Michael is not right about one thing. Hamas and Iran are not simply trying to drive Israel out of our promised land, they have a greater mission which is to dominate Europe and the US with their radical form of religion and in so doing subdue the whole world to their extreme policies.
I agree with you and I also believe that is why the West has been so easy to manipulate with Hamas's PR. They have large populations of Arabs and are intimidated to speak out against Hamas and Iran. The "Arab Street" has come to Canada, Europe, and the US. Courage and integrity are missing from these leaders and cowardice reigns.
To begin to understand how the West go here, I suggest reading everything written by Douglas Murray, starting with the newly reprinted "Islamophilia". Brilliant, cogent, and very hard to argue with.
I have read Murray's The War on the West, which explains a lot of why we're seeing what we're seeing today. I will look for that one. Reading about four books right now, so I'll add that later to my list. Thanks.
Fair observation, but Michael seems focused on Israel in this article and how her enemies use Iron Dome against her own interests. Surely he knows that Iran is intent on a global caliphate.
Do Hamas own all the Banks in the World. Do they own Corporate America? Do they dictate USA foreign and domestic policy. Do Palestinian Arabs OWN Hollywood and thus dictate each eras popular narrative. Mind control. Thought control. No. So who does. Follow the MONEY and see where it leads.
Follow the money! Where did all the aid money from the UN and many other nations that got sent to Gaza go? It turned up in Hamas's tunnel's, to allow Hamas it to hide among the populace and use them as human shields, to arming itself, and to pursue the destruction of another nation, Israel. Every dollar of that money should have gone to hospitals, sewer and water systems for all Gazans, public works projects to better life for Gazans - not to line Hamas pockets, and pantries and armories. No, Hamas used is for thought control, mind control of the Gazans (see its educational curriculums in schools). Follow the money!
Having thought more about this, Arab countries that support Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Quatar and others donate vast amounts of money to US educational institutions (& thus have much sway in what & how those institutions teach and who they hire), they have vast lobbying interests and thus have great influence in US foreign and domestic policy. As for Holywood, please don't throw out old tropes. Currently, Hollywood is very Woke!
And the money trail leads back to the oil revenues. So not only would less use of fossil fuels benefit our physical climate but also our emotional climate too.
yes it would, but we are not there yet, and probably won't be for some time. so what other stupid moves did we make? well amongst others, our President has released oil from our strategic reserves for what? Voter pandering. Result? Weakening our own bargaining position is a very dangerous world at a very dangerous time. Weakening our ability to protect and defend ourselves and to protect and defend our Western allies. WESTERN ALLIES, folks! We do not live in an isolationist world!! Recall the famous exchange between Hancock and Franklin at the Continental Congress on or about July 1, 1776 when Hancock said, to paraphrase, "We must be unanimous. There must be no pulling different ways. We must all hang together.” and Ben Franklin replied “Yes, we must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
The problem with the PR strategy is that attention spans are not endless: Gaza dominated the news 6 months ago but not now, as a quick check of Reuters or AP headlines will show.
Pro-Hamas activists have overplayed their hand in the US, shutting down Christmas celebrations, Memorial Day parades and graduations while aligning with the most anti-Western and anti white groups. Ranting against the 70+% of voters is not a long-term success and we can already see the backlash.
Israel's position as the defender of Western values will serve it well when Middle America sees what its opponents are like in the US.
I think the main factor in current US policy towards Israel is the November election and the perceived need to pacify the Left of the Democratic Party. Not the conclusion one would get from those polls, I would think, and not based on foreign policy alone.
That's how Biden oscillates between criticizing Israel and pushing new arms deals, like the recent 50 F15-EX one where Democrats blocking it were pressured to relent.
Yes, for sure, Biden is desperately trying to squash the war in Gaza at the expense of Israel even if it means leaving Hamas in power. With regards to the foreign policy: "Washington’s de facto alliance with Iran, which began under the Obama administration and was revived by Biden, is the central fact of US foreign policy today. Iran is the decisive factor in most decisions the US makes in the region, including in relation to Israel. Yet White House officials know that stating this directly would create a public-relations disaster. Alas, most Americans stubbornly reject the idea of aligning their country with the Khomeinist state that has killed more than a thousand of their fellow citizens and continues to attack US soldiers and call for their deaths. Indeed, existing policies such as airlifting billions of dollars in cash to Iran and using taxpayer money to subsidise Iranian proxy forces, including Hezbollah and Hamas, would be decidedly unpopular if the government actually acknowledged them." - Jacob Siegel, UnHeard
I don't credit the Biden administration with that much foresight...
They came in saying they would make Saudi Arabia into a pariah, then remembered about gas prices and changed tack.
For the first couple of years White House reporters weren't even allowed to mention the phrase "Abraham Accords"; now they want to extend them to Saudi Arabia.
It shows the mediocrity of the State Department that in 45 years the only real progress in Middle East peace came from two guys with absolutely no experience at State: Donald Trump and Jared Kushner.
It's a loser for sure,as one to whom the images on both sides are pitched I can definitely say one side is good and one side bad. Just explaining the popular mind perception,as I'm one small cell of it. And it's not working out good for one of the sides.
