Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – American humorist and, oddly, horror author, Ambrose Bierce (d. 1913), produced a serial, staccato newspaper column consisting of humorous and sardonic definitions of words, which he later published as a book, The Devil’s Dictionary. (He initially had to entitle it “The Cynic’s Wordbook,” which doesn’t have the same ring, because his pious editors wanted to avoid referring to Mephistopheles.)
Bierce often tweaked the white nationalist Establishment. For instance, consider this entry:
- “ABORIGINIES, n. Persons of little worth found cumbering the soil of a newly discovered country. They soon cease to cumber; they fertilize.”
A more concise summation of the genocidal character of white settler colonialism would be hard to discover.
And I rather like this one, skewering pretensions of impartiality:
- “ABSURDITY, n. A statement or belief manifestly inconsistent with one’s own opinion.”
My homage to Bierce at Informed Comment has been The Ghoul’s Glossary. I did mine as contextual, political satire, and some of the bons mots have faded. But there are a few I’d keep for a book. For instance, this one from 2008:
- “Zionism: The theory that because Nazis hated Jews, the latter would be much better off all gathered together on disputed land in the midst of 300 million Arabs and Iranians.”
Or this:
- “Palestinians: Dispossessed, displaced and stateless persons who are ungrateful for their condition and therefore vaguely dangerous.”
Or speaking of the American attempt to pivot away from the Middle East after causing a spot of bother earlier in the century:
- “Withdrawal: A way to avoid the worst consequences of a moment of pleasurable conquest, which, however, often comes too late to avoid years of support payments.”
I bring all this up because the intrepid Jeremy Scahill and Ryan Grim at The Intercept have sprung the style guide of the New York Times for talking about Israel and Palestine. If it weren’t so serious, it would be hilarious. It is sort of a Devil’s Dictionary in reverse, which punches down rather than up. It more resembles Bierce’s forays into horror fiction.
Al Jazeera English Video: “Mass grave found in Gaza: Bodies found in grounds of al-Shifa hospital”
So I thought I’d rearrange their fine column as a supplement to the Ghoul’s Glossary.
CARNAGE: When Israelis kill Palestinians this word should be avoided since it conveys more emotion than information. May be used when Palestinians kill Israelis. Example: “One Israeli said that being high on LSD during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 prompted a spiritual revelation that helped him escape the carnage at a desert rave.” NYT, April 12, 2024. May also be used of peoples not under the Palestine Exception. E.g.: “As the war continues with no end in sight, Ukraine’s youngest are in increasing peril, at risk of being dragged toward the carnage of ground combat as they defend their homeland.” NYT, April 11, 2024.
DEADLY VIOLENCE: When Israeli settlers kill innocent Palestinian civilians. E.g.: “Deadly violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has also reached record levels,” NYT, Feb. 21, 2024. Contrast to TERRORISM, when Palestinians kill Israeli civilians.
ETHNIC CLEANSING: Large scale removal of a people other than the Palestinians from their homeland. With regard to Palestine (oops, see PALESTINE), it is “another historically charged term: If someone is making such an accusation, we should press for specifics or supply proper context.” May be used for other peoples not under the Palestine Exception. E.g.: “Another Ethnic Cleansing Could Be Underway — and We’re Not Paying Attention: Azerbaijan is blockading the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, and people are dying.” NYT, Sept. 2, 2023.
FIGHTERS. This term ordinarily refers to “those who fight,” but cannot be used of Palestinians lest it imply that they are regular soldiers with a state and an army, which they are not and never will be allowed to have. It may be used of non-Palestinian irregulars who are favored by the US government, and who do not fall under the Palestine Exception. E.g. “The fighters who have claimed responsibility for a rare assault just over the Ukrainian border in Russia’s Belgorod region are members of a volunteer unit made up of Russian citizens who have been fighting with Ukraine’s forces against their own country.” NYT, May 25, 2023. Note: Russian renegades who attack Russian targets in Russia from Ukraine are never to be referred to as TERRORISTs, since they are not Palestinian.
GENOCIDE: This is something that is definitely not being committed by Israel in Gaza, though it may be reported that some judges expert in international law make the mystifying charge that Israelis would ever do such a thing. Their charges should be explained away as a form of incomprehensible legal jargon not applicable to the real world. The term may, however, be used of peoples other than the Palestinians, who are not under the Palestine Exception. E.g., re: Rwanda, “one of the last fugitives charged in connection with the 1994 genocide.” NYT, June 7, 2023.
MASSACRE: When Israelis kill Palestinians this term should be avoided since it conveys more emotion than information. It may, however, be used when Palestinians kill Israelis. . Example: “‘It’s a Massacre’: Inside an Israeli Village Raided by Palestinian Fighters.” NYT Oct. 10, 2023.
PALESTINE: A word not to be used “except in very rare cases.” No such place has ever existed nor does it now. “Do not use in datelines, routine text or headlines, except in very rare cases such as when the United Nations General Assembly elevated Palestine to a nonmember observer state, or references to historic Palestine.” That is, other benighted organizations may use the word, but not the NYT in its own voice.
OCCUPIED TERRITORIES: Ordinarily this phrase refers to territories seized in war from another people, which are militarily controlled. However, because of the Palestine Exception, it should not be used of the situation in Palestine (oops, S.V. PALESTINE) “When possible, avoid the term and be specific (e.g. Gaza, the West Bank, etc.) as each has a slightly different status.” The term may be used of other occupied territories [which of course actually all have the same status under the 1949 Geneva Convention] E.g. ” the United States might establish what amounts to a military base in Ukraine or encourage Ukraine to retake the Russian-occupied areas of the Donbass by military force.” NYT, Nov. 24, 2021.
REFUGEE CAMPS: A term be avoided in favor of “refugee centers.” “While termed refugee camps, the refugee centers in Gaza are developed and densely populated neighborhoods dating to the 1948 war. Refer to them as neighborhoods, or areas, and if further context is necessary, explain how they have historically been called refugee camps.” The term may, however, be used for densely-populated, decades-old places for non-Palestinians such as Afghans, who are not under the Palestine Exception. E.g.: “Sarwar selling watches in a camp for Afghan refugees in Karachi.” NYT, Nov. 24, 2023.
SLAUGHTER: When Israelis kill Palestinians it should be avoided since it conveys more emotion than information. May be used when Palestinians kill Israelis. Example: Thomas Friedman: “Israel’s response to the Hamas slaughter.” NYT, October 29, 2023.
TERRORISM: When Palestinian guerrillas kill Israeli civilians. E.G. “It is accurate to use ‘terrorism’ and ‘terrorist’ in describing the attacks of Oct. 7, which included the deliberate targeting of civilians in killings and kidnappings.” When Israeli settlers kill Palestinians, the term of art is in contrast “deadly violence.” E.g.: “Deadly violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has also reached record levels,” NYT, Feb. 21, 2024.
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