“Release The Hostages” Means More (and Less) Than You Think

What Israel Supporters Really Mean When They Say “Release The Hostages”

by Caitlin Johnstone, reposted from Caitlin’s Newsletter

If you’re not on social media, you’ve likely spent ten and a half months blissfully unaware of an extremely freakish but very common phenomenon in which Israel’s supporters respond to images and videos of dead and mutilated children in Gaza by babbling about the Israeli hostages being held there by Hamas.

Whenever you see someone sharing raw footage of the most horrific thing imaginable being inflicted upon someone who couldn’t possibly have done anything to deserve it, and someone in the replies yelling “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!”, it’s important to be clear what they’re saying.

What they are saying is that they believe Israel should murder children, decapitate them, rip their guts out, dismember them, mutilate them, burn them alive, every single day, until its military demands are submitted to. They are also probably saying that they personally would help Israel do these things to children if circumstances permitted.

They are saying they are fully on board with killing, decapitating, eviscerating, dismembering, mutilating and incinerating small children every day until the hostages are released.

They are saying this despite the mountains upon mountains of evidence that what’s being done in Gaza has nothing whatsoever to do with releasing the hostages.

They are saying this despite the mountains upon mountains of evidence that the IDF has been killing and injuring Israeli hostages with its attacks on Gaza.

They are saying this despite the mountains upon mountains of evidence that Netanyahu is doing everything he can to sabotage a hostage deal while the genocide in Gaza continues.

They are saying this despite the fact that Israel holds thousands of Palestinians hostage under “administrative detention” without due process, and while Israel holds millions of Palestinians hostage in the giant extermination camp known as Gaza.

And they are saying this despite the mountains upon mountains of evidence that Israeli forces are raping, mutilating and torturing Palestinian hostages in torture dungeons as a matter of policy.

It’s important to be aware that this is what they are saying because it’s important to be aware of who Israel’s defenders and supporters really are. These are not normal people. These are not people with healthy minds, with functioning empathy centers in their brains. There is something deeply, profoundly wrong with who they are and how they are.

It’s important to be aware of this because otherwise you might fall into the trap of thinking this issue must be more complicated than it looks, and the interpretation of what we are seeing in Gaza must be a matter of subjective opinion. No, that’s not true at all. What’s happening in Gaza is very simple and straightforward, and is exactly what it immediately and obviously looks like to anyone who beholds it through the lens of conscience and basic human empathy.

The reason for all the debate and disagreement you are seeing about Gaza has nothing to do with complexity or nuance, and everything to do with some very warped and damaged minds lacking the fundamental faculties that cause normal people to care about other human beings.

(By Caitlin Johnstone)

As I recently wrote, I have for the time being washed my hands of Christians who refuse to engage with the issue of Palestine, and for now (at least until the end of this horrific war) I will be writing about the significance of what is going on “over there” from a global and historic perspective.

I’m here for anyone who cares to have an intelligent conversation about reality, instead of living in a silo of confirmation bias.

I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter. I write about the Palestine-Israel issue regularly, and other issues relevant to progressives or those considering becoming progressive. If you would like to comment on this post, please pop over to my Facebook page. All of my posts are there and open to constructive comment. I welcome your thoughts.

Contact the people in Washington DC who (allegedly) work for you and tell them, “ENOUGH. CEASEFIRE NOW. NO MORE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL. STOP THE GENOCIDE. NOW – OR YOU’RE FIRED.”