What's Wrong With This Picture? 7-16-06, NO-IMAGES-OF-DEAD-ISRAELIS.

First, let me be perfectly clear. I am NOT drawing conclusions about what ACTUALLY happened in Haifa yesterday. I was not there and have NO WAY of knowing, aside from what was presented to the world via images by Israeli sources in the mainstream media.

My conclusions pertain only to what can reasonably be gleaned from a pool of over 350 images from yahoo news - yesterday alone. It does NOT apply to images of events occuring afterwards, nor to images that were not available to me from yahoo news.

Consequently, my conclusions may be refuted with credible documented evidence of actual Israeli deaths occuring on July 16, 2006 as a direct result of Hizbullah fire, in the city of Haifa - if it exists.

I do not dispute that rockets were fired - I only question whether, based on the images presented, they caused the deaths attributed to them by Israelis.

Let me further make clear, that I am neither happy nor eager to see dead Israeli civilians. Every human life is equally sacred - not to be weighed and measured based on demographics, as if human life were a commodity.

My goal is to examine the evidence presented as the basis and justification for the continuing massive, deadly, and merciless assaults on the people and nation of Lebanon today.

Israel warned of massive retaliation after the Haifa attack, and accused Iran and Syria of providing the weaponry used in it.

If we are to stand by as our leaders allow Israelis to destroy with impunity an entire nation, the world must at least demand credible evidence from Israelis that the justification actually occurred.

If no one in the mainstream media will ask critical questions or offer objective observations, then as a citizen and as a human being I am duty-bound to raise these crucial questions.

Before you continue, if you haven't already, please examine the images for yourself and draw your own conclusions (many images are no longer available at yahoo).

Analysis

Without going into too much detail about the laws of evidence, before a photo or image can be admitted into the record it must be authenticated by someone with personal knowledge that the photo fairly and accurately represents the people or objects portrayed. Often, there is no other way to verify the truth of its contents.

The witness need not be the photographer - merely someone who can testify to the accuracy of the events and objects its proponents assert it portrays.

The analysis does not end there. The witness's credibility, including a history of lying, evidence of bias, or some other motive to lie must also be considered.

If a witness is either biased or otherwise incredible, it stands to reason that, at most, the image should be taken only at face value (for what it actually shows), NOT as evidence of the narrative attributed to it by the party submitting it.

Examining the Evidence

All night I clicked through these images and try, as I may, I could not find a single credible image of one dead Israeli - NEITHER MILITARY NOR CIVILIAN.

The only images of 'dead people' depicted Israeli rescuers or policemen moving SEALED body bags - their contents to be taken on faith.

There were only two images of an injured Israeli, a man on a stretcher. Notably, his injuries were evidenced only by one isolated stream of blood on his forearm. No evidence of injuries from shrapnel were apparent on his chest and abdomen, as would be expected from random explosions (compare chest, abdomen and legs of Lebanese toddler injured by Israeli bombs).

The only other images of Israeli civilians depicted family members of those allegedly killed. One image showed an Israeli woman fainting, the cause - not apparent - is explained by narrative. Another image shows Israeli women embraced, with subdued expressions of sadness on their faces - again, explained by narrative.

Conspicuously absent in all the images of Israelis, both rescuers and victims, is a sense of imminent fear, extreme anxiety, shock or pain, or other human expressions that invariably accompany scenes of brutal and sudden death and destruction.

In stark contrast, in the images showing Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, their suffering and injuries are palpable and apparent - the terror in their eyes, unmistakable. No narrative is required - the images speak for themselves.

Likewise, the damage to Lebanese and Palestinian infrastructure is staggering - whole buildings are flattened. It is absolutely impossible for these breathtaking scenes of destruction to have been captured at some other remote point in time. In sum, the images are so unique and compelling as to virtually eliminate the need for independent authentication.

Conclusion

We already know that Israelis will lie to "protect themselves" from perceived enemies. Moreover, every image of Israelis online is photographed by an Israeli. This alone is enough to demand independent verification. But, Israelis have repeatedly denied foreigners access to areas of conflict in order to independently monitor events on the ground. Indeed, Israelis have a history of shooting at and killing foreign journalists.

After examining these images, I can only conclude that Israelis have NOT presented the world with credible evidence that the deaths upon which they base their continued murderous campaign against Lebanese civilians ever actually occurred.

Are Israelis lying about the deaths at Haifa, July 16, 2006 in order to justify intensifying their assault on Lebanon?

It is unclear.

But if they are, they must be exposed.