On Wednesday, Israel struck at several targets in Gaza, IN RESPONSE to recent rocket fire from Gaza into Israeli civilian areas.
Why the bold red font?
Because that crucial bit of context has ended up on the cutting room floor of far too many newsrooms in the last months and years. This massive, mendacious error of omission is why the knee-jerk Red-Green-RonPaul alliance has spuriously accused Israel of unprovoked assault during Operation Cast Lead in late 2008/early 2009.
While there are plenty of people out there who are always ready and willing to accuse Israel of horrible crimes that they know to be untrue, plenty more really are under the impression that Israel keeps throwing the proverbial first punch. And that is largely because the gatekeepers of this information flow have decided not to let that little nugget through.
As you can see on the Official Challah Hu Akbar Gaza Rocket Counter™, there has been no shortage of Qassam & Grad rockets, and mortars recently.
For example, Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich of the IDF Spokersperson Unit had this triptych o’ tweets from the beginning of February:
Three rockets fired from #Gaza into #israel a few minutes ago. #terror
— Avital Leibovich (@AvitalLeibovich) February 1, 2012
This makes a total of 29 rockets fired from #Gaza into #israel in last month. #somethingyouwillnotreadinthenewspapers
— Avital Leibovich (@AvitalLeibovich) February 1, 2012
More than 620 rockets were launched at #israel from #Gaza in previous year. #terror
— Avital Leibovich (@AvitalLeibovich) February 3, 2012
Here’s a more recent set from Paula Stern, aka A Soldier’s Mother:
A few moments ago – #GAZA terrorists again fired a rocket at 11,000 people in Shaar HaNegev region
— ASoldiersMother (@ASoldiersMother) February 11, 2012
Since January 20, 2009, 648 rockets and 404 mortar shells have been fired into Israel. Wonder if that includes last night’s attack?
— ASoldiersMother (@ASoldiersMother) February 12, 2012
and that makes TWO rockets fired at Israel from #GAZA – and the terror continues…
— ASoldiersMother (@ASoldiersMother) February 15, 2012
In 2012, we pride ourselves on the ability to instantaneously call up visual evidence to confirm or deny just about any claim out there. In the information age, we are offended by the very thought of information being withheld from us. But because this information never gets to the masses, many people don’t even have a clue that they’re being deprived of this crucial information in the first place.
This leads to the phenomenon I call ‘Schrödinger’s Rockets’.
The Qassams, Grads & mortars are both real and unreal, both true and illusory, depending on which person you ask. They are both slamming into homes, schools, playgrounds & open fields, and sitting peacefully in their launchers, depending on whether anyone in the media has bothered to tell you about them, or whether you’ve bothered to find out for yourself.
To the people who haven’t ‘seen the pics’, it really didn’t happen. So when Israel finally counterattacks, all they see is an ‘unprovoked’ attack.
Of course, the rocket attacks are all too real, just as the frenzied global reaction is all too predictable. So as a public service, for those of you who had no idea that there is an ongoing barrage from Gaza into Israel, here are some pics, so you can no longer say it didn’t happen:
Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza is legal, there is no occupation in Gaza, and now that Gilad Shalit is finally home, there is no humanitarian crisis either.
There is only the lethal hiss of rocket after rocket being fired from Gaza into civilian areas in Israel.
And it sounds eerily similar to the steady drumbeat of an approaching, all-too-avoidable war.
So…y’know…just sayin’…
So…y’know…just sayin’… RT @ASoldiersMother Operation Cast Lead was launched because dozens of rockets were fired daily from #gaza
— Zionist Shark (@ZionistShark) October 30, 2011