Mona Chalabi
Appearances
It's Been a Minute
Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
I think they're upset because when such a mainstream beloved figure... expresses support for Palestine, it shows to what extent the default position has shifted. So for the longest time, the default position was basically one of sympathy towards Israel and suspicion towards Palestinians. And that was kind of what was defined as neutral and objective.
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Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
And for somebody like Miss Rachel to come out and state that she is horrified by what is happening to Palestinian children... is such an indication of how much public opinion has shifted. And people are fighting very, very hard for where that center lies. So these right-wing groups are trying to keep everyone dragged to this side where the center is actually a pro-Israel position.
It's Been a Minute
Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
I would actually argue that Miss Rachel is staying in her lane by speaking up on this. She is a children's educator. Therefore, she has a concern for children, for the fact that children are being systematically starved, for the fact that education in Gaza has been absolutely destroyed. Schools have been bombed. Teachers have been killed.
It's Been a Minute
Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
No child in Gaza has been able to have access to a decent level of education since October. And, I mean, this is particularly shocking given that Palestine used to have a literacy rate that was actually higher than America's. And that's all gone now. So I would argue that as somebody who is a children's educator, she has a real concern to speak up on behalf of children and education.
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Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
And, by the way, I would say that... For most of us who aren't Palestinian, very often our lens to understanding this is through our careers. So for me, as a journalist, I am deeply, deeply concerned and troubled by the targeted killing of journalists in Palestine.
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Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
I know medical workers who are deeply troubled by the targeted killings of aid workers, of medics, and again, the bombings of hospitals. She's staying in her lane. It's just, it's a ridiculous accusation. I don't know.
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Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
To me, it's not surprising, actually, that even Miss Rachel was accused of being funded by Hamas because we actually see this as a consistent playbook among those who are trying to discredit voices who are speaking up for Palestine and for Palestinians.
It's Been a Minute
Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
So whether it's student movement, student protesters or beloved children's entertainers, you're either going to be accused of supporting Hamas or being directly funded by them. And luckily with someone like Miss Rachel, that seems utterly ludicrous because
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Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
Unfortunately, there are young people in campuses across the country who are having that accusation leveled against them who don't have the financial resources or even the immigration security to be able to fight back. So I really want to caution that that's not isolated, that kind of tactic. It's just bad journalism to just repeat any old claim.
It's Been a Minute
Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
I was just going to add that the accusation that people who have spoken up on behalf of Palestine are associated with Hamas is actually an escalation of a very, very, very long standing strategy, which is to discredit people by accusations that they are anti-Semitic.
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Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
And part of the reason why that strategy is not having the same impact that it did, that is not being deployed as often as it was, is because many anti-Zionist Jewish groups have expanded. They have gotten more vocal. It's not a tenable accusation unless you want to also accuse hundreds of thousands, millions of Jews of being anti-Semitic.
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Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
Again, it's just an effort to politicize what are fundamentally questions of human rights and human dignity.
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Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
We've been hearing so much about... how the future of free speech in the US looks very, very terrifying, how perhaps Miss Rachel being silenced is a harbinger of terrible things to come. My impression is that we're already here.
It's Been a Minute
Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
I think the way that the student movement has been mischaracterised, the repercussions for those students who have spoken up, the arbitrary detention, the monitoring of people's social media accounts, we're there. It's bleak and all the more reason then to fight for people like Miss Rachel so that our rights also aren't taken away.
It's Been a Minute
Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
I was just going to say, like, if the next pope also speaks up on behalf of Palestine, are people going to claim that he's funded by Hamas? Let's see. Let's see.
It's Been a Minute
Why can't we (or Ms. Rachel) talk about Gaza's children dying?
She sounds like an arsehole, honestly. That's what I've been told. That's what I've been told by parents. It teaches the kids to be utter arseholes.