It’s ridiculous. What happened to the Israel of old. Their enemy has brought war on two fronts, yet where is the vaunted Israeli Air Force. I understand they have some 300 F-16s, plus F-15s and 35 F-35s. They also have rockets and nuclear weapons. If Hezbolla continues to fire on northern Israel and beyond, there is only one solution. Devastate the Lebanese capital. Sorry but the civilians are culpable for allowing these subhumans (Hezbollah) to occupy their lands.
Whatever Israel does or doesn’t do, it’s criticised. So do the right thing for your country before you don’t have a country. You’re in a war, well use overwhelming fire power to devastate the enemy. Stop walking on egg shells.
Now using DEVASTATING FIRE POWER will really inspire love in hearts and minds of worldwide observers. I've heard that abused people go on to perpetrate the abuse they suffered onto others.
Thanks Michael, good piece. I really appreciate parts I and II and am looking forward to part III.
To my mind, Israel has to get better at the PR war, particularly on social media. And it needs to find it's allies in the Arab countries who share the same goal as Israel - to avoid the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, which is the ultimate goal of Iran's backing of Hamas, Hezbollah, PIJ and so on. Israel needs to get the peace deal signed with Saudi Arabia, which some say sparked the timing of Oct 7, and make alliances with countries in the region that will also step up into the fray, actively. They know better than us what is on the line, and they need to protect themselves too. To get here, Israel needs a change in leadership, leaders that have the interests of the country at heart. I don't think this is the case with the current government. They must fall and elections must be held. It's messy, yes, but needed. And it can be done, it has been done in the past. (I see that John Hardman is on the same track as me, with more detail, check his comment below.)
As for the West (I'm in Canada), we all have to get our heads out of our rears and realize what is happening from within our own countries, get a backbone and articulate and defend what we value - open, democratic polities with rights for women to be educated, control their own health care and work (if they wish), where LQBTQ people are safe to live and love freely, and where we all can speak our minds in a respectful way, even when we disagree. That is a far cry from what we have now. We need to decide what we want before we lose it all together.
It is my view that the war between what is right and good and what is evil was launched in the south of Israel in earnest on Oct 7, but make no mistake, it is a global war. The big goal of this war is the spread of a brand of Islam that threatens my way of life. The current war in Israel is the beginning of the next stage of the spread of this caliphate.
So what is Israel to do? The concept if martyrdom runs deep in Middle Eastern cultures but it does have its limits as seen at the end of WWII when even the fanatical Japanese capitulated and surrendered. Radical Islamist leaders may tolerate the sacrifice of a significant proportion of their population and commerce but there is a limit to the tolerance of the “Arab street” for being duped and abused for a lost cause.
Farms have been destroyed, factories turned to rubble, schools and hospitals demolished. Most critically, their children’s futures have been devastated. Someone once pointed out: “The killing will stop when the Palestinians realize they love their children more than they hate Israelis.” Israel needs to force them to consciously make a choice between their children’s future and a doomed fanatical ideology.
The image of the ruthless, tough guy served Israel well during the decades of its inception. That same image is a liability not only in the liberal West, but in moderate modernizing Arab nations. “Money talks and bullshit walks…” Arabs want nice things and a nice future for their children. They know that radicalization and isolation is a dead end street. Even conservative stalwart Saudi Arabia signals it is willing to normalize relations with the West and Israel.
Israel needs to take the initiative on two fronts. First, show they care about the future and well being of Arab children in contrast to extremists plans for ritual sacrifice. Set a priority to aid Arab women and children immediately establishing camps, field hospitals, and schools. Shame the Arabs by demonstrating they care more about their children’s futures than the Islamists do. Get that message out globally.
Secondly, they need to stoke the fires of distrust between Arab Sunnis and Shiite Iranians. Iranian funding of radical Sunni terrorists groups is aimed not only at Israel, but moderate secular Arab states. Stirring the pot in Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq is designed to weaken Sunni dominance in the region and the world. Iran’s arming of radical Sunni groups is destabilizing for everyone. Iranian motives need to be stripped of their religious cloak and the naked true motives displayed for all. Weaponized Sunni Islamists are Iran’s “Trojan horse” and the danger needs to be broadcast widely. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” needs to be switched from Israel to Iran.
These two strategies are relatively easy to initiate, but likely impossible with Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition in charge. The third initiative is to dissolve the current Israeli government and form a new coalition dedicated to demonstrating a kinder, gentle Israel dedicated to working with moderate Arab neighbors. The fate of a theoretical state of Palestine is not the problem, Iran is.
Ha ha ha. Bitten you back eh. In the 1960s old white guys,old working class men were predicting that we were creating an alternative world inside our world,ill say it,a fifth column. But they and in subsequent decades got verbally lashed and abused as evil racists. And it was you caring liberals that allowed the situation to grow and grow. And now the British population of middle east ethnic origin has reached a critical mass. I reckon it was the sheer numbers in the last few months London marches that has woken you lot up and scared the shit out of you. You never realised there was so many until you saw them mob-handed. Too late now mateys. Oy vey.
