Timnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 1, 2023

CNN talks about Palestinian deaths like its a natural disaster.

"Palestinian American family mourns 42 relatives killed in a single day in Gaza"

How exactly were they killed CNN? Was it an earthquake? A flood? Some sort of natural disaster? The number of videos I've seen of Palestinians who have lost entire generations of their families because they were bombed in their homes, facing western journalists with absolutely no empathy for them, is sickening.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/31/world/palestinian-american-family-relatives-killed-gaza/index.html

Show threadTimnit Gebru (she/her).Nov 1, 2023
A computer science professor was talking about his family member who was shot by IDF in the West Bank, and he had to preface that by saying "Hamas is not in the West Bank." The only thing another one of my fellow computer scientists had to say was "That's not true, there are many Hamas supporters in the West Bank." The dehumanization is so deep.
Show threadTom Bellin Nov 1, 2023
@timnitGebru Seeing the IDF murdering innocent people without repercussions might have something to do with the radicalization of the population. Just thinking out loud.
Show threadRichardNov 2, 2023
@tob @timnitGebru I don't really like that excuse. It can be claimed by any side in a conflict and is a justification for continually escalating, eye-for-eye vengeance.
Show threadHat. AuDHD cat 😷🌺🍉🌻🔻Nov 2, 2023
@richard_merren @tob @timnitGebru it isn't an excuse.
Its an acknowledgement that human nature exists.
October 7th was an atrocity committed by Hamas.
The state of Israel is committing genocide against Palestinian civilians
Both sides are doing horrific things
But if you leave out the crimes committed by idf you really CANNOT condemn the crimes committed in retaliation.
Show threadAndrocatNov 2, 2023

@CatHat @richard_merren @tob @timnitGebru

What is missing from this analysis is that Hamas is a very useful tool for Netanyahu.

You will perhaps recall that Israel unilaterally released a whole bunch of Hamas fighters some 20 years ago, directly leading to the split of Palestinian leadership between Hamas rule in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank.

And then, usefully, Netanyahu gave Hamas independent funding in the form of frozen funds from Qatar.

Hamas does horrible shit, and that gives Netanyahu the opportunity to "strike back".
Netanyahu wants them to do horrible shit.

Show threadmike805Nov 3, 2023

@androcat @CatHat @richard_merren @tob @timnitGebru This sounds like the "enemy of the enemy is my friend" strategy. Trying to get Hamas and other factions to fight among themselves rather than fight Israel.

That turned out just about as well as winding up the Afghan jihadis to fight Russia did for the USA.

Isn't there some ancient Jewish wisdom about creating golems and how they tend to turn around and stomp on the rabbi doing the magic?

Show threadRichard
@mike805 @androcat @CatHat @tob @timnitGebru I think most of the golem stories are just about creating them to do household chores. You're thinking of Mary Shelley.
Nov 3, 2023 at 12:43amPachli