Israel’s language and silence enables atrocities

JVL Introduction

How are so many Israelis able to ignore the atrocities being carried out in their name and by themselves or their relatives? When the only permissible response from Palestinians is obedience and resistance is taken as threat, justifying any action in the name of “self-defence”; only (Jewish) Israeli resilience is welcomed.  There is, with far too few exceptions, a “thunderous silence” from the overwhelming majority of Israelis, which enables genocide in Gaza, settler terrorism and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank (and torture and indefinite incarceration under administrative detention in Israel’s prisons) and also for Palestinian citizens of Israel.

There are several examples here of how language is distorted to “hide” the reality, for example !’Protected space’ is another fraudulent turn of phrase in a country where a third of the population isn’t protected, especially residents of Arab and Bedouin villages. This is an issue where the differences between one citizen and another aren’t accidental but due to systematic state discrimination. This is the same state that deployed agencies, even at the height of the war, to thwart independent Bedouin efforts to provide themselves with shelter, on the grounds that this was illegal construction.” (my emph)

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This article was originally published by Ha'aretz on Fri 24 Apr 2026. Read the original here.