Israel must fight without this intense need to maintain a moral conscience and be ethically responsible. This is a war that doesn't care about any of it, unless Hamas's PR can use it against Israel with the buzz words of moral equivalency. It may be a part of the DNA of Jews , but today's fight is quite a distance from Moses fighting Pharoah. In fact, quite a difference from all the wars it has fought. Israel is at a point where it must think much smarter or the enemy will obtain what it has set out to do.
We are not "chosen" in the way most people think about being chosen. This is the work of human beings, evil human beings, so I don't hold G_d responsible. Human beings are the ones who choose between good and evil at various times in their lives. The cannibal demons are those who inflict savagery against people and that has been throughout history.
If people believe there is a personal God out there somewhere, then where was he in allowing Oct 7 atrocities to happen. When "miracles" happen we say God intervened in our lives, but when bad things happen, we are suddenly silent about God's presence. I thing of God as G.O.D. (Grand Organized Design). There's an intelligence in the universe that is omnipresent through universal laws. However, the God is not a "he" or for that matter a "she". It is just "is".
"Israel must fight without this intense need to maintain a moral conscience and be ethically responsible."
This also plays into the terrorists media strategy. And goes against Israel's western values. This is What They Want. The more dead women & children the better. From their POV.
A lot of people (*Left Center & Right) have forgotten (if they ever knew) War is a bloody business.
* See Glenn Greenwald, Tucker Carlson, Candice Owens.
You can see how disingenuous he is. When he was on Fox he was at the forefront of criticism of the vaccines; had all the experts on who decried the Covid tyranny, and he had no time for Trump.
Suddenly, when Tucker left Fox he jumped on the Trump bandwagon despite Trump saying repeatedly that Operation Warp Speed was his greatest achievement. To this day Trump fails to call it a mistake with all the damaged people and deaths from the vaccine. Tucker never reconciled his position. It's all about clicks on his new site.
I suspect you are correct. Oh he will get Clicks, But he's taking a short easy path, which may hurt him down the line. I know I was a big fan/supporter of him but in the last couple of months...not so much.
What really sealed it for me was when he went on about how great the Moscow subway system is, how clean it is, etc. Well my ex son-in-law worked in the oil and gas industry in Russia for a few years. He told me once outside of Moscow, it's a Third World country with the majority of the places not having indoor plumbing.
It is not "anti-Semitic" or "pro-terrorist" to criticize Israel. It's called Freedom of Speech and Liberty which as I understand two World Wars were fought by our forebears to defend our right to have and now we are (not involved in any way) but supporting the plucky Ukranians in their fight to keep the freedom of expression,liberty,social justice,and democracy they currently enjoy against the oppressive Putin who would ban all political parties but one,cancel all elections and jail any dissidents. Thank goodness ukraine isn't like that now.
Except it's not Freedom of Speech for the Woke. Anyone with a different opinion is shut down, whether by social media, or local governments. It's become selective Freedom of Speech, only when it suits those "in charge."
It absolutely plays into their hands and in the eyes of Arabs, it shows weakness. You're right when you say war is a bloody business, but I'm afraid the Woke only believe in fighting "soft" wars, if any wars at all.
"ethically responsible" war with a "moral conscience"- these are weasly word salad phrases and platitudes to take the sting out of reality. I am sure the Nazi's thought their fight to cleanse the world of Jews and any other undesirables met their standard of "moral conscience" and their methods of extermination to be "ethically responsible". Be careful with words.
and now that I think about it, I am pretty sure that Hamas believes it is justified and acting with a "moral conscience" and being "ethically responsible" when hiding amongst the civilian Gazan population, using them as a human shield of expendable pawns.
"and now that I think about it, I am pretty sure that Hamas believes it is justified and acting with a "moral conscience" and being "ethically responsible""
They Do. The Nazis didn't think they were Evil. According to their ideology (Eugenics) They weren't.
The US and the West expect Israel to act with those "weasly word salad" as you call them. Without moral conscience and being ethically responsible we see the lack of both deteriorating in society, so if there's any word salad, look to your Woke. They're expert at using phrases without meaning. You're sure the Nazi's felt that way? Really? Please tell me how they rationalized that. What "weasly" phrases did they use? Cleanse Germany from the Jews?
