Acadian Expulsion. Israel's attacks on Rafah are a continuation of their genocidal policies.

A focus on the hostages is also disingenuous. All evidence thus far points to Israel not caring about hostages. The military killed three Israeli hostages who were waving white flags, as they often do to Palestinians. But it goes beyond that. After 4 months of slaughter, with over 28,000 Palestinians killed directly and mass starvation, Israel's strikes have managed to save two hostages. Two. While returning to an Associated Press relay the latest death toll of children, I discovered the agency changed the headline to focus on the hostage rescue. Over 12,300 children have been killed by Israel and the focus shifts to two hostages being freed.

Importantly, more hostages were freed in a prisoner swap last winter. In fact, Israel could have, once again, freed far more than just two hostages by refusing to continue assaults. Reuters reported on the text included in a proposal from Hamas to implement a ceasefire. In the first 45 days, all hostages consisting of Israeli civilian women and children under 19, as well as all elderly or sick hostages would be returned in exchange for "Palestinian women, children, elderly and sick" being released from Israeli jails. An additional 1,500 prisoners would be released from Israel's prison system. They also demand a return of displaced people in Gaza to their home districts. More would come after this, but this alone would release more hostages than bombing displaced civilians. Families of the hostages have even protested Netanyahu to take a ceasefire route to return their safe return. Despite all this, Israel has refused to do so.

There's very little indication that CBC News does not have access to this context, or this information. But much like the reporting by AP, the shifting of focus on the horrors committed by Israel against Palestinians is standard framing in our society.

Similar framing came into full force Feb. 13, when multiple Canadian politicians claimed to be very concerned about a demonstration for Rafah in Toronto.

On Monday, Feb. 12, an emergency rally was declared to show support for those being killed by Israel in Rafah. I attended, like many rallies before. It began outside the Israeli Consulate, as it was scheduled to do. Once the rally began moving, I left, as I have been dealing with leg issues that have been affecting my walking. Little did I know that opportunist politicians would immediately seize on a tiny aspect of the march to paint the entire demonstration as antisemitic.

It occurred when the march passed by Mount Sinai Hospital, on University Avenue. A demonstrator, dressed as Spider-man, climbed a structure in front and began waving the Palestinian flag. This initial claim of antisemitism was declared when the Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre propagated that the hospital was essentially "the target" of a terrorist mob.

This was swiftly followed by denouncements of the "targeting" by politicians across Canada. This included, but was not limited to, Deputy Leader of the federal Conservatives Melissa Lantsman, Ontario premier Doug Ford, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow.

First, Mount Sinai was not targeted. It was along the route from the Israeli consulate to the US consulate, going by Queen's Park. University Avenue is a popular route for demonstrations. Demonstrators eventually ended up taking over Yonge-Dundas Square, a similarly popular spot for visibility. Second, as journalist Pacinthe Mattar pointed out, "Spider-man" had climbed plenty of structures at pro-Palestinian demonstrations before. If anyone has been to any of the demonstrations outside the Israeli consulate, you have seen this done multiple times by different people.

It's important to note the misdirect here: the only time that our politicians recognize the continuing and massive pro-Palestine demonstrations is when they can cynically label them as antisemitic. This antisemitism label is dangerous for its targets, and Jewish people more broadly. Jewish demonstrators and organizers have been core to these protests. Cynical wielding of this term reduces it potency when actual antisemitism happens, as it has in recent months. The demonstrators, including many Jewish people, are demanding an end to arms sales to Israel while it conducts its genocide. Arms sales that Trudeau's government has explicitly continued since Oct. 7. That hasn't been mentioned by the Prime Minister, but an opportunity to condemn the movement that holds him to account was jumped on.

Make no mistake, these accusations are distractions. Their purpose is to acknowledge the mass opposition to the current governmental support of Israel in a way that justifies its perpetuation. This dynamic is the same that CBC News uses to report on the massacre in Rafah. It's impossible to deny what is happening, but the aim is to package it in a way that garners support for Israel. Don't fall for it.

Remember what Israel, and all of its supporters, are doing to Palestinians. They're killing them.