Here’s what we’re reading:
Many narratives emerge in the wake of shocking events such as the attacks in Paris last week. Here are three we’re following — of varying importance.
What of Beirut? Often called the “Paris of the Middle East” — you can unpack the presumptions underlying that phrase on your own time (why isn’t Paris the Beirut of Europe?) — the Lebanese capital was rocked by attacks similar in magnitude to the Paris attacks just one day earlier.
Lots of questions to ask ourselves about our personal reactions to that and the reactions of the western media. But here’s an interesting one: Why did Facebook activate its Safety Check feature for users in Paris but not users in Beirut? Mark Zuckerberg has responded by saying this was a first-time use of the feature that allows users to let loved ones know they’re safe.
“’Many people have rightfully asked why we turned on Safety Check for Paris but not for bombings in Beirut and other places,’ said Zuckerberg. ‘Until yesterday, our policy was only to activate Safety Check for natural disasters. We just changed this and now plan to activate Safety Check for more human disasters going forward as well.’”
In response to calls for the curtailment of immigration because Middle Eastern refugees could be terrorists, Rex Brynen offers this “lesson from the Holocaust” in the Forward:
“During World War II there was also a real risk that among those fleeing war and Nazi oppression there might be spies and fifth columnists. Indeed, some were. I am enormously grateful, however, that fear of that possibility did not lead the authorities to turn back a young boy who arrived in England with his parents in May 1940. … That young boy was my father.”
And then there are the Eagles of Death Metal, the band whose concert was the object of one of the Paris attacks. In case you were worried that this might prevent them from playing in Israel again, JTA is there for you with this tidbit:
“The American rock band Eagles of Death Metal has confirmed its intention to play in Israel this summer in the wake of a deadly attack on its concert in Paris.”