Let me clarify my statement. We are not so far apart. Israel has held itself to the "moral conscience" and "ethically responsible" standards - and in point of fact they have hewed pretty well to it ,e.g., letting Gazans know by leaf droplet & knock drops that they need to leave an area. I applaud that extra behavior. That is truly moral and ethical. They seek out root out Hamas, who hides amongst the civilian population of Gaza, not to empty Gaza of Gazans permanently. No other nation has ever acted in this way (I am not aware if we did this is WWII or any of our own conflicts) nor has any other nation been required by other nations to meet this standard as far as I am aware. (If therre are other examplars, I am open to being educated). And to Israel's credit, both moral and ethical, they continue to do this, and have tried to create humanitarian corridors, they continue to try to bring in food aid for the Gazans. No other group in history has ever been placed under the same microscope or constraints by world opinion. My point is that the Woke do not understand the true meaning of the words, particularly "moral" and "ethical" that they so easily and glibly spew out, and yet fail to actually apply them to themselves. The Woke wrap themselves in the word salad flag that the actions they support are somehow moral and ethical and yet, as actions speak louder than words, nothing could be further than the truth. We agree in the notion of, as you say, the Woke being "experts at using phrases without meaning". They throw out as many stock phrases and obfuscating words as possible to make their narrative and make it the "truth". Every side of every conflict with salve itself and justify its goals as moral and its actions to achieve them as ethical. Again, the words are cheap, the actions truth-telling. I think Israel has gone above and beyond it attempting to act in a moral and ethical prosecution of a conflict they did not start. (They have not been in Gaza since 2005, Hamas, not Gaza has chosen to steal billions of dollars of aid meant to better the lives of ordinary Gazans to build tunnels, to arm, to seek the complete destruction Israel and cleanse Jews from the river to the sea). I am looking at the Woke, and calling them out for their BS. The Nazi's did not lead Germans to their actions in one fell swoop - it took time and lots of weasal words to convince people of their moral imperative and ethical responsibility to rid Germany (& perhaps if able, the world) of Jews and other "undesirables" (a weasal word if ever I've heard one), like the disabled - those they deemed as, and convince others to deem as, "Untermensch", subhuman and the reason on which to blame all their ills.
Thank you for that clarification. You've made your thinking more precise. Originally, I interpreted it from a totally different perspective. This is why words are so important. I agree with what you've said in this response, and yet prior to this, I was not in agreement at all.
The world gets smaller and smaller as time and technology advance. Somehow, and in some way, I'd like to think that we can evolve and learn how to coexist in the space on this earth that we have, respect one another, listen and try. Our existence for all depends upon it. I don't know how to temper the human need for conquest and the destruction of the other. Not sure there is a solution for that. Anybody else got any ideas?
This writing is a true piece of journalism, researched, pondered, verified, then published. Well done. What a contrast to the media hype that we are all so whipped up to wolf down without thought.
Israel's PR has been sorely lacking from day 1. Videos of the carnage on 10/7 should have been posted on 10/8. Yes the victims deserve some sense of reverence but I bet if you could ask them, they'd say use us anyway you can in defense of our homeland. Unfortunately now it's too late. There's nothing Israel can say or do that's going to sway public opinion. Even Biden spews Hamas' casualty figures as gospel. Maybe it's time for the world's Jews to arm-up and circle the wagons.
We wouldn't even be safe there. The jews have contributed to this continent since they first came with the Spanish explorers, and to the planet for 3500 years. Christianity and Islam both derive from Judaism. What have the Arabs of Judea & Sumaria contributed other than chaos? Get on the right side of history.
There is another serious problem you didn’t address in your article—the IDF is structured so it can’t fight a long war because reserves make up the bulk of soldiers. A large standing army is required since nukes can’t be used and deterrence has failed. Iron beam won’t win a war of attrition any more than Iron dome. More troops needed!
“ A racist, misogynist, homophobic organization that shoots from behind and under its countrymen has been widely hailed as the valorous champion of equal rights and human freedoms.” Not so wide as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the birthplace of US freedom from colonial rule where the prevailing sentiment is for Palestinian freedom from colonial rule
I am curious about your use of the following statement: "They succeeded stunningly in the past. Now, they are triumphant." Perhaps we have different definitions of success and triumph. When I look at Hamas and the losses it has taken, I don't see triumph but heavy losses. I get to write this from the comfort of my home in Israel where I have gotten a good night's sleep every night for the past 8 months save a handful of minor interruptions. The same could not be said of the people of Gaza, nor for many Palestinians in the West Bank who have nothing to do with Gaza.
Another ambiguous term is the right to defend. At what point does defense turn into offense? I didn't see anyone questioning Israel's right to defend itself in the wake of the Hamas massacre, and there is no evidence to suggest that anyone would question that right in future. The question turns on the proportionality of the response. And on that issue, I see you adhering to the "Paliwood" narrative, but if we set that aside, let's hear from you how much is too much. Is any number of civilian casualties too disproportionate in your eyes?
I see you building a case that somehow the Iron Dome is to blame for Israel's present predicament. While I'd agree it is one factor, it is only but one in a complex system that has a lot more factors at play.
And if we accept your premise that Hezbollah and Hamas keep stunningly succeeding against Israel, why does Israel's leaders keep falling into their traps? It sounds from what you are saying that Israel would have been better off not attacking Hamas to deny it the current "triumph" it is currently enjoying. If so, I think you have a strong point, since if Israel had just sufficed with eliminating the immediate terrorist threat without going into Gaza, then world sympathy would still be on Israel's side and it would be the triumphant one.
Michael is not right about one thing. Hamas and Iran are not simply trying to drive Israel out of our promised land, they have a greater mission which is to dominate Europe and the US with their radical form of religion and in so doing subdue the whole world to their extreme policies.
I agree with you and I also believe that is why the West has been so easy to manipulate with Hamas's PR. They have large populations of Arabs and are intimidated to speak out against Hamas and Iran. The "Arab Street" has come to Canada, Europe, and the US. Courage and integrity are missing from these leaders and cowardice reigns.
To begin to understand how the West go here, I suggest reading everything written by Douglas Murray, starting with the newly reprinted "Islamophilia". Brilliant, cogent, and very hard to argue with.
