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�For years, the 10-year-old daughter of a family living in Gaza took pride in her bravery of protecting her siblings from the war raging around her home.
That is until one day when she witnessed the bombing of a police station outside her school that resulted in the brutal deaths of around 200 citizens.
For months after, she spent her nights lying awake, trembling, according to a close family friend, University of Wisconsin Middle East studies professor Jennifer Loewenstein.
The extent of the brutality to innocent civilians throughout Gaza was one of the focal points in a discussion by UW students and other community members Tuesday.
Hosted by several activist groups and organizations, the Gaza invasion discussion panel was part of a weeklong series of events on campus to raise awareness and educate UW students on the Israel and Gaza conflict by giving them a chance to speak with people directly involved and affected.
“As a student, I’m very close to those who came here because I have classes with them and share experiences, so there is a little bit of a bridge there to convey our message,” former Gaza resident and current UW junior Jehad Algharabli said.
Loewenstein said Americans do not receive full and unbiased coverage of the events in Gaza, adding very few journalists are even allowed into the area to report and film.
“People in the Middle Eastern world and the Muslim world are seeing footage Americans never see that is glossed over in mainstream presses,” Loewenstein said. “Western journalists and media here decide what to keep and what to edit, meaning Americans never see the terror or the true experiences of those in the Palestinian territories.”
Algharabli, who gets his news updates from his father who still lives in Gaza as opposed to American news sources, said he feels the truth of the conditions needs to be publicized.
However, he emphasized Americans are not simply ignoring Israel’s ongoing attacks on civilians.
Some of the “glossed over” facts Algharabli and Loewenstein spoke of include that 70 to 80 percent of children in Gaza suffer from post dramatic stress disorder from the constant bombings surrounding the area, along with malnutrition, fear, anxiety and depression.
Student Progressive Dane member Samir Jaber said the panel discussion was important to educate students who have the chance to become the future leaders and decision makers in the world about what is going on in the Palestinian territories and what they can do to help and prevent these acts.
“The first thing everyone can do is step back and participate in programs to learn a little bit more about the conflict and explore other opinions to realize what the American media tells you isn’t necessarily true,” Jaber said.
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loewenstein is insane.
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Loewenstein has written that she cannot understand “why Hamas, which won power in free, fair and transparent democratic elections has been deemed a criminal terrorist organization” by Israel. Perhaps she has forgotten the rockets fired indiscriminately by Hamas at Israeli towns, or the myriad suicide bombers who attack not military targets but public buses, restaurants, shopping malls, and dance clubs.
How about at least making an attempt, however superficial, at acknowledging that there is another side to the conflict? Neither side is entirely innocent here.
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Civilian attacks are strictly collateral, which Israel tries to minimize by dropping warning leaflets, thereby nullifying any advantage gained by surprise. On the other hand, rockets fired INTO Israel threaten civilians in several areas and are launched indiscriminately with no regard to where they land.
Furthermore, this is obviously propaganda, as the “70 to 80 percent of children in Gaza” that “suffer from post dramatic stress disorder” is a gross overstatement, and either on the part of the propagandist or journalist, is not even the correct neurological disorder.
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I will not donate a single penny to UW until this nutbag, Loewenstein, is gone. She is a disgrace to academia and intellectuals everywhere.
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What about the Israeli children who “suffer from post dramatic stress disorder from the constant bombings”?
Ther solution is simple - Stop the rocket bombs from Gaza.
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Liberals in the West and Muslims everywhere can go to hell! If this isn’t biased against Israel, then what is?! Not a single participant even said anything to criticize Hamas, only that they were democratically elected. Liberals suck. I used to be one back in my freshman year. Now I don’t care what Israel does to them. Lowenstein, Jaber, get the hell out of my country. Stop trying to brainwash students with your anti-Israel, anti-Jewish BS! No one hates more than you!
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Lowenstein’s a bitch! Who the f*ck hired her to work at this school?! And that Samir Jaber, what a geek! Dude, go back to whatever desert you came from you came and take your hatred of Jews with you! Do you really think we Americans are stupid enough to take your dribble as fact? You Muslims are the biggest haters in the world right now. Think we don’t know what Muslims are doing in Darfur, in Indonesia, or in the Philippines?
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Wow. And the constructive dialogue on the BH comments board continues…
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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD)is a mental disorder defined within the western democratic cultural socio-emotional environment of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSMIV). Muslims following the teachings of the Islamic Koran, states that the suicide bomber is a “martyr”, especially if he is attacking jews, and kills many jews in his act of “martyrdom”.
Thus, the Gaza population who observes the consequences of the muslim action of “martyrdom” cannot be designated as suffering from a mental disorder (i.e. PTSD). It’s either one OR the other, martyrdom or PTSD. You can’t have it both ways. Either the suicide bomber is a “martyr” or he is mentally disordered. The Gaza population, by having elected a terrorist organization, Hamas, as it’s official governing body, is now LOCKED INTO having to view the behaviour of “Ahmad Abu” as the behaviour of a “martyr”. Therefore, the Algharabli’s of Gaza have no PTSD. They are the “victims” of “martyrdom” by their own definitions.
It is obvious Loewenstein cannot differentiate between her western democratic heritage of judeo-christian values (i.e. all men are born equal, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, hope, peace), and the islamic values cherished by the muslims living in Gaza (i.e. death, destruction, despair, hatred, violence, lying, killing, human life has no value). Thus, she projects her own heritage values and world view onto the people of Gaza. And in doing so, she is being manipulated.
The whole gentile/jew conflict being played out today in the middle east is reminiscent of how children manipulate their primary caregivers, the adults in their world — children have temper tantrums, they finger point, they blame the other, they rationalize, they justify. Ultimately, the adult makes their own decision about who did what to whom. When wisdom prevails, usually both party’s get equally sanctioned until they can get along peaceably.
Peacefakers look to make peace at any cost; peacebreakers take sides and divide; peacemakers work to bring about reconciliation — the creation the Creator and then mankind with each other. Which one are you?
Moll, a gentile
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http://mayordavestrolley.blogspot.com/2009/03/some-thoughts-for-badger-herald.html
haha! spot on, sara!
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I wish that the Badger Herald would not report on this event without giving greater context and looking for opposing opinions. This was not one of the most striking pieces of journalism I have read.
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maybe hamas should stop building weapons factories in schools and apartment buildings. Just a thought.
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The uninformed Zionist rants written on this page make me sick. What does Israel have to do for American Jews to question its action. Maybe its time to step back and realize there is more to this region than what you saw on your “birth right” trips. While you children of local notables are smoking hookah and spending daddies money Palestinians your age are living without basic infrastructure, like a sewage system and plumbing. The Palestinians are guilty of committing aggressive actions but Israel’s response is so utterly out of proportion, it is indefensible.