Wie mij 25 jaar geleden had verteld dat ik ooit reclame zou gaan maken voor oud-premier Dries van Agt, had ik waarschijnlijk compleet voor gek verklaard. Welnu beste mensen, wilt u meer weten over het Palestijns – Israëlisch conflict, dan is een bezoek aan de website van Andreas Antonius Maria (Dries) van Agt bijzonder de moeite waard. Klik hier en doe de groeten aan Dries.
Ook aardig voor bijvoorbeeld journalisten zijn de Ground Rules Relevant to the Middle East van Mona Baker die ik hieronder citeer:
Rule # 1: In the Middle East, it is always the Arabs that attack first,
and it’s always Israel who defends itself. This is called
"retaliation".
Rule # 2: The Arabs, whether Palestinians or Lebanese, are not allowed to kill Israelis. This is called "terrorism".
Rule # 3: Israel has the right to kill Arab civilians; this is called "self-defense", or these days "collateral damage".
Rule # 4: When Israel kills too many civilians, the Western world calls
for restraint. This is called the "reaction of the international
community".
Rule # 5: Palestinians and Lebanese do not have the right to capture
Israeli military, not even a limited number, not even 1 or 2.
Rule # 6: Israel has the right to capture as many Palestinians as they
want (Palestinians: around 10000 to date, 300 of which are children,
Lebanese: 1000s to date, being held without trial). There is no limit;
there is no need for proof of guilt or trial. All that is needed is the
magic word: "terrorism".
Rule # 7: When you say "Hezbollah", always be sure to add "supported by Syria and Iran".
Rule # 8: When you say "Israel", never say "supported by the USA, the
UK and other European countries", for people (God forbid) might believe
this is not an equal conflict.
Rule # 9: When it comes to Israel, don’t mention the words "occupied
territories", "UN resolutions", "Geneva conventions". This could
distress the audience of Fox.
Rule # 10: Israelis speak better English than Arabs. This is why we let
them speak out as much as possible, so that they can explain rules 1
through 9. This is called "neutral journalism".
Rule # 11: If you don’t agree with these rules or if you favor the Arab
side over the Israeli side, you must be a very dangerous anti-Semite.
You may even have to make a public apology if you express your honest
opinion (isn’t democracy wonderful?).
