Reading Hell
Gideon Levy Israeli journalist Gideon Levy points out that, “in Hebrew, ‘Gaza’, pronounced ‘Aza, is short for Azazel, which is associated with hell. Of the multitude of curses hurled at me these days from every street corner, ‘Go to hell/Gaza’ is among the gentler ones.” [1] Levy’s recent book The Killing of Gaza: Reports on a Catastrophe collects a selection of his Haaretz columns spanning the years 2014-2024 and represents the most liberal perspective tolerated in the Jewish state. The columns present a panoramic and surprisingly frank set of vignettes illustrating the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and in Israeli prisons, as in the following passage relating the mistreatment of Hamas members: The beatings became a daily affair. Occasionally the guards demanded of prisoners that they kiss an Israeli flag and declaim, “Am Yisrael chai” – “The people of Israel live!” They were also ordered to curse the prophet Mohammed. The usual call to prayer in the cells w...