As the world watches the ongoing horror in southern Israel and in the Gaza Strip, media grapple not only with the immediate violence, but to understand why this happened and how it can stop. This is truly no other Middle East skirmish anymore. Likely the deadliest offensive against Israel on its soil, and perhaps the most audacious operation by Palestinian militants, it’s been compared both to 9/11 and to the bloody 1973 war between Israel and a coalition of Arab nations.
How could Israel—so famous for its military might and advanced intelligence capabilities—have missed the warnings of such an attack? The coordinated nature of the rocket attacks and assaults on nearby towns make clear that this was a huge operation that took time and planning; paragliding attacks require practice runs that are not easy to hide (L’Orient Today, 10/9/23), for instance. Already, Israeli media have begun looking closely at the Israeli government’s actions to understand how and why this happened—in sharp contrast to US broadsheet opinion, which has largely rallied unquestioningly behind Israeli “national unity.”
Blaming Netanyahu
In the wake of the Hamas attack, criticism of the Israeli government was widespread in the country’s media (Times of Israel, 10/8/23).
The Times of Israel (10/8/23) noted that Netanyahu was quoted telling Likud Party members in 2018 about his stance on Gaza, summarizing his quote saying “those who oppose a Palestinian state should support the transfer of funds to Gaza”—meaning to Gaza’s Hamas-led government—as doing so maintains the “separation between the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza,” thus dividing and conquering the Palestinians once and for all.
Gaza is sealed off, contained and highly surveilled (Middle East Institute, 4/27/22); it’s hard to believe no one in the Israeli government didn’t know something was being planned. The above ToI report quoted Assaf Pozilov, a reporter for the Israeli public broadcasting outlet Kan, saying before the attack, “The Islamic Jihad organization has started a noisy exercise very close to the border, in which they practiced launching missiles, breaking into Israel and kidnapping soldiers.”
An Israeli military veteran in the New York Post (10/9/23), hardly considered a pro-Palestine publication, blamed Israel for ignoring warnings from Egyptian intelligence about “something big.”
An editorial at Ha’aretz (10/8/23) put the blame squarely on Netanyahu, saying “he is the ultimate arbiter of Israeli foreign and security affairs.” It also pointed the finger at his right-wing policies on settlement expansion and allies with far-right extremist parties. “As expected, signs of an outbreak of hostilities began in the West Bank, where Palestinians started feeling the heavier hand of the Israeli occupier,” the editorial said, noting that “Hamas exploited the opportunity in order to launch its surprise attack.”
At the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (10/7/23), David Halperin, chief executive officer of the Israel Policy Forum, wrote that for the last year, “my colleagues and I…have joined with others in expressing concern about the nature of Israel’s far-right government.” The article—which questioned why Netanyahu’s government, famously hard-nosed on security, failed to protect the people—was reprinted in the Jerusalem Post (10/7/23).
Alon Pinkas (Ha’aretz, 10/9/23) wrote more directly: “Netanyahu should be removed as prime minister immediately—not ‘after the war,’ not after a plea bargain in his corruption trial, not after an election. Now.”
‘Risks of disunity’
But top US editorial boards are elsewhere, failing to ask questions about intelligence failures and Netanyahu’s hand on the wheel. Instead, they urged Israelis to put aside the concerns they’ve had about democracy, which brought throngs of liberal and left-wing Israelis into the streets to denounce the Netanyahu government’s neutering of an independent judiciary—a decision that has been likened to the “sham democracy” of Hungary (Foreign Policy, 8/3/23). This summer, military reservists joined the protests, causing alarm about the country’s military readiness (AP, 7/19/23).
A Wall Street Journal editorial (10/7/23) used the Hamas offensive to downplay Netanyahu’s judicial power grab, saying, “The internal Israeli debates over its Supreme Court look trivial next to the threat to Israel’s existence.”
The Journal also discounted any criticism of the ongoing Israeli blockade of Gaza, saying, “Israel has been allowing 17,000 Gazans to work in Israel each day and would like to allow more.” The editorial said “the assault also underscores the continuing malevolence of Iran,” because its government “cheered on the attacks,” “provided the rockets and weapons for Hamas,” and “may have encouraged the timing as well.”
A Washington Post editorial (10/7/23) did blame the right-wing government for initiating the internal political crisis, but hoped that the political factions would soon come together. “Early signs are that Israel’s leading politicians are putting aside their differences with Mr. Netanyahu to meet the emergency,” it said. Another Post editorial (10/9/23) suggested that the US could take a lesson from Israel on the “risks of disunity,” criticizing Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul for setting off a “distracting backlash.”
