The good life in Gaza
Op-ed: Images from new Gaza mall's grand opening raise questions about 'crisis' in Strip
Curiously, a day after the mall opened, the European Union's Senior Representative for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, called for Israel to lift the Gaza blockade. One wonders whether she found the time, while inspecting all the terrible sights of Gaza's humanitarian crisis during her visit, to stop by the new Gaza mall to check out how sales were going.
Meanwhile, as Strip Mall festivities were on Saturday, Sky News reported on the "still dire" situation in Gaza. The article noted that "The blockade has meant that only basics like flour, rice and sugar have been allowed into Gaza from Israel." One wonders about that while examining the joyous pictures of the upscale Gaza mall's grand opening and the various goods on offer there.
Similarly, on the day of the Gaza mall's opening, UNRWA President John Ging said the people of Gaza "Can't afford to buy cans of Coca Cola from Israel." But they can afford new clothes, luxury hair products, and children's toys at the new Gaza Mall?
Indeed, images from the new mall make one wonder about the humanitarian crisis all these international "aid" ships are sailing to. Who knows, maybe Libyan dictator Gaddafi, who sent a ship recently, owns a store in the Gaza Strip Mall?
Jacob Shrybman is the Assistant Director of the Sderot Media Center
