Stephen L. Carter, Columnist

It Matters Whether It’s ‘Palestine’ or ‘Gaza’

What the world calls a disputed region — and who gets to decide — is a way of taking sides.

August 23, 2024 at 11:00 AM UTC

Corrected

August 26, 2024 at 8:09 PM UTC

Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, a professor of law at Yale University and author of “Invisible: The Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster.”

In what country do these Palestinians live?
Photographer: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images

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So this destructive war in the Middle East — the one that has diplomats working tirelessly to arrange a cease-fire and protestors taking to the streets, the one that has exacted a horrific human toll — where exactly is it taking place? Did Hamas launch its Oct. 7 attack from Gaza or Palestine? Which one did Israel invade in return?

The problem is not only which term to use, but who gets to decide.