Jeffrey Goldberg Propagates Myths About Gaza

The Atlantic's Jeff Goldberg is concerned that one of this year's MacArthur Genius Grant recipients, filmmaker James Longley is "anti-Israel" and "not particularly clever" about it either.  He also notes that it is "alas, no surprise" that Longley is on the MacArthur list.  As evidence of Longley's bias, Goldberg cites the following quote from the filmmaker.

"To my great relief, the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip turned out to be people like everyone else. It's the situation they find themselves in that is extraordinary: The Gaza Strip is essentially an open-air prison for Palestinian refugees, guarded on all sides by the Israeli military. Barely 28 miles long and 4 miles wide, it contains more than 1,200,000 Palestinians - over one third of them living in squalid refugee camps built in 1948 to hold the people forced out of their homes by the creation of modern-day Israel. It is one of the most densely populated places on the planet. Nobody can pass through its borders without the permission of the Israeli soldiers. Like the West Bank, the Gaza Strip has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967. Most people living in the Gaza Strip have never known a single day of real freedom."

But I've got some news for Goldberg.  Everything Longley says in that statement is true, every word.

Below is a compilation of Longley's statements (in italics) followed by Goldberg's attempted rebuttals, then the facts:

Longley: "Palestinians in the Gaza Strip turned out to be people like everyone else."

Goldberg: ""Essentially true -- I make much the same argument in my book on the subject. Except that some residents of Gaza are, in fact, members of a suicide terrorist organization who seek out their enemy's children to kill. This is fairly unusual. Only the Tamils in Sri Lanka have constructed a similar cult. So this would be worth mentioning."

It's good that Goldberg agrees that Palestinians in Gaza are "people like everyone else."  He then notes, accurately, that "some residents" of Gaza are suicide bombers and criticizes Longley for not mentioning it.  Why should he?  Israel itself concedes that many of the people killed in the war - i.e, the victims of the human rights violations the United Nations' report cites - were noncombatants including 320 children.

Longley: "The Gaza Strip is essentially an open-air prison for Palestinian refugees, guarded on all sides by the Israeli military." 

Goldberg: "No, not true. The Strip shares a border with Egypt, an Arab state."

No, Gaza is a prison because the border with Egypt is closed at the insistence of Israel.  Gaza has no open borders with anyone.

Longley: "[I]t contains more than 1,200,000 Palestinians - over one third of them living in squalid refugee camps built in 1948 to hold the people forced out of their homes by the creation of modern-day Israel."

Goldberg: "There are very few refugees left in Gaza. The children and grandchildren of these refugees are not, according to international law, refugees. They are only considered 'refugees' because the Arab states have refused to resettle them or build them permanent housing. Also, not all Palestinians who fled Israel in 1948 were 'driven out.' Some fled areas of fighting, some were expelled by Jewish forces, and some left of their own accord."

It does not matter whether or not they are refugees, the children of refugees or the cousins of refugees.  What matters is that there are 1.2 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza living in dire conditions as a result of first a blockade, then a war, and now a blockade again.  Goldberg cannot deny the mass human suffering inflicted on the Palestinians of Gaza so he challenges their refugee status!

Longley: "It is one of the most densely populated places on the planet."

Goldberg: "Not true. Most cities in the world are more densely populated than Gaza. Manhattan, for instance, is more densely populated than Gaza. Also, Cairo. And many suburbs of major cities, as well."

Yes, Manhattan is more densely populated than Gaza, largely because in Manhattan about a million people live in high-rise buildings.   Gazans live closer to the ground, hence the density is rather less pleasant.  Additionally, Manhattanites who suffer from the density can move to Queens or Staten Island.  Gazans live in a ghetto without exits.

Longley: "Nobody can pass through its borders without the permission of the Israeli soldiers."

Goldberg: "Not true. The Egyptians could lift their blockade of Gaza, which would allow easy passage."

Wrong.  Several influential members of Congress have made it clear to the Egyptians that any loosening of the border will result in a dramatic cut in US aid to Egypt.

Longley: "Like the West Bank, the Gaza Strip has been under Israeli military occupation since 1967."

Goldberg: "Not true. During the 1990s, most parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip were under the control of the Palestinian Authority. In 2005, Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers from Gaza and turned over control of the entire area to the Palestinian Authority."

Israel withdrew from Gaza under fire from Hamas.  The Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas had asked Israel to negotiate its withdrawal with the PA so that the withdrawal would not be followed by a Hamas takeover of the area.  Israel flat-out refused to negotiate over a withdrawal it insisted must be "unilateral."  Not surprisingly, when the IDF pulled out, Hamas moved in - just as Abbas predicted.   In fact, Gaza remains under Israeli control.  Israelis - not Palestinians - control its borders.   

As for the West Bank, it has never known a day of Palestinian sovereignty.  Under Oslo, Israel allowed the Palestinian Authority to control certain patches of territory but ultimate control always rested with Israel, as it does today.

Longley: "Most people living in the Gaza Strip have never known a single day of real freedom." 

Goldberg: "This is partially true, though Gaza knew no freedom when it was occupied by the Egyptian military until 1967. And of course, 'real freedom' is not a prevailing condition in most of the Arab Middle East. But Longley is not interested in the complications of life in the Arab world, or in Israel, and God knows, he could make honest films that still expose various Israeli sins. But he doesn't seem to be someone who closely adheres to the truth. He seems mainly interested, in the Middle East context, in libeling Israel. Which, of course, is good for business, as we see this week."

Goldberg agrees with Longley.  Palestinians have not known a single day of real freedom.  That is it in a nutshell.  I'm glad Goldberg recognizes it.