The facts
Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine and Palestinians with her were attacked by Jewish settlers on Friday while covering the olive harvest in Abu Falah, located in the occupied West Bank, the Associated Press reported. According to the report, Levine suffered several broken vertebrae as a result of the assault. Levine stated that she felt insulted after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the incident as "alleged." Israel's president contacted Levine following the attack. Additionally, more than a dozen former security and intelligence officials sent a letter condemning settler violence. Levine indicated that she had not received any communication from Netanyahu. The Associated Press noted that there was no new update from the police regarding the incident.
Our take
Let’s get this straight: a photographer gets jumped by a pack of settlers while doing her job, winds up with multiple broken fucking vertebrae, and the Prime Minister of Israel can’t even muster the basic human decency to call it an attack. No, for Benjamin Netanyahu, it’s just an “alleged” incident, as if someone misplaced a wallet instead of a mob breaking a woman’s back. What a colossal, gaping asshole. The sheer, cowardly weasel-shit of it is staggering. His own president managed to pick up the phone, but Bibi? Too busy, or more likely, too much of a prick to acknowledge the violent thugs he and his government have spent years cultivating and protecting. The cunt can’t even pretend to give a shit. Meanwhile, a dozen former spooks had to write a fucking letter because the current regime is too morally bankrupt to condemn its own pet terrorists. Levine said she felt insulted. Insulted? That’s putting it mildly. Getting your spine shattered by a bunch of fanatics is one thing; having the country’s leader then imply you might be making it up for kicks is the real injury. It’s the political equivalent of getting kicked in the ribs and then having the boot’s owner ask if you’re sure you felt it. The only thing “alleged” here is Netanyahu’s connection to basic fucking humanity. The police have no update, of course. Why would they? The settlers aren’t the suspects; they’re the constituency. The whole pathetic spectacle is a perfect portrait of a government that winks at violence and then plays semantic Twister to avoid responsibility. Absolute fucking bastards, the lot of them. Next time, maybe they can just send her a note: ‘Sorry about your back. Allegedly.’”
