• The U.S. condemned the hostage situation of Hersh Goldberg-Polin but largely ignored the killing of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi by Israeli forces.
• The unequal response raises concerns about the value placed on Palestinian lives.
Two lives, two tragic deaths, and two vastly different reactions. On 31st August 2024, President Joe Biden delivered a statement on Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American citizen injured and taken hostage during a Hamas attack. His condemnation was swift and fierce. However, just a week earlier, the killing of AysenurEzgi Eygi, a 26-year-old US-Turkish activist shot by Israeli forces in the West Bank, passed with barely a murmur from the White House.
Eygi was fatally shot in the head by an IDF sniper while protesting Jewish settlement expansion near Nablus, West Bank. Israeli authorities claimed they fired at a “violent instigator,” though witnesses reported she was neither involved in the clashes nor a threat to soldiers. The US and Turkish governments both expressed concerns, but while Turkey’s President Erdogan called the killing “barbaric,” Washington offered only a tepid call for an investigation by the guilty party themselves.
The contrast between the reactions to these tragedies is stark, and it raises uncomfortable questions about how America responds to deaths depending on who the victim is. While Goldberg-Polin’s case prompted an outpouring of empathy and firm condemnation, Eygi’sdeath—although equally tragic—seemed to receive far less attention and outrage from US officials.
This disparity speaks to a deeper issue: is Palestinian blood viewed as less valuable in the eyes of global powers? Both Eygi and Goldberg-Polin were American citizens, but the response to their killings suggests that the U.S. government’s commitment to justice is uneven.
Biden’s administration has condemned violence in the region, but there seems to be a reluctance to equally denounce acts committed by Israel. In Eygi’s case, the silence from the White House was noticeable, and it sends a troubling message to the Palestinian community and to those advocating for human rights in the region.
Any loss of life is tragic. It deserves the same condemnation and pursuit of justice. By failing to equally denounce both killings in a similar manner, the U.S. perpetuates time and again the perception that Palestinian lives matter less, they are less human. This unequal treatment only fuels the fire of injustice and contributes to the ongoing cycle of violence and resentment.
If the United States is truly committed to peace and human rights, it must apply the same standard of condemnation and justice, regardless of who pulls the trigger. The bloodshed in the region will only end when all lives are valued equally, and all deaths are met with the same level of outrage and resolve to seek justice.