An editorial at Bloomberg (10/8/23) admitted that Netanyahu’s judicial reform efforts “have needlessly riven Israeli society” and that his aggressive military policies in the Occupied Territories worsened things for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Yet the news service waved that all away, saying, “But all that’s for another time.” It also said the “assault deserves only one response from the world: outrage, and unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself.”
The New York Times editorial board (10/9/23) said that though Israelis were right to march against Netanyahu’s judicial restrictions, the Hamas attack changed the terrain, because “Israel’s military strength depends on its national unity, and Israelis have now come together to defend themselves.”
Of course, Israel, while mobilizing for war, has moved toward forming a unity government (Reuters, 10/10/23).
‘Your self-made weakness’
The other problem, according to Shimrit Meir (New York Times, 10/8/23), is that “Israelis acted as if we could afford the luxury of a vicious internal fight.”
Worse, the Times gave column space (10/8/23) to Shimrit Meir, a former advisor to far-right Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, to cite Israel’s political division as military weakness, urging the country to close ranks.
Israel was vulnerable to an attack because years of dissolving Knessets and new elections left the country divided, Meir said, adding that Israel had “forgotten its second role in the world, as a place that embodies the idea of Jewish solidarity,” and that the people “instead found themselves engaged in an all-out war—not against terrorists but against themselves.”
The idea that the Israeli populace–which has long included right-wing militarists, religious fanatics of various Jewish sects, left-wing anti-occupation activists and techy neoliberals—has always been one big family in political consensus without fierce debate is laughable. But for Meir, the dissension in recent years is a dangerous aberration:
As a nation, Israelis acted as if we could afford the luxury of a vicious internal fight, the kind in which your political rival becomes your enemy. We let animosity, demagogy and the poisonous discourse of social media take over our society, rip apart the only Jewish army in the world. This is our tragedy. And it carries a lesson for other polarized democracies: There is someone out there waiting to gain from your self-made weakness. This someone is your enemy.
She said she hoped that Israel returned “to its senses, ending the political crisis and forming a unity government.”
In other words, not only is Knesset opposition to Netanyahu’s internal policies now viewed as some kind of softness on the Hamas attack, but it was the nerve of the people to organize to protect their institutions that opened up the nation to the latest offensive.
No longer time for debate
The Washington Post (10/9/23) published an exceptional op-ed that pointed to the occupation as the root of violence.
The Washington Post, to its credit, ran an op-ed (10/9/23) from a Palestinian journalist that didn’t necessarily put the blame squarely on Netanyahu, but called on the US to support Palestinian statehood. But Post columnist David Ignatius (10/8/23) jumped in on the idea that the quarrel over the Supreme Court contributed to Hamas’ offensive. “Did that political chaos contribute to the Gaza attacks? I don’t know,” he said, adding that the “domestic feuds of the past few months might have led Hamas and its backers in Tehran to believe that Israel was internally weak and, perhaps, vulnerable.”
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal ran fiercely jingoistic pieces from well-known American neoconservatives like Douglas Feith (10/9/23) and Daniel Pipes (10/8/23), while Mitch McConnell (10/9/23), the Republican Senate minority leader, called for more US support for Israel’s war effort. And far from questioning the Israeli government’s preparedness, law professor Eugene Kontorovich (10/8/23) said the US and others “must not only refrain from limiting Israel’s operation in Gaza but resolve to oust the genocidal regime in Tehran.”
While Israelis, including those in the media class, ponder if their country is run by inept and corrupt leadership, much of the US media skip all this and insinuate that now is no longer the time for debate, but a time to brush aside uncomfortable conversations in the face of war.
Oh Barry, you poor man, People like Netanyahu have debased Palestinians for 75 years, and counting. NAKBA—look it up and read what happened there in 1948. Yes, Israeli people attacked , murdered villagers, and when the villagers attempted to return to their homes. The Israelis denied the people their human and land rights too.
Since then, the Palestinians have been denied rights and land and futures. Imagine
being trapped in Palestine — a tiny living space and no way out. No jobs, no rights, no
futures.
Although Black and Hispanic Americans might have a similar comment on their American lives too.
Israel needs to stand on its own. They have received billions from the U.S. for years.
it’s time for this to end as Americans are homeless and jobless too. Sadly in many nations at the moment, the rich get rich and the rest become more poor—–America
and Israel, focus on HUMANITY itself—and maybe, just maybe, maybe We the People of many lands will all prosper.
Yea, your response is no surprise coming from your particular Ilk or tribe. Nevertheless its pretty sad and indeed pathetic when people like you can’t even get past the political aspects of it. I would imagine you cheered on the 911 terrorists too. Haters are gonna hate ….
