© Omar SommadPainting of Razan al-Najjar immortalizing her service, by Omar Sommad.
But when Israeli snipers murdered a 21-year-old Palestinian nurse named Razan Al-Najjar yesterday, the mainstream media was nearly silent. Today's New York Times print edition only includes her as an afterthought, in a report by the usually reliable Rick Gladstone about Israel's latest defeat at the United Nations. Gladstone's article notes only that "A 21-year-old Palestinian health worker was killed. . ." Gladstone's editors could not be bothered to add her name, or to change the passive sentence to report who actually killed her.
By mid-morning in New York, the Times did start to rectify its error. A report went up, datelined KHUZAA, Gaza Strip, that includes basic background about this remarkable young woman, including an interview with her father, Ashram. A photograph shows desperate Gazans trying to carry her body to safety after the Israeli sniper shot her. The report did include a no comment from Israel's military spokesman, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, who is normally voluble when he is inventing violence by Gazans.
The Times's report also has a 2-minute video interview it did with Razan Al-Najjar last month. The interview is powerful, and painful to watch. But it concentrates on whether, as a woman, she has any difficulty doing her job as a health worker. She does get to say that she and the other resisters in Gaza are showing the world that "without weapons we can do anything."
Other mainstream media outlets have so far missed the Razan Al-Najjar story almost entirely. The Washington Post reported absolutely nothing. The Guardian buried a brief wire service report on its website. The BBC, somewhat surprisingly, also had nothing about Razan Al-Najjar, although it did report that the International Committee of the Red Cross is sending two surgical teams to Gaza to help with the "unprecedented health crisis." While National Public Radio today allowed an Israeli to ascribe the Gaza killings to Hamas, and failed to mention the latest victim.
On the plus side, social media worldwide is telling some of the missing truths about Razan Al-Najjar. As of this morning, 111,000 tweets had already mentioned her name. Notably, Israeli parliamentarian Ayman Odeh tweeted that an "angel's life" was taken and highlighted Israeli claims that every bullet its snipers fired can be accounted for.
"We know where each ball came from, everything was accurate and measured." Thus the army claimed itself. And yesterday? The shooting of the snipers reached the upper body of the medic Rzan Najar, 21, who treated the wounded from the demonstrations on the Gaza Strip. In previous interviews, she told me how she was proud to serve her country and save people. Today, The Nanny's Angel life was taken.
Palestinian accounts are lionizing al-Najjar, saying her name will never be forgotten. From Palestine Live:
"Princess of Return", Razan Al-Najjar. A name and a story that will be remembered for generations to come as the youngest dedicated Palestinian paramedic whose worry was to save lives. On 1st June 2018 she was targeted by an israeli sniper.Palestinian media also showed a photograph of her mother clutching her bloodstained medic's coat, and calling al Najjar a "merciful martyr."
© Palestine LiveRazan al-Najjar's mother clutching her paramedic coat, stained with her blood and that of other protesters, June 2, 2018.
UPDATE: Here, from Haaretz, is a video that seems to show Razan Al-Najjar and other Gazan medics approaching the border with their hands in the air when she was murdered:
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We are a spark, struck in passion, liquid fire taking form, filling the darkness around us with light and warmth, bursting forth, rising high, rising to the pinnacle of our power, then descending, cooling until we diminish and flicker out forever, the energy within released through transformation, expanding to infinity, our empty shell falling to the ground, resting lifeless and devoid of energy.
A spark of energy from an ocean of energy, a dense infinite ocean of unlimited imagination, adept unconstrained manifestation, wheels within wheels, within wheels, no detail too small, no thought too big, no vision beyond creation, no creation beyond vision. A consciousness that exists alone, all realities existing within that loneliness, each sparks struck, emanates from the conscious will and imagination of a pure emotional unity.
No moment is promised beyond the gift of this instant, yet we plan and scheme for a day far off, no material accumulation can be of lasting benefit to a fleeting spark, no despots power can escape the dying of the ember, no cruel act can escape the truth, no thoughtless sheep can justify their lethargy, no wilful ignorance can defend the guilty, as we burn out, the power of the draining spark flees this universe and wake in the next, to gather the harvest of a transient life’s work.
Each child of Adam (Humanity) is a spark of Allah’s (who is Not God's) pure energy,
and harbours a spark of an infinite imagination, but dares not imagine,
harbours a spark of infinite compassion and mercy, but crushes it within themselves,
harbours a spark of infinite love and generosity but refuses these virtues fearing,
harbours a spark of infinite truth and justice but cowers in the comfort of wilful ignorance,
harbours a spark of infinite emotional consciousness and deep reason, but abandons all reason in the blind worship of many sovereigns.
The spark given is a gift normally squandered, never considered, never truly appreciated or valued for its true incredible and magnificent worth. A spark from the block, Merely A Moment of Existence to Test Your Metal, the spark flies forth, what actions are observed determine the status of the metal, the measure of purity or impurity it holds, to gauge the value of continued refinement.
A Pure Spark Expanding into Infinity like the spark on tinder that grows to consume or Transform All it Contacts and Encounters. The Spark that at the Moment of it ‘Death’ Ignites a Star, Transforming from State to State, the Evolution of Consciousness, an exploration of unrestricted imagination; timeless; endless; adventurous; Always Eternally Exciting.
The spark tests your metal, the test is a fleeting spark, the moment of the spark is all you have to show your true nature, this is the only test, to fail is to be slowly purified in fire, to transcend the test is to shine like a star.
Spark Test used in modern industry: This is a simple identification test used by engineers to identify different metals by observing the colour, spacing, and quantity of sparks produced by grinding. These spark patterns are unique to each metal.