Gaza in Crisis

Two speakers steeped in the ongoing crisis of the Middle East describe abominable conditions for Palestinians living inside Gaza, which has been blockaded by Israel since 2007. They demand urgent action for civilian victims, and condemn both the Israeli and U.S. governments for pursuing policies of “genocide.” An impassioned Nancy Murray details daily life inside what has become a 26-mile-long prison, and Noam Chomsky offers background on how this zone of misery came into being, with withering words for those he labels perpetrators. Murray asks us to imagine living “in a territory which over the past four years has served as a kind of laboratory to find the breaking point of human beings.” Israel has deliberately worked to keep Gaza functioning at the lowest level possible, preventing Palestinians from repairing their war-torn water and sewer infrastructure, and severely limiting food supplies — literally controlling calorie intake, says Murray. Israel has also blocked the reconstruction of hospitals and clinics to tend to those wounded by war, or suffering mental health trauma from years of harassment. She cites a 2006 study showing that 98% of Gaza children had been subject to violence, tear gas, or home searches. In a long-term, calculated effort to strangle economic development, Israel has also deprived fishermen of the right to safe maritime areas, and declared the small patches of arable land “to be a no-go zone,” targeting farmers and children attempting to attend school nearby. The education system has also been hard hit, with schools in disrepair, and children “using old shipping containers as classrooms.” If the future looks grim now, Murray believes there is worse to come, with Israel preparing for another round of war, capping “a six decade- long project of destroying resistance to oppression.” There is no surprise for Noam Chomsky in the tightening vise around Gaza. It is of a piece with years of Israeli disregard for human rights and internat...

Channel: MIT World Video Length: 0s Date Found: Thu, Feb 10 2011 2:09 PM Category: Science Date Produced: Thu, Feb 10 2011 12:00 AM View Count: 1