I have read Murray's The War on the West, which explains a lot of why we're seeing what we're seeing today. I will look for that one. Reading about four books right now, so I'll add that later to my list. Thanks.
Fair observation, but Michael seems focused on Israel in this article and how her enemies use Iron Dome against her own interests. Surely he knows that Iran is intent on a global caliphate.
Do Hamas own all the Banks in the World. Do they own Corporate America? Do they dictate USA foreign and domestic policy. Do Palestinian Arabs OWN Hollywood and thus dictate each eras popular narrative. Mind control. Thought control. No. So who does. Follow the MONEY and see where it leads.
Follow the money! Where did all the aid money from the UN and many other nations that got sent to Gaza go? It turned up in Hamas's tunnel's, to allow Hamas it to hide among the populace and use them as human shields, to arming itself, and to pursue the destruction of another nation, Israel. Every dollar of that money should have gone to hospitals, sewer and water systems for all Gazans, public works projects to better life for Gazans - not to line Hamas pockets, and pantries and armories. No, Hamas used is for thought control, mind control of the Gazans (see its educational curriculums in schools). Follow the money!
Having thought more about this, Arab countries that support Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Quatar and others donate vast amounts of money to US educational institutions (& thus have much sway in what & how those institutions teach and who they hire), they have vast lobbying interests and thus have great influence in US foreign and domestic policy. As for Holywood, please don't throw out old tropes. Currently, Hollywood is very Woke!
And the money trail leads back to the oil revenues. So not only would less use of fossil fuels benefit our physical climate but also our emotional climate too.
yes it would, but we are not there yet, and probably won't be for some time. so what other stupid moves did we make? well amongst others, our President has released oil from our strategic reserves for what? Voter pandering. Result? Weakening our own bargaining position is a very dangerous world at a very dangerous time. Weakening our ability to protect and defend ourselves and to protect and defend our Western allies. WESTERN ALLIES, folks! We do not live in an isolationist world!! Recall the famous exchange between Hancock and Franklin at the Continental Congress on or about July 1, 1776 when Hancock said, to paraphrase, "We must be unanimous. There must be no pulling different ways. We must all hang together.” and Ben Franklin replied “Yes, we must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Stop accepting the money
There's more than one money trail, follow it.
The problem with the PR strategy is that attention spans are not endless: Gaza dominated the news 6 months ago but not now, as a quick check of Reuters or AP headlines will show.
Pro-Hamas activists have overplayed their hand in the US, shutting down Christmas celebrations, Memorial Day parades and graduations while aligning with the most anti-Western and anti white groups. Ranting against the 70+% of voters is not a long-term success and we can already see the backlash.
Israel's position as the defender of Western values will serve it well when Middle America sees what its opponents are like in the US.
one can only hope that what you posit is true. I do not yet see it here.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/4629597-americans-israel-hamas-gaza-student-protests-poll/
More detailed results in the Harvard-Harris poll, see p16, where approval of Israel is 53% vs 25% for campus protesters, 20% for PA and 14% for Hamas
https://harvardharrispoll.com/
Maybe they overplayed their hand, maybe not, but that hasn't changed the overall US policy and behavior in this war. Quite the opposite.
I think the main factor in current US policy towards Israel is the November election and the perceived need to pacify the Left of the Democratic Party. Not the conclusion one would get from those polls, I would think, and not based on foreign policy alone.
That's how Biden oscillates between criticizing Israel and pushing new arms deals, like the recent 50 F15-EX one where Democrats blocking it were pressured to relent.
Yes, for sure, Biden is desperately trying to squash the war in Gaza at the expense of Israel even if it means leaving Hamas in power. With regards to the foreign policy: "Washington’s de facto alliance with Iran, which began under the Obama administration and was revived by Biden, is the central fact of US foreign policy today. Iran is the decisive factor in most decisions the US makes in the region, including in relation to Israel. Yet White House officials know that stating this directly would create a public-relations disaster. Alas, most Americans stubbornly reject the idea of aligning their country with the Khomeinist state that has killed more than a thousand of their fellow citizens and continues to attack US soldiers and call for their deaths. Indeed, existing policies such as airlifting billions of dollars in cash to Iran and using taxpayer money to subsidise Iranian proxy forces, including Hezbollah and Hamas, would be decidedly unpopular if the government actually acknowledged them." - Jacob Siegel, UnHeard
I don't credit the Biden administration with that much foresight...
They came in saying they would make Saudi Arabia into a pariah, then remembered about gas prices and changed tack.
For the first couple of years White House reporters weren't even allowed to mention the phrase "Abraham Accords"; now they want to extend them to Saudi Arabia.
It shows the mediocrity of the State Department that in 45 years the only real progress in Middle East peace came from two guys with absolutely no experience at State: Donald Trump and Jared Kushner.
So true! Thank you for your insights.
So, what is Israel to do? The PR war seems irrevocably lost.
Israël has to change its strategy to fight the war as it is, the PR war, not as it wants it to be
How does Israel do that? When Corporate Media is (pretty much) on the side of the terrorists.
Suggestions?
Smarter people than me (that’s pretty much everyone) don’t know the answer. I wish that I did.
Agreed.
