Anthony Bourdain: The Only Mensch on Gaza

In the face of dehumanization of the Palestinians, 

Bourdain stood as an all too rare exception.

By

Juan Cole

Anthony Bourdain was the only major American celebrity who succeeded in depicting publicly the Palestinians as rational, caring human beings rather than as irrationally angry “inciters” to violence. He was the anti-Bernard Lewis. Lewis smeared the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims with the charge of “Islamic Rage” (as though large swathes of humankind are angry for no reason).

Bourdain said, “The world has visited many terrible things on the Palestinians, none more shameful than robbing them of their basic humanity.”

The Israel propaganda machine has even attempted to smear Razan al-Najjar, the 21-year-old nurse in Gaza who was shot dead by an Israeli-American sniper as she tended, unarmed and clearly wearing medic’s clothing, to injured Palestinians being shot with live ammunition by Israeli troops on the Gaza side of the border. Shooting Razan was a war crime. Razan was engaged in an act of selfish bravery. We should all be so “complex.” That attempt to dehumanize one Palestinian is typical of the American and Israeli media in general. I can’t tell you how many “panels” on Palestine I’ve seen on CNN that included no Palestinian; often it was three middle aged males, and sometimes they lacked even religious diversity among them.

In the face of this dehumanization, Bourdain stood as an all too rare exception. Half the people in Gaza are children, and Bourdain loved them:

Here is Anthony Bourdain with a group of children in Gaza. Thank you for shining your light on the dark places. pic.twitter.com/225CETUQZd

— Erin Cunningham (@erinmcunningham) June 8, 2018

When the Israeli army, notorious for its use of indiscriminate fire, hit Palestinian children on a beach in Gaza, Bourdain wrote:

Maybe it’s the fact that I walked on that beach—and have a small child that makes this photo so devastating. #Gazapic.twitter.com/s067RShbVh

— Anthony Bourdain (@Bourdain) July 16, 2014

Continue this article, and to view video, please go here: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/06/09/anthony-bourdain-only-mensch-gaza