Do you agree with all the rules?

Linguistics and Arab-Israeli Political Correctness


Too Sad Too True



The rules of POLITICAL CORRECTNESS for the Israeli-Arab conflict:

Rule #1: In the Middle East, it is always the Arabs that attack first,
and it's always Israel who defends itself. This is called 'retaliation'.

Rule #2: The Arabs, whether Palestinians or Lebanese, are not allowed to
kill Israelis. This is called 'terrorism'.

Rule #3: Israel has the right to kill Arab civilians; this is called
'self-defense', or these days 'collateral damage'.

Rule #4: When Israel kills too many Arab civilians, the Western world
calls for restraint. This is called the 'reaction of the international
community'.

Rule #5: Palestinians and Lebanese do not have the right to capture
Israeli military, not even 1 or 2.

Rule #6: Israel has the right to capture as many Palestinians as they
want (Palestinians: around 10,000 to date, 300 of whom are children;
Lebanese: 1000s to date, being held without trial). There is no limit;
there is no need for proof of guilt or trial. All that is needed is the
magic word: 'terrorism'.

Rule #7: When you say 'Hezbollah', always be sure to add 'supported by
Syria and Iran'.

Rule #8: When you say 'Israel', never say 'supported by the USA, the UK
and other European countries', for people (God forbid) might believe
this is not an equal conflict.

Rule #9: When it comes to Israel, don't mention the words 'occupied
territories', 'UN resolutions', 'Geneva conventions'. This could
distress the audience of Fox.

Rule #10: Israelis speak better English than Arabs. This is why we let
them speak out as much as possible, so that they can explain rules 1
through 9. This is called 'neutral journalism'.

Rule #11: If you don't agree with these rules or if you favor the Arab
side over the Israeli side, you must be a very dangerous anti-Semite.
You may even have to make a public apology if you express your honest
opinion (isn't democracy wonderful?)