480 Palestinians Dead in Gaza

About twenty minutes ago, CNN reported that more than 480 Palestinians have lost their lives in the attacks on Gaza. On the other hand, 4 Israelis are dead.

And yet, Netanyahu claims that Israel is putting its own soldiers at risk in its attempt to protect Palestinian civilians. He says that it is Hamas that doesn't care about the casualty count.

I find the evidence rather strongly to the contrary.

[That is not to say that Hamas does care about the casualty count. They may not either. But I find it highly ironic, with the numbers as they are, for Israel to claim that they have the moral high ground.]

Iraqi Civilian Deaths

Along the lines of language, and the power of words on peace and war, here are just a few lines from one of Naomi Shihab Nye's poems:

But I cannot pretend
a scrap of investment in the language
that allows human beings to kill one another
systematically, abstractly, distantly.
The language wrapped around 37,000,
or whatever the number today,
dead and beautiful bodies thrown into holes
without any tiny, reasonable goodbye.
-Naomi Shihab Nye
("Why I Could Not Accept Your Invitation," You and Yours).

The actual body-count now, for documented Iraqi civilian deaths from violence, is between 82,249 and 89,760. As of 16 February 2008.

George Fox University Survey

For the past couple of weeks, I've been conducting a survey of George Fox University students for their perceptions on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I surveyed 50 students in all (about 3.3% of the traditional undergraduate student body), of which 41 were female, and 31 were juniors.

Here are some of the results.

At fault:

• 12% thought the Palestinians were to blame for the conflict
• 6% thought the Israelis were to blame
• The rest (82%) found both parties at fault

Violation of Human Rights:

• 40% were not aware that Israel is in violation of U.N. resolutions and established regulations for human rights
• But 82% thought Israel should be held responsible for maintaining human rights and U.N. resolutions

American Aid:

• 54% were aware that Israel receives more American financial aid than other countries (about 33%-40% of the total aid budget annually)
• 33% of those students were not happy with that amount, and thought it was too high
  

Deaths (statistics are based on info from B'Tselem, starting in the year 2000):

• 36% (wrongly) believed that more Israelis than Palestinians had died in the conflict

• 60% thought 1000 or more Palestinians had died
  
• 40% thought less than 1000
• (Approx. 4,350 Palestinians have died since 2000)

• 52% thought 500 or more were under 18
• 48% thought less than 500
• (Approx. 900 were under the age of 18)

• 50% thought 1000 or more Israelis had died
• 50% thought less than 1000 had died
• (Approx. 1,030 Israelis have died since 2000)

• 66% thought 100 or more were under 18
• 34% thought less than 100
• (Approx. 120 were under the age of 18)

Palestinian vs. Israeli Deaths

If you're interested in information regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, B'Tselem's website is a great place to look. They have multiple pages devoted to statistics about fatalities, homes demolished by the Israeli government, deportation of Palestinians, restriction of movement, and the separation barrier.

B'Tselem is the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, and was established in 1989 by a group of prominent (Israeli) academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, ensure that Israel complies with its obligations under international law, and help protect the human rights of Palestinians.

"B'Tselem" in Hebrew literally means "in the image of," and is also used as a synonym for human dignity. The word is taken from Genesis 1:27, "And God created humans in God's image. In the image of God did God create them." According to B'Tselem, it is in this spirit that the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "all human beings are born equal in dignity and rights."

Here are some statistics from their website regarding death tolls (the data is from 9 Sept. 2000-31 Oct. 2007):

• 4,345 Palestinians killed by Israelis.
• 863 were minors.
• 2,043 were not partaking in hostilities of any kind. (I find it very disturbing that one of the best trained militaries in the world should have a nearly 50% collateral damage rating . . .)

• 1,029 Israelis killed by Palestinians.
• 119 were minors.
  
• 704 were civilians.