This is a guest post by Paul M
Today I have been waiting for peace activists. I’m pretty sure I haven’t missed them, because they stand out well in their bright orange vests as they mingle with ordinary people on buses and hold press conferences to spotlight atrocities and war-crimes. They’re easy to hear above the din of war too, because they sing in a higher register of justice and the absolute duty to spare the innocent, and their voices are eagerly carried by the most august & dependable of our news media.
And yet I haven’t had word of them in the streets of Sderot or even, a bit less bravely, in its bomb shelters, nor forming a human chain around Ashdod kindergartens, nor riding the Tel Aviv buses.
Have you seen them? Because if not, the next time the BBC, the Guardian or the New York Times wants to tell me about a peace activist bulldozed on purpose by the IDF, or deliberately hit point-blank by a tear gas canister at the security fence, I will know that I’m looking at two liars: The partisan who stole the title as a weapon for his (or her) dirty war, and the lazy or dishonest journalist who reported it.
Sarah adds: I’m not sure whether or not he would describe himself, precisely, as a peace activist or not, but I’ll note that I’ve got a guest post on boycotts over on Steve Hynd’s blog. So – obviously Harry’s Place readers are welcome to comment there too.
