The 'exposure' of prison horrors aims to shift focus from Israel's broader crimes

For better or worse, the 1942 quasi-propaganda film Casablanca, with its stellar cast headed by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, was a staple of my generation’s access to movie theatres showing classic, independent and foreign films in the US in the late 1960s and early 1970s. 

Called on to shut down a gambling operation run by American Rick Blaine (played by Bogart), French police captain Louis Renault (played by Claude Rains) speaks a line that has become a slogan of the times to refer to blatant hypocrisy and corruption. 

While his heart is with the resistance, Renault works for Vichy - and while he has to shut down the club, he also wants to cash in. As he loudly blows his whistle to call for reinforcements, Renault shouts at Blaine: “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here” - and Ugarte, the character played by Peter Lorre, quickly hands the captain his winnings. 

I can’t begin to count the number of times this scene and those words have crossed my mind as I have watched responses to Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza. 

Read more: The 'exposure' of prison horrors aims to shift focus from Israel's broader crimes