Girl’s Death on the West Bank
People who say the coverage of uprisings in the occupied territories is distorted against Israel have to eat their words now. The press coverage of the death of the teen-age Israeli girl clearly shows where their sympathies lie.
America was privileged to witness the anguish and outrage of the Israelis. We saw the blood and the tears and the shock. The imagery was powerful and compelling.
We saw human beings in crisis. We know 15-year-old Tirza Porat’s name, she has an identity (Part I, April 7, 8).
The Palestinians, on the other hand, are shadowy anonymous figures. Can anyone remember the name of the Palestinian youth killed? Or exactly how one died? Have you seen the tears and grief of the Palestinians? Do you even really know why they are dying by the hundreds?
The Palestinians are just numbers, not people--60 dead--70 dead--100 dead. Those numbers have names and families.
One Israeli girl died, and yes, that’s a tragedy. But it’s greater tragedy that over 100 civilian Palestinians have died in the last four months, and hundreds of thousands have died in the last 40 years. They all had families and they all had names.
LINDA NICOLA
Canoga Park
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