It's a loser for sure,as one to whom the images on both sides are pitched I can definitely say one side is good and one side bad. Just explaining the popular mind perception,as I'm one small cell of it. And it's not working out good for one of the sides.
It’s ridiculous. What happened to the Israel of old. Their enemy has brought war on two fronts, yet where is the vaunted Israeli Air Force. I understand they have some 300 F-16s, plus F-15s and 35 F-35s. They also have rockets and nuclear weapons. If Hezbolla continues to fire on northern Israel and beyond, there is only one solution. Devastate the Lebanese capital. Sorry but the civilians are culpable for allowing these subhumans (Hezbollah) to occupy their lands.
Whatever Israel does or doesn’t do, it’s criticised. So do the right thing for your country before you don’t have a country. You’re in a war, well use overwhelming fire power to devastate the enemy. Stop walking on egg shells.
Now using DEVASTATING FIRE POWER will really inspire love in hearts and minds of worldwide observers. I've heard that abused people go on to perpetrate the abuse they suffered onto others.
You know "love" is a synthesis of good and bad, good and evil.
Thanks Michael, good piece. I really appreciate parts I and II and am looking forward to part III.
To my mind, Israel has to get better at the PR war, particularly on social media. And it needs to find it's allies in the Arab countries who share the same goal as Israel - to avoid the establishment of an Islamic caliphate, which is the ultimate goal of Iran's backing of Hamas, Hezbollah, PIJ and so on. Israel needs to get the peace deal signed with Saudi Arabia, which some say sparked the timing of Oct 7, and make alliances with countries in the region that will also step up into the fray, actively. They know better than us what is on the line, and they need to protect themselves too. To get here, Israel needs a change in leadership, leaders that have the interests of the country at heart. I don't think this is the case with the current government. They must fall and elections must be held. It's messy, yes, but needed. And it can be done, it has been done in the past. (I see that John Hardman is on the same track as me, with more detail, check his comment below.)
As for the West (I'm in Canada), we all have to get our heads out of our rears and realize what is happening from within our own countries, get a backbone and articulate and defend what we value - open, democratic polities with rights for women to be educated, control their own health care and work (if they wish), where LQBTQ people are safe to live and love freely, and where we all can speak our minds in a respectful way, even when we disagree. That is a far cry from what we have now. We need to decide what we want before we lose it all together.
It is my view that the war between what is right and good and what is evil was launched in the south of Israel in earnest on Oct 7, but make no mistake, it is a global war. The big goal of this war is the spread of a brand of Islam that threatens my way of life. The current war in Israel is the beginning of the next stage of the spread of this caliphate.
So what is Israel to do? The concept if martyrdom runs deep in Middle Eastern cultures but it does have its limits as seen at the end of WWII when even the fanatical Japanese capitulated and surrendered. Radical Islamist leaders may tolerate the sacrifice of a significant proportion of their population and commerce but there is a limit to the tolerance of the “Arab street” for being duped and abused for a lost cause.
Farms have been destroyed, factories turned to rubble, schools and hospitals demolished. Most critically, their children’s futures have been devastated. Someone once pointed out: “The killing will stop when the Palestinians realize they love their children more than they hate Israelis.” Israel needs to force them to consciously make a choice between their children’s future and a doomed fanatical ideology.
The image of the ruthless, tough guy served Israel well during the decades of its inception. That same image is a liability not only in the liberal West, but in moderate modernizing Arab nations. “Money talks and bullshit walks…” Arabs want nice things and a nice future for their children. They know that radicalization and isolation is a dead end street. Even conservative stalwart Saudi Arabia signals it is willing to normalize relations with the West and Israel.
Israel needs to take the initiative on two fronts. First, show they care about the future and well being of Arab children in contrast to extremists plans for ritual sacrifice. Set a priority to aid Arab women and children immediately establishing camps, field hospitals, and schools. Shame the Arabs by demonstrating they care more about their children’s futures than the Islamists do. Get that message out globally.
Secondly, they need to stoke the fires of distrust between Arab Sunnis and Shiite Iranians. Iranian funding of radical Sunni terrorists groups is aimed not only at Israel, but moderate secular Arab states. Stirring the pot in Israel, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq is designed to weaken Sunni dominance in the region and the world. Iran’s arming of radical Sunni groups is destabilizing for everyone. Iranian motives need to be stripped of their religious cloak and the naked true motives displayed for all. Weaponized Sunni Islamists are Iran’s “Trojan horse” and the danger needs to be broadcast widely. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” needs to be switched from Israel to Iran.
These two strategies are relatively easy to initiate, but likely impossible with Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition in charge. The third initiative is to dissolve the current Israeli government and form a new coalition dedicated to demonstrating a kinder, gentle Israel dedicated to working with moderate Arab neighbors. The fate of a theoretical state of Palestine is not the problem, Iran is.
I totally agree. Well said.
The "Arab street" is now what we in the UK call the High Street (Main Street) in all of our northern ex-industrial towns.
