{"id":1266305,"date":"2023-10-13T14:05:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T14:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1670689"},"modified":"2023-10-13T14:05:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T14:05:30","slug":"forty-beheaded-babies-was-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-of-western-colonialists-manufacturing-of-consent-for-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/10\/13\/forty-beheaded-babies-was-the-tip-of-the-iceberg-of-western-colonialists-manufacturing-of-consent-for-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Forty beheaded babies was the tip of the iceberg of Western colonialist\u2019s manufacturing of consent for Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As Israel continues its war crimes against the Palestinian<\/a> people in Gaza, Western media and politicians have been complicit in the attempted genocide.<\/p>\n

Central to this has been the claim that Hamas beheaded babies during its attack on Israel<\/a> on Saturday 7 October. However, this allegation forms part of a wider media and political propaganda operation. Its explicit goal is to dehumanise Palestinians and absolve Israel of its own, heinous crimes. Not that this is new – as it’s always been the rationale for violent colonisers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘Babies… their heads cut off’<\/h2>\n

The claim that Hamas beheaded around 40 babies originated<\/a> from right-wing, Netanyahu-backing<\/a> Israeli news channel i24 News<\/em> on Tuesday 10 October. Reporter Nicole Zedek originally said an Israeli reservist soldier<\/a> (who we now know is a right-wing racist settler) told her he found<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Babies [with] their heads cut off.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Corporate journalists began repeating the claim<\/a> on social media. However, as early as 10 October some Israeli army officials were telling media outlets they had no evidence of Hamas beheading babies<\/a>. Yet on Wednesday 11 October, many<\/a> UK newspapers<\/a> ran the story on their front pages anyway without question.<\/p>\n

These accusations were accepted at the topmost levels by Western superpowers – with US president Joe Biden<\/a> claiming that:<\/p>\n

I never really thought that I would see, have confirmed, pictures of terrorists beheading children<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The far-right Israeli ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, repeated the claim on BBC Newsnight<\/em><\/a> on Wednesday 11 October. She said [12:55]:<\/p>\n

40 bodies of babies that their heads were cut off… we’ve seen… the bodies of those babies and children, and actually this is evidence-based.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, by 12pm on Thursday 12 October, the claim was unravelling.<\/p>\n

The claim unravels<\/h2>\n

For example, CNN had to backtrack just after 12pm BST. It reported the Israeli government ‘could not confirm’ the beheadings. However, the claim was repeated again<\/a> by right-wing editor of the Jewish Chronicle<\/em> Jake Wallis Simons on Question Time<\/em> on 12 October. Co-panelist Piers Morgan also echoed this – saying:<\/p>\n

Jerusalem Post reporting tonight confirmation of these rumours that were swirling that some of… [the babies] have been beheaded.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The right-wing Jerusalem Post<\/em>\u00a0did indeed claim this. It said<\/a> – citing Netanyahu’s office sharing photos of the beheaded babies with the US’s Anthony Blinken, then putting them on X.<\/p>\n

However, the Israeli PM Twitter account does not show decapitated babies – nor does it claim to. Bear in mind, hours earlier<\/a> the US government had to walk back Biden’s claim<\/a> – admitting he had not seen any photos of beheaded babies and was basing his assertion on news reports and the Israeli government.<\/p>\n

By the early hours of Friday 13 October, even Reuters<\/em> began to unpick the story. It noted that<\/a>, within photos Israel had given to NATO:<\/p>\n

There were no images to suggest militants had beheaded babies – a particularly explosive accusation that first emerged in Israel’s media and initially confirmed by Israeli officials.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yet now, what’s looking like a piece of Israeli propaganda that turned into a lie repeated by countless journalists and politicians, will stick. It will stick partly because it forms part of a colonialist propaganda campaign against Palestinians.<\/p>\n

Western corporate media: colonialist to the core<\/h2>\n

This campaign to paint Palestinians as aggressors and barbarians, and to dehumanise them, is sometimes explicit – like Simons’ now-deleted tweet:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Some of it is more subtle yet still obvious – like right-wing Telegraph<\/em> columnist Madeline Grant’s latest emotive – yet still racist<\/a> – article:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Then a lot of it flies under the radar, barely even being noticeable.<\/p>\n

For example, the Canary<\/em> analysed the first 20 minutes of BBC News at Six<\/em> on 11 October. When you remove anchors Clive Myrie and Sophie Raworth’s monologues, the BBC<\/em> dedicated 84% of the reporting to human stories and analysis around Israel. It gave just 16% of the same type of coverage to Gaza.<\/p>\n

Some of the propaganda is implicit – like the BBC<\/em>‘s use of the passive voice (Palestinians have “died”, while Israelis have been “killed”):<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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More than 500 people have died in Gaza after Israel launched massive retaliatory air strikes, according to Gaza's health ministry <\/p>\n

More than 700 people have been killed in Israel since Hamas launched its attacks on Saturday<\/p>\n

Follow the latest \"\u2b07\"<\/p>\n

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 9, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n