How low can propaganda go?
Doctor Izz el-Deen Aboul Aish is a Palestinian gynecologist. He is a senior doctor in Shiba hospital, Tel Ha’Shomer (inside Israel). During the week, he works in the hospital and goes back to see his family on the weekend. Because of this war, he’s stuck in his home, with his brother’s family- together, it adds up to 25 children in the house.
Interviewed on Israeli TV several times, during this war, the good doctor has spoken against Hamas and would regularly plead for a ceasefire. My guess is that he was serving as token Palestinian. So that each Israeli watching can sneer from his couch: "What other country would allow the enemy an interview?!"
On Tuesday, while being interviewed on a radio show, Dr. Aboul Aish told the interviewer that a tank is aimed straight at his house and bullets are flying. The hosts did good, this time. They called the army, explained the situation, the location, and fifteen minutes later Dr. Aboul Aish, informed them in relief, the tank has changed direction.
How long could the Doctor’s and his family’s safety be insured? Easy: Three days.
On Friday, the 16th of January the following occurred (if subtitles don’t show, click the triangle on the lower right hand corner. Then click the "CC" button):
If news corespondent Shlomi Eldar (the man with the phone) was not well acquainted with Dr. Aboul Aish, I doubt this would have ever reached the news. I commend Eldar for at least trying to inject a little humanity into the 8:00 o’clock news, every time he goes on air.
How can you possibly spin this?! I wish I had the video to show you (If I find it, I’ll update), but here’s what happened:
A few hours after this "live event", a short article was prepared, showing what was going on, as soon as Shlomi Eldar left the studio. Eldar frantically runs through the halls of the Channel 10 building to make the necessary phone calls, to get the ambulances through to Dr. Aboul Aish’s location. His people are shown talking to the Doctor, assuring him that "we will get you out of Gaza".
Next, Channel 10 has Alon Ben-David (corespondent in Gaza for this war) and Eldar, in the studio. Eldar fills us in; Dr. Aboul Aish’s daughters have been taken to hospitals inside Israel (separate hospitals- something to think about). He now- live- will attempt to call him. Meanwhile, Ben-David explains that, apparently, shots were fired from Dr. Aboul Aish’s house.
Dr. Aboul Aish answers the phone quickly, he can somehow report some facts (which hospital his daughters are at and the likes), but he is still in a begrieved state and in between answers he’s demanding an answer to why this happened, "can somebody answer me?! Can somebody tell me why?!" While this is happening, Eldar asks about the allegations of shooting from the house. The Doctor is adamant, there were only girls in the house (to the best of my memory and translation):
"They were cooking dinner, talking about their future… One wanted to go to the University, the other wanted to be a journalist and the third a doctor…"
That’s my recollections from that segment. What do you think the average Israeli viewer remembers?
Update (19/01/09): On the 17th a follow up article about Dr. Izz el-Deen Aboul Aish was featured on Channel 10. I thought it important enough to sit and translate. Meet the man behind the broken cries. Izz el-Deen Aboul Aish, the Palestinian doctor:
ZNetwork is funded solely through the generosity of its readers.
Donate