Ha ha ha. Bitten you back eh. In the 1960s old white guys,old working class men were predicting that we were creating an alternative world inside our world,ill say it,a fifth column. But they and in subsequent decades got verbally lashed and abused as evil racists. And it was you caring liberals that allowed the situation to grow and grow. And now the British population of middle east ethnic origin has reached a critical mass. I reckon it was the sheer numbers in the last few months London marches that has woken you lot up and scared the shit out of you. You never realised there was so many until you saw them mob-handed. Too late now mateys. Oy vey.
Israel must fight without this intense need to maintain a moral conscience and be ethically responsible. This is a war that doesn't care about any of it, unless Hamas's PR can use it against Israel with the buzz words of moral equivalency. It may be a part of the DNA of Jews , but today's fight is quite a distance from Moses fighting Pharoah. In fact, quite a difference from all the wars it has fought. Israel is at a point where it must think much smarter or the enemy will obtain what it has set out to do.
We are not "chosen" in the way most people think about being chosen. This is the work of human beings, evil human beings, so I don't hold G_d responsible. Human beings are the ones who choose between good and evil at various times in their lives. The cannibal demons are those who inflict savagery against people and that has been throughout history.
Is this God's Chosen People speaking. What sort of God is this. A cannibal demon.
If people believe there is a personal God out there somewhere, then where was he in allowing Oct 7 atrocities to happen. When "miracles" happen we say God intervened in our lives, but when bad things happen, we are suddenly silent about God's presence. I thing of God as G.O.D. (Grand Organized Design). There's an intelligence in the universe that is omnipresent through universal laws. However, the God is not a "he" or for that matter a "she". It is just "is".
"Israel must fight without this intense need to maintain a moral conscience and be ethically responsible."
This also plays into the terrorists media strategy. And goes against Israel's western values. This is What They Want. The more dead women & children the better. From their POV.
A lot of people (*Left Center & Right) have forgotten (if they ever knew) War is a bloody business.
* See Glenn Greenwald, Tucker Carlson, Candice Owens.
Why should we "see Glenn Greenwald, Tucker Carlson, and Candice Owens"? Three antisemites, united by their mutual hatred of Israel.
I’ve lost total respect for Tucker Carlson. He is oozing with antisemitism and drools over Putin.
As an online friend of mine put "Tucker Has Gone A Bit Over The Edge."
I'm starting to think there may be a good reason Why Fox got rid of him.
Which causes me to wonder just what do others in Big Media Really Think?
You can see how disingenuous he is. When he was on Fox he was at the forefront of criticism of the vaccines; had all the experts on who decried the Covid tyranny, and he had no time for Trump.
Suddenly, when Tucker left Fox he jumped on the Trump bandwagon despite Trump saying repeatedly that Operation Warp Speed was his greatest achievement. To this day Trump fails to call it a mistake with all the damaged people and deaths from the vaccine. Tucker never reconciled his position. It's all about clicks on his new site.
"It's all about clicks on his new site."
I suspect you are correct. Oh he will get Clicks, But he's taking a short easy path, which may hurt him down the line. I know I was a big fan/supporter of him but in the last couple of months...not so much.
What really sealed it for me was when he went on about how great the Moscow subway system is, how clean it is, etc. Well my ex son-in-law worked in the oil and gas industry in Russia for a few years. He told me once outside of Moscow, it's a Third World country with the majority of the places not having indoor plumbing.
It is not "anti-Semitic" or "pro-terrorist" to criticize Israel. It's called Freedom of Speech and Liberty which as I understand two World Wars were fought by our forebears to defend our right to have and now we are (not involved in any way) but supporting the plucky Ukranians in their fight to keep the freedom of expression,liberty,social justice,and democracy they currently enjoy against the oppressive Putin who would ban all political parties but one,cancel all elections and jail any dissidents. Thank goodness ukraine isn't like that now.
Except it's not Freedom of Speech for the Woke. Anyone with a different opinion is shut down, whether by social media, or local governments. It's become selective Freedom of Speech, only when it suits those "in charge."
Very very well said! I wish I had said that so succinctly!!!
Totally agree.
It absolutely plays into their hands and in the eyes of Arabs, it shows weakness. You're right when you say war is a bloody business, but I'm afraid the Woke only believe in fighting "soft" wars, if any wars at all.
"ethically responsible" war with a "moral conscience"- these are weasly word salad phrases and platitudes to take the sting out of reality. I am sure the Nazi's thought their fight to cleanse the world of Jews and any other undesirables met their standard of "moral conscience" and their methods of extermination to be "ethically responsible". Be careful with words.
and now that I think about it, I am pretty sure that Hamas believes it is justified and acting with a "moral conscience" and being "ethically responsible" when hiding amongst the civilian Gazan population, using them as a human shield of expendable pawns.
"and now that I think about it, I am pretty sure that Hamas believes it is justified and acting with a "moral conscience" and being "ethically responsible""
They Do. The Nazis didn't think they were Evil. According to their ideology (Eugenics) They weren't.
I believe that the phrase working its way into today and the future is "polygenics". Watch out for it.
Polygenics?
The US and the West expect Israel to act with those "weasly word salad" as you call them. Without moral conscience and being ethically responsible we see the lack of both deteriorating in society, so if there's any word salad, look to your Woke. They're expert at using phrases without meaning. You're sure the Nazi's felt that way? Really? Please tell me how they rationalized that. What "weasly" phrases did they use? Cleanse Germany from the Jews?
