By Ted Belman
I rarely link to an article in Counterpunch for obvious reasons, but I found Worthy and Unworthy Victims, Turkey’s Bombing of Iraq by ANTHONY DiMAGGIO interesting.
- [..] U.S. support for the Turkish campaign has been justified under the rubric of fighting terrorism, as Turkish officials claimed the December 23rd bombing targeted only Kurdish secessionist rebels, and resulted in no civilian deaths.
Turkey’s war on the Kurds provides an ideal test of Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky’s “propaganda model.” Mass media coverage, they argue, is characterized by a dichotomy between “worthy” and “unworthy” victims of state violence. Those who are “abused in [communist or other] enemy states” receive substantial attention in the news, as their oppressors are subject to the “high moral and self-righteous tone” of reporters, columnists, and editors. Herman and Chomsky analyze news coverage in the New York Times, CBS, Newsweek, and Time of religious leaders killed in Soviet-dominated countries such as Poland, contrasting it with coverage received by religious figures killed in U.S. allied capitalist states in Latin America.
- The propaganda model continues to be relevant today when reviewing the “newsworthiness” of Kurds killed by enemies and allies of the U.S. Under the expectations of the propaganda model, civilian deaths caused by the U.S. and its allies receive little to no media attention, while coverage of the violence of “enemy” states or groups is extensively highlighted. This work examines U.S. media coverage of three types of victims: Iraqi Kurds killed by the Turkish government, Iraqi Kurds killed by the government of Saddam Hussein, and Turkish Kurds killed by the Turkish government. A propaganda model would predict that coverage of Kurdish civilian deaths will be prominent in regards to the violence of the enemy government of Saddam Hussein, while the violence of the Turkish military against Kurds will be downplayed, ignored, or framed as a relatively minor problem (when compared to the killings of Hussein).
In reviewing recent events in the Middle East, one sees that mass media coverage deemphasizes Turkey’s attacks on Kurds (both in Iraq and Turkey), instead heavily emphasizing the deaths of Turkish soldiers and civilians at the hands of Kurdish rebels. Extensive attention was devoted to the conflict between Kurdish guerilla groups (framed as aggressors) and the Turkish government (framed as the victim) throughout the October to December period. [..]
Kurdish nationalists have been demonized by American and Turkish leaders for targeting civilians and government forces. Estimates suggest that over 37,000 people have been killed since the onset of the PKK’s independence effort in southeast Turkey in 1984. As the founder of the PKK, Kurdish nationalist figure Abdullah Ocalan received much of the negative attention. Ocalan and other PKK members have been attacked for targeting not only Turkish civilians and government, but also Kurdish civilians who are seen as allied with the Turkish state. However, if tens of thousands have been killed in the conflict due to Kurdish terrorist violence, the government of Turkey can hardly be divorced from those deaths, as has been acknowledged by human rights groups. The Turkish government has a long record of engaging in terrorist violence against Kurdish civilians, and has engaged in such violence with only minor objections, and even the active support of, Western leaders. The vast majority of weapons supplied to the Turkish military during the peak of its repression of the Kurds were provided by the U.S., under the Clinton administration. [..]
The same goes for the different treatment of Arab aggression (good guys) against Israel and Israeli (bad guys) defensive actions. Would Counterpunch ever bother to critically apply the propaganda model to the violence between Arabs and Jews? I think not. It probably thinks US thinks of Israel as the good guys. In which case the model doesn’t apply.
Never give a sucker an even break.
FINALISTS–TIME TO VOTE
Ladies and Gentlemen—there you have it: the Nominations for 2007 Most Self Hating Jew Awards.
Below are the Nominees in all four categories:
1. Self Hating Jews of 2007-24 Nominees
2. Not Self Hating—JUST STUPID- 8 Nominees
3. Self Hating Ex-Jews-2 Nominees
4. Self Hating Media- 3 Nominees
click here to vote
Each Nominee has at least one hyper-linked article supporting their case–why they should win in their category. Its an incredibly diverse list–You folks really know your stuff.These links are from blogs across the Blogisphere..so read them all and then make your vote. VOTING INSTRUCTIONS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST
Self Hating Jews Of 2007:
* Eric Alterman: Eric Alterman and the Politics of Anti-Semitism
* Christiane Amanpour’s Husband Christiane Amanpour Journalist -an Oxymoron
* Kate Raphael Bender of QUIT SF Chronicle article; SF Indybay entry; israeli judge silences jewish american activist
* Richard Cohen One Warped Jew
* Norman Finkelstein Finkelstein’s Latest—Its All Dershowitz’s Fault —Jewish Week Gets it Right, NY Times Blows it Again
* Ira Forman of the National “Jewish” “Democratic” Council National Jewish Democratic Council: Anti-Semitic and Anti-Christian Hate Organization
* Abe Greenhouse Rutgers Student Hits Israeli Minister Sharansky with Pie
* Jeff Halper An E-Mail From Jeff Halper, Anti-Israel Activist
* Amira Hass, Editor at Ha’aretz. If KRB were a working journalist that’s AH – . According to her Wiki entry, she’s lived among Palis continuously since 1993.