What ilk or “tribe” would you be referring to Barry? Are you admitting that Israeli Zionists and their American counterparts see themselves as belonging to a different and better tribe than the rest of us?
Tommy Q, you are a major AO. You know dude when the holocaust occurred the Nazis at least got it that after World War II, as they were losing, they tried to cleanse the record in order to hide what they had done. In this particular case, it’s precisely the opposite. Hamas is taking active video of themselves beheading people, murdering, mutilating, raping, and then posting those to social media in order to generate addition terrorism and fear. And ‘tribe’ reference probably means you don’t believe or are a denier of the Holocaust occurring and that this the Hamas invasion happened. Simply pathetic as mentioned above.
Wuhaha. Not surprisingly, the gratuitous Jew hating comments are bubbling up fast and furious here. Question; are the above commentators associated with and/or supporting Trump, Kanye, perhaps Kennedy ? Did they dine with them the other night and the MSM didn’t report on that too ?? Line them up people, let’s hear about some more anti-Jewish conspiracies.
It has already been proven that the rapes and decapitated babies are lies spread by people like you who just want to massacre Palestinians. The fact that you continue lying is disgusting!!
Israel has been out of Gaza since 2005. So when you talk about Israeli oppression of Gaza these are just words, not facts. Hamas started in with the rocket launching not long after Israel left. They refuse to take custody of all food and water because they want to keep the population desperate, poor and angry. They have imported arms instead of building an economy. This is not Israel’s fault. Israel never attacks them first, only defensively in response to their attacks. So you conflate victim and oppressor.
“no surprise coming from your particular Ilk or tribe”? I think you should clarify that.
Your immoral response is not surprising either coming from your “particular ilk or tribe.”
Nope, there is no symmetry here. At minimum, you are very misguided and I will leave it at that.
Wow. Regardless of which side or the other you feel strongly about, arguing that anything and everything the Palestinians do, is justifiable, in order to resist the occupation of the West Bank and the and Gaza is impossible for me to reconcile. I mean really – deliberately massacring civilians ! On the flip side arguing that everything Israel does, is justified in the name of stopping Palestinian attacks on their country, doesn’t compute either. It’s totally tragic and sad, with Wonder Women’s comments being totally out of line, given the circumstances.
That’s the problem. You just don’t understand the circumstances. For one thing the number of dead has been grossly overexaggerated by the Israelis and Bibi’s government, then picked up on and parroted by the media.
For another, Gaza is a prison camp. Period. This wasn’t a “terror attack” it was a jail break. Israel sealed Gaza off completely in the early part of this century and hasn’t relented with their blockade. Instead they have continued to allow violent settlers move closer and closer to the border where they taunt the Gazans on a daily basis from behind giant walls and fences.
So you tell us, Anaisha – if your family was trapped in that situation and being held captive by a brutal occupier who refuses to negotiate and the rest of the world was unable to do anything at all, in large part to the USA’s veto power on the UNSC, what would YOU do? What would YOUR CHILDREN do when they grew up?
This hand wringing and “both sides” stuff is meaningless when you understand the true context and power dynamic.
And here we have – once again – Tom_Q_ Collins having to many Tom Collins cocktails as of his writing, tossing serious issues on the table to see if it sticks against the wall with zero evidence. Toss a source, even a discredited, source on the table. Give your statement SOME creditably.
This dude is like one of most virtuous and smartest kid on the block, this portal and perhaps the planet in his mind. Don’t dare offer a position, intelligent thought that undermines his narrow minded view points, fake suppositions or narratives. Worse yet, he usually is a bully and simply calls people names for whatever reason.
Well stated.
Hey folks, need I remind all of you Hamas killed at least 22 (and counting) Americans died in this terror attack in Israeli. Allegedly, 17 additional Americans are now held hostages in Gaza. Hamas, whose stated purpose for being is to kill Jews and wipe Israel off the map, is but a proxy of Iran. Neither Saudi Arabia (think 911) or Iran have the Palestinian people’s best interests at heart. Indeed. Iran and Saudi Arabia are once again using Palestinians and the provocative narrative of Israeli occupation to simply further their own goals. Frankly, it’s not complex just incredibly sad.
Did you read the article?
The Times of Israel (10/8/23) noted that Netanyahu was quoted telling Likud Party members in 2018 about his stance on Gaza, summarizing his quote saying “those who oppose a Palestinian state should support the transfer of funds to Gaza”—meaning to Gaza’s Hamas-led government—as doing so maintains the “separation between the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza,” thus dividing and conquering the Palestinians once and for all.
