There’s another entry in the annals of euphemism in Middle East reporting.
The word is “study” as in:
A headline seen in many online news stories yesterday.
Here’s what it really means:
Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip bombarded the western Negev with dozens of Qassam rockets and mortar shells on Wednesday, burdening diplomatic efforts to revive a truce that expired over the weekend.
The Magen David Adom rescue service declared its highest level of alert by late morning, after nearly 60 Qassam rockets and mortar shells were fired at southern Israel. Some 40 of these were launched between 9 A.M. and 1 P.M.
Maybe “burdening diplomatic efforts” is a euphemism for “Hamas launched an all out war.”
Here’s another euphemism:
Mere Rhetoric neatly disposes of that characterization on the Israeli side. On the other side, the conflict arises from Hamas’s stated goal of destroying Israel. I suppose that given the public support for such a goal, domestic politics may well be fueling the conflict against Israel. But on Israel’s side the conflict stems from self-defense, not political calculations.
Welcome to the Middle East, region of the euphemisms.
Crossposted on Soccer Dad.