* Tony Judt Tony Judt, GO TO HELL!
* Rabbi” Michael Lerner, “politics of meaning,” one-time Hillary adviser
* Barbara Lubin, founder of Middle East Children’s Alliance
* Hannah Mermelstein Stealing a Good Name
* Moonbat Rabbis who wrote President Bush asking him to “engage” Hamas Is your rabbi on this list?
* Tal Nitzin, a PhD canditate at Hebrew University who claims that the
o IDF is Racist because they dont Rape Palestinian Women
o The world really is upside down sometimes
* Shimon Peres and the entire Olmert-led government Here and there Who Else But Peres?!
* Gerald Michael (Geraldo) Rivera GERALDO RIVERA DOES IT AGAIN! special kuddos to my daughter on this one, because it is her idea..of course I am a only a little prejudice.
* Ken Roth
o Human Rights Watch: One Lying NGO
o HRW Director Gets Caught “Fibbing”
* Richard Silverstein
o Antiunfalsifiabilitarianism
o Poor Richard Silverstein and Tikkun Hamas
o A Disturbance in the Force
* Adam Shapiro Adam Shapiro Gets a Guardian Tongue Bath
* George Soros Pelosi’s Self Hating Jewish Puppeteer
* Cecilie Surasky What Muzzlewatch Doesn’t Want You to Know
* Israeli prof Gary Sussman – who’s also a self-hating South African, it seems.
* “Rabbi” Arthur Waskow Arthur Waskow–Bogus Rabbi and CAIR Lover
* The Rabbis on the KGIA (NY Madrassa) Advisory Board There’s Something Fishy about KGIA “Advisory Board” And the Rabbis who signed a statement supporting the school cisKGIA Statement: August 15, 2007
Not Self Hating-Just Stupid Award:
* Larry Choler Esses Larry Cohler-Esses Leaves his Journalistic Integrity at the Door
* Alan Combs Alan Combs Read My Lips-You are an idiot/ Steve Emerson vs Alan Combs Last night
* Abe Foxman
o The JNF Land is JEWISH–Its time to shift Donations from the ADL to the JNF
o Anti-Defamation League: A Sick Joke, Lie, and Fraud
o Does the ADL Sanitize Anti-Semites to Protect the Democrat Left?
* The Jewish National Fund JEWISH National Fund REJECTS SHOMER SHABBOS WORKER
* Founder Judith Malina and Co-Director Hanon Reznikov of self-described anarcho-pacifist The Living Theatre. Because The Beautiful Non-Violent Anarchist Revolution Needs A New York Chapter”
* Orthodox Anarchist” Daniel Sieradski, who forcibly injects post-avant garde and hip-hop influences into Orthodox Judiasm in an online format.
* Gary Rosenblatt( DIVIDED JERUSALEM INEVITABLE SAYS JEWISH WEEK PUBLISHER)
* Rabbi Yoffi-Head of the Reform Movement
o Why are The Jews Afraid of THE JEWS?
o Friend of CAIR
o Hanukkah for Dummies and Dhimmis
Self Hating Ex-Jews:
* Bob Novak (see Was Bob Novak Lying?)
* Daniel Sharon, gay Israeli, convert to Islam, arrested in Lebanon earlier this year
Self-Hating Media
* The New York Times NY TIMES LIFETIME ACHIEVMENT AWARD
* Ha’aretz
o Ha’aretz Joins the Self -Hating-Jew Hall-of-Fame
o David Landau Supports “Rape”
o Ha’aretz Editor to Condi: RAPE ISRAEL !
* Tikkun Magazine Lerner Dives Off Deep End
Voting instructions
Orwell was last seen standing in long line waiting to buy tickets to the SUPER BOWL!
What we need is a Ministry of Truth. Where are you George Orwell, now that we really need you?