War

Israel — and the words the White House will not say

By | | comments |

If the West Wing called Netanyahu a terrorist who was killing children, he could not survive as prime minister and, ultimately, there would be peace, says Bob Ellis.

IN A FILM called The Exterminating Angel by Luis Buñuel, a dinner party of intelligent, sophisticated people find themselves unable to leave a particular room. No physical obstruction prohibits them — no armed guards, no electronic barrier. They are fearful, that’s all, inexplicably fearful, of going through that door.

It is a parable of Catholic belief, and why so many stay in it. But it is also appropriate, I think, to the West Wing of the White House and the words they dare not use, in that linguistic prison, about Israel and Gaza.

Last night, they got as far as 'unacceptable'.

It was "unacceptable", they said, that "innocent civilians" be killed in UN safe-houses in crowded Gaza.

They did not say 'children’, or, as Ban Ki-Moon said, "sleeping children", the game-changing phrase of our time.

They did not say ‘children’. That would have been immoderate, even improper. Unacceptable.

Strange, when we consider how much power these few extra words, if used, might have.

If Netanyahu were now called a ‘terrorist’ − or worse, an ‘arguable war criminal’ by the White House − he could not survive as Prime Minister.

If they said: ‘We do not see good cause why we should continue to supply this violent regime with weapons of mass destruction’, there would be a two-state solution within a year.

And it is doubtful, not certain, that the Jewish vote in Florida and New York would be much moved against Obama in the gubernatorials later this year if he, or his people, said it. They, too, are scared that Bibi is killing Israel already, and they want him stopped and the Zionist Project to survive his hydrophobic bellicosity.

They want Bibi stymied too.

It would save twenty thousand lives, and enrich and prosper, over time, two million lives in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem. It would bring back tourists to the Middle East. It would civilise, over time, Hamas. It would civilise, over time, the Knesset.

And it only takes the words.

Creative Commons Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License

Monthly Donation

$

Single Donation

$

Join Newsletter

*
*
*
Please fill the text in this image in the field below to assist us in eliminating spam
 

John Graham originals, including the one above, may be purchased from IA's online store.

See more of John's political art on his Cartoons and Caricatures Facebook page.

 
Recent articles by Bob Ellis
On turning forty

On Friday 20 May 2016, the Sydney Writers' Festival is holding a special tribute to ...  
Desperate times for Australian literary legend Bob Ellis

As Bob Ellis continues his battle with cancer, his daily diary, Table Talk, cont ...  
The old Fairfax #Ipsos poll trick

Despite all the scandal, division, discontent and negative publicity, a Fairfax- ...  
Join the conversation
comments powered by Disqus

Support Fearless Journalism

If you got something from this article, please consider making a one-off donation to support fearless journalism.

Single Donation

$

Support IAIndependent Australia

Subscribe to IA and investigate Australia today.

Close Subscribe Donate