Last week, the ABC’s David Speers interviewed the Israeli deputy foreign minister, Sharen Haskel. She was outraged, as everyone should be, that a hospital had been hit by an Iranian missile, injuring a number of people. She contrasted Israel’s targeting of what she said were legitimate targets, against this deliberate strike on a hospital by Iran. To his credit, perhaps, Speers did mention Israel’s genocide in Gaza, without, of course, using the word “genocide” or a term as accurate as “mass murder”. In fact, he managed to mention it, as is standard on our public broadcaster, without blaming Israel for anything.
He said, “Well I will come to the situation in Gaza shortly, where of course several hospitals have been hit and where thousands of children killed since that war began…”
Have a think about that opening phrase. “Several hospitals have been hit” is a hideous, deliberate understatement. A one-minute internet search would have told him (or his underworked research staff) that the World Health Organisation reported on 22 May that there had been 28 attacks on Gazan hospitals by Israel in the previous week and 697 Israeli attacks on hospitals in Gaza since October 2023. Only 19 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain “operational”. That word, “operational” may give a misleading impression, since there are “severe supply shortages, lack of health workers, persistent insecurity and a surge of casualties, while all staff work in impossible conditions.”
According to a UN report from January of this year, more than 1,057 health and medical professionals had been killed in Gaza since October 2023 and many have been arrested. Some were killed in cold blood by the Israeli Defence Force while others have been tortured in Israeli prisons.
But David Speers sums up these atrocities, committed by Israel, as “several hospitals have been hit.” Yes, he also mentioned “thousands of children killed since that war began…” but from both phrases the words “by Israel” are missing. The destruction of hospitals, the execution of doctors and nurses, the killing of thousands of children, cannot be blamed on Israel - it’s just random stuff that happens, somehow.
The passive voice - “people were killed” rather than “Israel killed them” - is the murderers’ best friend. And while I applaud David Speers for at least mentioning these atrocities in his interview and for pressing the Israeli minister for proof (which she didn’t have) of Iran’s imminent nuclear capability, I condemn him and his ABC colleagues for refusing to tell it like it is. They are journalists and it’s not their job to fudge the facts and use the passive voice and make life easier for those who commit genocide.
Dear god, I’m grateful for the day I removed that ABC News app from my phone.