Inside Hamas Summer Camp
A boys camp in the Palestinian territories.
A kinder, more moderate Hamas? That's the image Gaza's ruling militant group is hoping to sell, in any case. Having scaled back the rocket attacks on Southern Israel that prompted Israel to strike back last December and invade Gaza in a conflict that lasted three weeks, Hamas has refocused on public relations. "Armed resistance is still important and legitimate," Hamas leader Ayman Taha told the New York Times in July. "But we have a new emphasis on cultural resistance."
The new emphasis includes state support for films, television, art shows, and poetic works that portray Gaza residents struggling under Israeli policies. It also includes countless government-run summer camps, which Israel has criticized as ideological training grounds where kids learn how to use weapons. Photos from inside these camps are rare, but Demotix photojournalist Eman Mohammed was cleared to shoot a "scout" camp for younger boys, and eventually got permission to spend a few hours inside the camp for older boys. The images above feature scenes from both camps.
Mother Jones is working with the citizen-journalist photo agency Demotix Images to bring you a new photo essay each month from one of its 8,300 members, who are based in more than 120 countries.
The Israelis have got
The Israelis have got everything their way right now! They’ve got all of Israel and they’ve got all of Jerusalem and they want to keep it all and they don’t have any intention of sharing it with anybody.
“‘We don’t care if the whole world says we’re wrong; we know we’re right. It doesn’t matter what we do to the Palestinians, it doesn’t matter how selfish we are with our land and Jerusalem, with the other religions, we know we’re right and we’re not going to back down an inch!’ No, not until they’re forced to!
So tell me Ted, are you
So tell me Ted, are you planning to share Washington DC with any foreign countries, or share any of the rest of the US with foreign countries? And when, pray tell, do you intend to give the US back to the Native Americans and Mexicans, from whom it was taken?
These "summer camps"
tagged as:- solution
These "summer camps" indoctrinating young men into soldiers, funded by the Hamas-led government, shows that the Palestinians are willing to pay for more killing, rather than providing better education, and thus potential leaders, to address their problems in a way that Western countries could no longer ignore.
Yes, I know that the Israelis are expanding their illegal settlements-regardless of the actions of the Palestinians-and that the US and other allies of Israel are still turning a blind eye to the situation. But I also have seen the outrageous children's tv programs produced by Hamas that brainwash their own children to become suicidal bombers, thus ignoring the great number of Israelis who are adamantly opposed to the intolerable and oppressive Israeli occupation.
The Palestinian authority, Hamas and Fatah, must give the Western countries a valid excuse to finally oppose Israel's illegal actions, which means not taking the bait when they're induced into acting against their own interests. But I know it is much easier to talk like this from my safe environment.
"I hear, I forget. I see, I remember. I do, I understand."~Not mine, but I likes it.
Kinder and more moderate?
As long as they are turning innocent children into militant terrorist, they will never be "kinder" or "more moderate"
-Nikki-
Americans idolize their soldiers
Americans idolize their soldiers, despite the militant indoctrination they receive, their obedience to authoritarians and the war crimes they commit. Israeli soldiers steal the organs from the unarmed civilians they murder, and are also venerated by their countrypersons. Palestinians are no different, except they are militarily repressed with the very best armaments the US can gift to Israel. Mother Jones would serve its readers better by reporting on all the American soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan who are now imprisoned.
Typical stream of non
Typical stream of non sequitur from Tpx.
Imprisoned? Where? In Afghanistan or the US? Imprisoned for what? Committing atrocities, or meth use, or ?
There's a difference between young adults going to boot camp and learning UCMJ and tweens and teens going to a summer camp where they learn to hate others and how to act out on that hate.
Carry on tpx, business as normal for you.
Typical stream
One admits to redundantly being disgusted with anti-Palestinian propaganda, especially in a magazine which takes Mother Jones for its name. The children in Gaza live in a concentration camp under constant threat of highly developed technological aggression from Israel. Every community would organize its youth to participate in survival training under those circumstances. The summer camp is probably based on an example of an early Zionist one.
Most of the former troops who are incarcerated are in county jails. Expect to read a lot of articles about former soldiers and their crimes. So far the articles are mostly about their increased drug use, domestic violence and difficulties readjusting to civilian life due to the stress of serving. They are capable of much worse crimes.
tpx, Care to provide even
tpx,
Care to provide even one iota of evidence for the claim that Israeli soldiers steal the organs of unarmed civilians?
All of the evidence is
All of the evidence is circumstantial. The damning evidence is Israel uses its military power to prevent the exhumation of victims identified with having their organs stolen by their families. Families have made claims and the state of Israel refuses to investigate whether or not unarmed civilians killed by the IDF had their organs stolen. All Israel has to do is allow a few autopsies to disprove the claims. A black market for human organs thrives in Israel. IDF personnel have plenty of opportunities to steal the organs from their Palestinian civilian victims. Even American Rabbis have been indicted for the trade of black market organs from Israel. Given the racist attitude many Israelis have for Palestinians, the opportunity to harvest organs from Palestinian civilians killed by the IDF, the value of those organs in the local black market, a trade route to US organ buyers and the descriptions of the victims from the accusing families, the accusation has merit.
You should see what the
You should see what the swiss do with their children.
I like the photos, they tell
I like the photos, they tell a thousand words, but they also leave out thousands of words. NOT SAYING it is exactly the same but when I was a boy scout growing up... At summer camp we learned to use guns, we prayed to our God and ran obstacle courses and learned all kinds of survival techniques. Was I indoctrinated? The choice of ones path is still ones own. My beliefs have changed through the years, but I still am glad for much of what I learned in summer camps.
Straw man arguments only make the case for weak journalism
Count me as another red-blooded U.S. resident (in this case, a left-leaning Californian one) who grew up at Boy Scout summer camps learning survival and shooting skills.
This mini-article is absurd to present Hamas's camps without any comparison, inviting readers to express their contempt at this dummy target. The photos suggest a military-style youth boot camp, which I abhore, but which are also quite common in the U.S., if not also Israel. As earlier posters noted, our culture also glorifies its soldiers, but we're not criticizing that here.
Comparing apples to apples? In this case, it's just one apple, on top of Hamas's head, inviting readers to miss the mark with their damning judgments. For a more balanced story, let's compare Hamas's camps with those in the U.S. and Israel. I have a hunch we could all learn a lot about our "ideological training grounds."
MJ, I expect better from you.
I also have seen the
tagged as:- solution
I also have seen the outrageous children's tv programs produced by Hamas that brainwash their own children to become suicidal bombers, thus ignoring the great number of Israelis who are adamantly opposed to the intolerable and oppressive Israeli occupation.