Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

theguardian.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 133 posts

Re: Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

#71

Post by bryanlarsen »

thot_experiment wrote: post #2

US support for Israel is one of the most horrible things imaginable, really makes me ashamed. It is only the US standing between the current horrendous status quo and Israel being an true international pariah state. Hopefully we cut off support and usher in a find out era.

US support for Netanyahu is one of the most horrible things imaginable. US support for a non-Netanyahu Israel may not be so much. The distinction is important, at the very least so people don't call you an anti-Semite. But even without that, I think it's important. I'm anti-Trump, anti-Netanyahu, anti-Hamas, and anti-IRGC, but not anti-US, anti-Israel, anti-Palestine or anti-Iran. The citizens of those countries are the victims of their leaders.

Re: Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

#72

Post by koonsolo »

spwa4 wrote: post #70
koonsolo wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So Russia invades Ukraine, and somehow you blame leftists for that? You must be buried deep in Russian propaganda. > when will you sign up for Ukraine's army There is only room in your brain for extreme thoughts? There is a lot of space between not supporting Ukraine and going to the front lines. For example donating money (I sure do as a center-right wing): https://savelife.in.ua/

[flagged]

> Of course leftists are responsible for the current state of Russia. I hear there was this thing called "Soviet Union", involved in getting this country to it's current state. I guess you must not now. Look it up?

Very strange that you claim the great state of affairs in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is thanks to the the leftist Social Union. But hey, if you want to make that claim, that's all up to you.

Re: Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

#73

Post by atmavatar »

anal_reactor wrote: post #32
thot_experiment wrote: post #2

US support for Israel is one of the most horrible things imaginable, really makes me ashamed. It is only the US standing between the current horrendous status quo and Israel being an true international pariah state. Hopefully we cut off support and usher in a find out era.

[flagged]

    Iran is dangerously close to acquiring nuclear weapons. 
    ...
    Before Trump it was kind of taboo that US would just go to Iran and shoot them, hence the necessary existence of Israel that gives zero fucks and will shoot everyone who even thinks of threatening them.
Before Trump, the US had a deal with Iran whereby they promised not to build nuclear weapons, and we had inspectors in the country to ensure they kept said promise. There was little to no threat they would acquire nuclear weapons.

Trump blew up that deal in his first term, proving Iran can't trust any non-proliferation deals, the recent attacks proved they need nuclear weapons to protect themselves, and the BS with the strait of Hormuz gave them a giant pile of cash to streamline things.

Congratulations, a country that once may not have built nuclear weapons in our lifetimes is virtually guaranteed to have them inside the next decade.

Re: Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

#74

Post by aaron695 »

firefoxd wrote: post #5

The language in the article would be fascinating if it wasn't such a horrible thing. It's not that the Israeli soldiers are sexually assaulting Palestinians, instead they are using Sexual Assault. Later they say "Sexualised violence is used...", "men and boys were Targeted..." It's like there is a gun shooting people, or someone using a gun. But we can't connect fully understand how or who is perpetuating it. Edit: s…

[dead]

Re: Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

#75

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

Allfodr wrote: post #49
thot_experiment wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand what the purpose of making a distinction between monetary support in terms of direct aid, and indirect aid. The entire apparatus of the US government is paid for by our taxes, we pay for it either way. We also pay for it in instability and negative sentiment. > Israel is by far the most condemned country at the UN in terms of resolutions passed against it It's crazy to me that you know this and yet…

> It's crazy to me that you know this and yet it seems like you are still in support of the US protecting Israel? You still think this is a net win for the world? That's incomprehensible to me. It's crazy to me that you know the UN is literally run by states that actually commit war crimes, kill LGBTQ people, suppress women and minority rights, countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and you still think UN condemna…

> Arab citizens can vote

Call me when the citizens in Gaza and the West Bank get a vote.

Oh, they're citizens of another country you say? What country would that be?

Like, it's great that Israeli Arabs are treated (somewhat) well, but it doesn't excuse what's happening in Gaza and (particularly) in the West Bank.

Regardless of how progressive or democratic a state is, if they keep bombing other states and killing people, they will most likely be judged for it.

It's profoundly depressing that the Jewish people, fresh off of 2k years of oppression, have decided to speedrun the same behaviours against someone else.

Re: Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

#76

Post by disgruntledphd2 »

Allfodr wrote: post #64
sillystuff wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They're condemning the only democratic country An apartheid ethno-supremacist state is, by definition, not democratic. In the last month, the Israeli Jews passed a law to allow the death penalty, but only for non-Jews*. The Israeli lawmakers celebrated their lynching law by wearing noose shaped lapel pins. There are several 10s of laws that favor Jews over non-Jewish citizens of Israel. Palestinian citizens are, at…

[flagged]

> And before you mention the West Bank, it is not part of Israel. The Palestinian Authority rules there.

What country is it, then?

And if it's not part of Israel, then why are the Israeli government protecting settlers there?

Re: Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

#77

Post by datsci_est_2015 »

fwipsy wrote: post #19
firefoxd wrote: post #5

The language in the article would be fascinating if it wasn't such a horrible thing. It's not that the Israeli soldiers are sexually assaulting Palestinians, instead they are using Sexual Assault. Later they say "Sexualised violence is used...", "men and boys were Targeted..." It's like there is a gun shooting people, or someone using a gun. But we can't connect fully understand how or who is perpetuating it. Edit: s…

I don't think the passive voice is meant to protect the perpetrators. Instead, they are presenting sexual assault as a deliberate tactic or policy, or at least a common pattern. If true, this is a much bigger story than isolated incidents of violence. But sixteen reported cases over three years seems very low. Likely there are more cases they missed. Mainly it seems like they have very little data.

As the sibling comments point out, in isolation your argument would be reasonable, but within the context of the decades-long conflict, and English-language media in general, passive voice is very much used to soften the blow of damning reports against figures of authority and other privileged peoples.

Re: Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

#78

Post by datsci_est_2015 »

woggy wrote: post #6

If only hell was real.

I’m a fan of media that conveys the message that hell is real and it’s what we manufacture as humans, like 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. In fact, the broad theme of the 28 * Later series is that even with the most hellish events unfolding, humans are still capable of being depraved to the limits of our imagination.

Re: Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

#79

Post by datsci_est_2015 »

The reality that war goes hand-in-hand with sexual violence is rarely fairly portrayed in American / Hollywood media. It sickens me when I see warhounds in our government who are, by extension of campaigning for war, rooting for sexual violence against entire populations - though they might not realize it through their ignorance.

That’s why I appreciate anti-war cinema, like Come and See, which notoriously came from Belarusian screenwriters.

Re: Israeli soldiers using sexual assault to force Palestinians out of West Bank

#80

Post by kennykartman »

datsci_est_2015 wrote: post #79

The reality that war goes hand-in-hand with sexual violence is rarely fairly portrayed in American / Hollywood media. It sickens me when I see warhounds in our government who are, by extension of campaigning for war, rooting for sexual violence against entire populations - though they might not realize it through their ignorance. That’s why I appreciate anti-war cinema, like Come and See, which notoriously came from…

Yep, war is the shittiest of things and rarely it is described completely for what it is. Humans following orders are well known to be ruthless and humans in power places are known to abuse their power. Add this to brainwashing and religious propaganda and beliefs, makes this kind of war a particularly shitty one.
Post reply on HN