Reporting on sexual violence Hamas perpetrated against Israelis on October 7, and the physical and psychological torture the hostages underwent in Gaza.
Lahav! You have an email and I could have sent the earlier comment by email. But I’m happy to support you. Even if sometimes I SMH while reading articles or listening to JP podcast. However, I expose myself to opinions that may cause me discomfort. But it does make me learn and, I do learn from you.
Notice, I didn’t address the first prong in my earlier comment. I thought the second one sufficed to make my point.
I support normalization with Israel, albeit my enthusiasm has diminished. I do think Israel can be an amazing credit for the region.
BTW, I’m in no way discounting the horrors of October 7. Hundreds of civilians were killed and kidnapped! My heart aches when I read their stories.
Dear Lahav, please, with an open mind read my take on the articles you wrote about (1) the alleged sexual assault claims (2) the treatment of hostages. I understand Arabic and I’m often depressed by its one-sided reporting on Arabic media. It turns out Israeli press isn’t faring better.
Let’s begin with the latter. Of course nobody likes to be taken hostage or lose their liberty. But the Israeli press’ focus on negativity, jump to believe every negative rumour about their treatment by hearsay, and deliberately ignoring recent testimonies from released hostages, just gives people a misleading narrative or highly exaggerated narrative. I’m amazed how Israelis love to build and sustain these narratives, then attack anyone who raises some questions about their credibility.
How on Earth did Mia Schem’s aunt (speaking moments after she met her niece outside a hospital) knew she was operated on by a veterinarian? Did Mia said that? Did the doctor in Gaza who treated her told her that? I just want to know the source of this information.
You also wrote about dwindling food supplies “malnutrition is a recurring theme in the testimonies of hostages”. However, that’s what all Gazans suffered from as days went by. Even 84 years old woman with pre-existing conditions survived over 50 days of captivity. Interesting that you mentioned Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was released before the pause and her account of how she was hit with sticks when she was transferred to Gaza. She said so during her highly reported press conference. Many in the pro-Israel circles dismissed the part of her testimony about how softly she was treated and said her husband was still hostage. But why will she mention the awful part about her experience if she was afraid of consequences, and you took off with only that portion of her testimony? Interesting that the many in the Arabic press didn’t mentioned the violence she endured while she was transported. Both sides are omitting what they don’t like.
Just a few days ago, Channel 12 did interviews on the record with several of them. Mother and daughter Chen & Agam spoke at length about their experiences (link below). The father in the family and the eldest daughter were sadly killed on October 7. They literally said their captors did their level best to treat them well (despite some intense moments) and shared details about steps taken for that sake. They were valuable people and bargain chips. That never makes it to the hearsay articles, and the “unnamed medical staff” sources in several articles. Let me be clear, they also said they hate Hamas for killing their family members. No sugar coating here.
Drugging hostages to make them euphoric during hand-off? Hamas released every hand off video and they can -and I assume- edit anything bad in it. Why would they resort to drugging people? I saw people who were tired and some looked emotionless, and some little bit elated for gaining back their freedom. That’s normal.
Lahav! You have an email and I could have sent the earlier comment by email. But I’m happy to support you. Even if sometimes I SMH while reading articles or listening to JP podcast. However, I expose myself to opinions that may cause me discomfort. But it does make me learn and, I do learn from you.
Notice, I didn’t address the first prong in my earlier comment. I thought the second one sufficed to make my point.
I support normalization with Israel, albeit my enthusiasm has diminished. I do think Israel can be an amazing credit for the region.
BTW, I’m in no way discounting the horrors of October 7. Hundreds of civilians were killed and kidnapped! My heart aches when I read their stories.
Happy New Year!
Dear Lahav, please, with an open mind read my take on the articles you wrote about (1) the alleged sexual assault claims (2) the treatment of hostages. I understand Arabic and I’m often depressed by its one-sided reporting on Arabic media. It turns out Israeli press isn’t faring better.
Let’s begin with the latter. Of course nobody likes to be taken hostage or lose their liberty. But the Israeli press’ focus on negativity, jump to believe every negative rumour about their treatment by hearsay, and deliberately ignoring recent testimonies from released hostages, just gives people a misleading narrative or highly exaggerated narrative. I’m amazed how Israelis love to build and sustain these narratives, then attack anyone who raises some questions about their credibility.
How on Earth did Mia Schem’s aunt (speaking moments after she met her niece outside a hospital) knew she was operated on by a veterinarian? Did Mia said that? Did the doctor in Gaza who treated her told her that? I just want to know the source of this information.
You also wrote about dwindling food supplies “malnutrition is a recurring theme in the testimonies of hostages”. However, that’s what all Gazans suffered from as days went by. Even 84 years old woman with pre-existing conditions survived over 50 days of captivity. Interesting that you mentioned Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who was released before the pause and her account of how she was hit with sticks when she was transferred to Gaza. She said so during her highly reported press conference. Many in the pro-Israel circles dismissed the part of her testimony about how softly she was treated and said her husband was still hostage. But why will she mention the awful part about her experience if she was afraid of consequences, and you took off with only that portion of her testimony? Interesting that the many in the Arabic press didn’t mentioned the violence she endured while she was transported. Both sides are omitting what they don’t like.
Just a few days ago, Channel 12 did interviews on the record with several of them. Mother and daughter Chen & Agam spoke at length about their experiences (link below). The father in the family and the eldest daughter were sadly killed on October 7. They literally said their captors did their level best to treat them well (despite some intense moments) and shared details about steps taken for that sake. They were valuable people and bargain chips. That never makes it to the hearsay articles, and the “unnamed medical staff” sources in several articles. Let me be clear, they also said they hate Hamas for killing their family members. No sugar coating here.
Drugging hostages to make them euphoric during hand-off? Hamas released every hand off video and they can -and I assume- edit anything bad in it. Why would they resort to drugging people? I saw people who were tired and some looked emotionless, and some little bit elated for gaining back their freedom. That’s normal.
Agam & Chen interview
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20231224-mother-and-daughter-detail-hamas-humane-treatment-during-the-time-they-were-held/