Gaza is sealed off, contained and highly surveilled (Middle East Institute, 4/27/22); it’s hard to believe no one in the Israeli government didn’t know something was being planned. The above ToI report quoted Assaf Pozilov, a reporter for the Israeli public broadcasting outlet Kan, saying before the attack, “The Islamic Jihad organization has started a noisy exercise very close to the border, in which they practiced launching missiles, breaking into Israel and kidnapping soldiers.”
Israel helped CREATE Hamas. Israel SUPPORTS Hamas.
Hamas’ stated purpose is NOT to “kill Jews” nor to “wipe Israel off the map” despite the propaganda you’ve allowed yourself to be programmed with.
Frankly it’s incredibly complex and far too complex for your little brain to comprehend. You don’t have the best interest of the Palestinian people at heart, nor do you have the foggiest idea of the history of the conflict, at least that part is simple to understand.
Read it – the FACT is – its in their founding CHARTER to kill all Jews and wipe Israel off the map. Oh BTW the number of Americans DEAD is now 27. Gaza is sealed off by Egypt too but geography wasn’t you strength if you went to school I guess . Details, details, details and its WAY too complex for your little brain to comprehend (as YOU stated, you Jew hater) .
Actions speak louder than words. No matter how bad the rhetoric is, Israel is far more murderous than Hamas is.
If you say so,,, hater.
Antisemites who publicly write antisemitic proclamations shouldn’t be surprised when people don’t like what they say.
Israel has been out of Gaza since 2005. So when you talk about Israeli oppression of Gaza- these are just words, not facts. Hamas started in with the rocket launching not long after Israel left. They refuse to take custody of all food and water because they want to keep the population desperate, poor and angry. They have imported arms instead of building an economy. This is not Israel’s fault. Israel never attacks them first, only defensively in response to their attacks. So you conflate victim and oppressor !
Need we remind you that we (Israel and the U.S.) have killed far more Palestinians than the other way around. Don’t be surprised when those with the boot on their neck respond to their oppressors with the same violence that they live every day.
Yea, nonsense and you know it. Your on a roll hater, are you going to respond to e v e r y single post here ? Get back into your little hole as presumably you view the United States and Canada as occupied territory too.
It’s a scary world today. I have read several Universities here in the States not only have their students failing to condemn this proto-genocide; they have justified and celebrated it! Think about this, Hamas’s attacks have killed at least 1,200 Israelis — and relative to population size — that’s the equivalent of around 44,000 Americans. Crazy, scary stuff.
Wow how gratuitous. After reading this thread, the level of nuttiness coming across with a select number comments is truly staggering. I am struck on one particular male, apparently named “Tom Q” going all of the map, ranting in several comments as an apparent know it all, calling people names in the process. Does he really assume or think everyone reading FAIR agrees with his every thought? Pretty narrow minded from my perspective considering the circumstances and I enjoy reading different viewpoints within the boundaries of reasonableness.
The young bodies of all the kid festival goers hadn’t even been finally tallied before people began making excuses for their murder. Worse, many have even praised this mass slaughter. And in my home town of NYC, radical extremists were gathering in Times Square to celebrate Hama’s actions. I live fairly close, so I went over to Times Square to see this “Pro-Palestine” rally. But it wasn’t a “Pro-Palestine” rally, more along the lines of a ‘Pro-Massacre’ rally. But to even try to justify this terrorist attack to me is just heinous.
The horrific war crimes committed by Hamas – a reactionary, fanatically religious, near-fascist organisation that has not faced an election since 2006 – should be honestly admitted by all of us who support the Palestinian people in their entirely just fight for freedom, a fight that has legal backing for including armed resistance against the Israeli military, but not civilians. But the horror is not the slightest excuse for the even greater crimes being committed by the vastly superior forces of the apartheid, reactionary, now fanatically-religious, near-fascist State of Israel. The sixteen years of siege that State has imposed on Gaza are themselves an historic crime, one that none of the pro-apartheid commenters here even care to acknowledge.
The solutions to this seemingly intractable war by the Zionists against the Palestinian people will lie not in further war crimes, but in growing solidarity between people – the Palestinian and Israeli working class – and in democracy for all. Nothing else will make any difference.
Our government has refused to condemn the “morally, cowardly” reprisal attacks by Israel. Don’t act like your side that shoots peaceful protesters (and journalists) in the head is morally superior. They have already far exceeded the death toll from Hamas’ attack and left 300,000 people homeless. Of the two parties, only one (Israel) is capable of genocide and is rearing up to do so.