Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Juan Cole gets it wrong again

Why context matters.

 Juan Cole has published a post entitled  "Creepy Israeli planning for Palestinian Food Insecurity in Gaza revealed."  (No, I'm not going to link to it. You can find it yourself. I know you can)

In it, he states

"The food blockade had real effects. About ten percent of Palestinian children in Gaza under 5 have had their growth stunted by malnutrition."

Lets give Juan Cole some needed context.  An estimated 200 million children aged under five in the developing world suffer from stunted growth due to maternal and childhood malnutrition

The Palestinians actually have the second lowest rate of stunting in the Arab Middle east, according to a 2009 UNICEF Document: Tracking Progress on Child and  Maternal Nutrition 

Qatar   8%
Palestinian Territories- 10%
Lebanon - 11
Jordan - 12
Oman - 13
UAE - 17
Saudi Arabia - 20
Kuwait - 24
Iraq - 26
Syria - 28
Egypt - 29
Yemen – 58

If their really was a food blockade, why are children in Gaza  better nourished than their neighbors, Juan? 



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Juan Cole - Separated at Birth

http://www.israellycool.com/2012/01/08/separated-at-birth-229/