Humanitarian Crises and the Israeli-Hamas War's Impact on U.S. Presidential Election
Listening to the pro-Palestinian proponents give their opinions on U.S. media print and TV outlets, the only time it’s a “humanitarian crisis” is when Israel defends itself after being attacked by Hamas, which happens about every three years. (More on this later.)
“According to the UN refugee agency, more than thirteen million people, or nearly a third of Ukraine’s prewar population, have been displaced since the invasion by Russia in 2022. Of that, more than five million are internally displaced, while over eight million are refugees living in neighboring countries.” Nevertheless, the phrase “humanitarian crisis” is missing from the media commentary regarding the war, during which Russia is systematically destroying Ukraine piece-by-piece.
In January of this year, Statista reported, “The Syrian civil war is an on-going armed conflict, fought primarily between the Syrian government, led by the president Bashar al-Assad, and multiple opposing factions, including the Islamic State. Western countries have avoided being directly involved; however, since 2014, the United States and the Allied forces have been conducting air strikes in Syria to fight Islamic extremists. In 2015, Russia entered the war by military backing the Syrian government. As a result, the conflict has become increasingly violent and devastating for the Syrian people. It is estimated that there have been at least 200,000 civilian casualties since the beginning of the conflict in 2011 until 2017; and about 25,000 of them were children.” (Writer’s Note: Other sources report the death toll is much higher.) And another report in late 2023 said, “As of 2022, Syria had the highest number of refugees who fled the country. That year, about 6.6 million refugees had left the country, mainly due to the civil war that started in 2011. Second on the list are Ukraine after 5.7 million people left the country since Russia's invasion in February 2022. The third highest number of refugees in the world came from Afghanistan after years of civil wars, instability, and Taliban regaining power in 2021.” Nevertheless the phrase “humanitarian crisis” is missing from the media commentary about the Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan situations. Indeed, reporting about Syria and Afghanistan has largely been ignored by the U.S. media.
The Iraq war is now in its 21 year. No one knows the exact number of civilians killed since President George Bush took military action against the Iraqi government to save the world from the regime’s “weapons of mass destruction,” which turned out to be non-existent. A March 2023 post by NBC said that approximately 200,000 civilians have been killed since the beginning of the war. Estimates from other sources report a much higher death rate. As with the Syria and Afghanistan situations, the Iraqi war has largely been ignored by the U.S. media. Missing also is calling the situation a “humanitarian crises.”
Also largely ignored by the U.S. media is the situation in Darfur, where the N.Y. Times on May 16 reported that “Arab forces in Sudan seem to be trying to eliminate non-Arab tribes.” In Dec. 2023, Reuters reported, More than 40 Sudanese mothers from the embattled Masalit tribe detailed how their children, mostly boys, were shot, beaten or knifed to death by fighters in the Arab-dominated RSF paramilitary and allied militias. The tribe’s leader alleges this year’s attacks are part of a campaign to “exterminate his people.” Missing, thus far is calling it a “humanitarian crisis.”
While the U.S. media constantly reports on the displacement of Gaza civilians, there had been little to no reporting about Israeli civilians who have been forced to leave heir homes because of attacks from Lebanon. In Oct. 2023, Reuters reported, “Israel expanded planned evacuations of communities on its northern front with Lebanon on Sunday as cross-border clashes with fighters from Lebanese group Hezbollah have intensified since the war in Gaza erupted more than two weeks ago.
“After enacting a plan last week to move residents out of 28 border-area villages, and the nearby town of Kiryat Shmona, with state-funded temporary accommodation, the Defense Ministry said it was adding 14 communities to the list.” Largely missing from U.S. media reports is the displacements of the Israel citizens because of the bombardment from Lebanon or that, as the Associated Press reported on May 17, that Hezbollah is “using more advanced weaponry and striking deeper into Israel. “Also, missing was calling the situation a “humanitarian crisis,” which only is used when Israeli is winning and defends itself against attacks from its enemies.
Most news coverage of Israel’s action in Gaza focuses on the “humanitarian crisis” of the Palestinian people. But the reporting seems to forget that Israel is fighting a war of survival against an enemy that has stated many times that its aim is to wipe the Jewish state from the maps of the world. Also, forgotten is that there was a cease fire in place until it was broken by Hams on Oct. 7.
Many critics of the Israeli actions justify their positions by saying they are not anti-Semitic; they are just opposed to the Israeli government. But that position is laughable in my opinion. By not acknowledging that there was a cease fire in place until it was broken by Hamas, and by attacking Israel’s right to defend itself, and with many pro-Palestinian proponents declaring that Israel does not have the right to exist, they are attacking the only country in that world that welcomes Jews regardless of their political positions.
Certainly all who have long criticized the Jewish state are not anti-Semitic. (Some of their best friends are Jewish, they say.) But words matter, and by opposing Israel’s right to defend itself as its democraticly-elecfed government sees fit, they are on the same side of those who deny Israel the right to win a lasting peace by defeating Hamas without giving them a chance to rearm so that they can again attack Israel, as Hamas leaders say they will continuously do.
No matter how often those who oppose Israel’s action claim that they are not anti-Semitic, their continuous denouncements of the Jewish state has the same affect of those who are openly anti-Semitic. And that goes for much of the U.S. media that never use the phrase “humanitarian crisis,” to describe the plight of Israeli citizens who have faced continuous attacks since the founding of Israel on May 14, 1948.
How The Israeli-Hamas War Can Affect The U.S. Presidential Election
American history shows that the great majority of American Jews support the liberal policies of the Democratic Party since the late 1920’s. American Jews also overwhelmingly support Israel, as do most elected member of the Democratic Party. But media coverage has emphasized the few members of Congress who promote the pro-Palestinian positions. Along with President Joe Biden’s wishy-washy policy toward arming Israel and attacking its government, that also receives major media coverage. This puts Biden’s re-election in peril.
My first job with a political P.R agency was with a political shop, where I worked on local, statewide and presidential campaigns. One of the assignments I was given was to research why Jewish voters overwhelmingly voted for Democrats. Research showed that the allegiance of Jewish voters to political parties have changed many times. It was President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs that cemented Jews’ allegiance to the Democratic Parry. But history shows that can change.
The joke around Washington is that President Biden is promoting a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian situation – Michigan and Minnesota. But that’s no joke to Jewish voters who support Israel. Political analysts say that in a close election, voters that support the Palestinian’s position in Michigan and Minnesota can determine who will become president. But so can Jewish voters who support the Israeli actions in other closely-contested states. But nevertheless news outlets, as they refuse to acknowledge that there can be a “humanitarian crises” for Israeli citizens who are constantly under attack, refuse to report on the possibility that Jewish voters might once again switch their allegiance to a Republican Party that consistently publicly supports Israel.
Print and television outlets have style books detailing what words and phrases can and cannot be used and how they should be used. It was not until after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that I realized that “humanitarian crises” could only be used against Israel when it defends itself and is winning.
If that isn’t one-sided, biased reporting what is?