Let me clarify my statement. We are not so far apart. Israel has held itself to the "moral conscience" and "ethically responsible" standards - and in point of fact they have hewed pretty well to it ,e.g., letting Gazans know by leaf droplet & knock drops that they need to leave an area. I applaud that extra behavior. That is truly moral and ethical. They seek out root out Hamas, who hides amongst the civilian population of Gaza, not to empty Gaza of Gazans permanently. No other nation has ever acted in this way (I am not aware if we did this is WWII or any of our own conflicts) nor has any other nation been required by other nations to meet this standard as far as I am aware. (If therre are other examplars, I am open to being educated). And to Israel's credit, both moral and ethical, they continue to do this, and have tried to create humanitarian corridors, they continue to try to bring in food aid for the Gazans. No other group in history has ever been placed under the same microscope or constraints by world opinion. My point is that the Woke do not understand the true meaning of the words, particularly "moral" and "ethical" that they so easily and glibly spew out, and yet fail to actually apply them to themselves. The Woke wrap themselves in the word salad flag that the actions they support are somehow moral and ethical and yet, as actions speak louder than words, nothing could be further than the truth. We agree in the notion of, as you say, the Woke being "experts at using phrases without meaning". They throw out as many stock phrases and obfuscating words as possible to make their narrative and make it the "truth". Every side of every conflict with salve itself and justify its goals as moral and its actions to achieve them as ethical. Again, the words are cheap, the actions truth-telling. I think Israel has gone above and beyond it attempting to act in a moral and ethical prosecution of a conflict they did not start. (They have not been in Gaza since 2005, Hamas, not Gaza has chosen to steal billions of dollars of aid meant to better the lives of ordinary Gazans to build tunnels, to arm, to seek the complete destruction Israel and cleanse Jews from the river to the sea). I am looking at the Woke, and calling them out for their BS. The Nazi's did not lead Germans to their actions in one fell swoop - it took time and lots of weasal words to convince people of their moral imperative and ethical responsibility to rid Germany (& perhaps if able, the world) of Jews and other "undesirables" (a weasal word if ever I've heard one), like the disabled - those they deemed as, and convince others to deem as, "Untermensch", subhuman and the reason on which to blame all their ills.
Thank you for that clarification. You've made your thinking more precise. Originally, I interpreted it from a totally different perspective. This is why words are so important. I agree with what you've said in this response, and yet prior to this, I was not in agreement at all.
Who needs a moral conscience and ethics anyway.
Said The Marquis de Sade.
In response to your "lifestyle of a whore," if the shoe fits.
Obviously you don't. A contributor to the downfall of society.
Thanks for continuing to tell the unvarnished truth of what is happening inside Israel. I’m very curious to hear what some of your solutions might be.
The world gets smaller and smaller as time and technology advance. Somehow, and in some way, I'd like to think that we can evolve and learn how to coexist in the space on this earth that we have, respect one another, listen and try. Our existence for all depends upon it. I don't know how to temper the human need for conquest and the destruction of the other. Not sure there is a solution for that. Anybody else got any ideas?
This writing is a true piece of journalism, researched, pondered, verified, then published. Well done. What a contrast to the media hype that we are all so whipped up to wolf down without thought.
Israel's PR has been sorely lacking from day 1. Videos of the carnage on 10/7 should have been posted on 10/8. Yes the victims deserve some sense of reverence but I bet if you could ask them, they'd say use us anyway you can in defense of our homeland. Unfortunately now it's too late. There's nothing Israel can say or do that's going to sway public opinion. Even Biden spews Hamas' casualty figures as gospel. Maybe it's time for the world's Jews to arm-up and circle the wagons.
Your sacred text does not include the TITLE DEEDS to MY home so go circle wagons on Mars.
We wouldn't even be safe there. The jews have contributed to this continent since they first came with the Spanish explorers, and to the planet for 3500 years. Christianity and Islam both derive from Judaism. What have the Arabs of Judea & Sumaria contributed other than chaos? Get on the right side of history.
There is another serious problem you didn’t address in your article—the IDF is structured so it can’t fight a long war because reserves make up the bulk of soldiers. A large standing army is required since nukes can’t be used and deterrence has failed. Iron beam won’t win a war of attrition any more than Iron dome. More troops needed!
Thank you for this essay Dr. Oren.
The logic defies logic.
Very scary indeed.
“ A racist, misogynist, homophobic organization that shoots from behind and under its countrymen has been widely hailed as the valorous champion of equal rights and human freedoms.” Not so wide as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the birthplace of US freedom from colonial rule where the prevailing sentiment is for Palestinian freedom from colonial rule
I am curious about your use of the following statement: "They succeeded stunningly in the past. Now, they are triumphant." Perhaps we have different definitions of success and triumph. When I look at Hamas and the losses it has taken, I don't see triumph but heavy losses. I get to write this from the comfort of my home in Israel where I have gotten a good night's sleep every night for the past 8 months save a handful of minor interruptions. The same could not be said of the people of Gaza, nor for many Palestinians in the West Bank who have nothing to do with Gaza.
Another ambiguous term is the right to defend. At what point does defense turn into offense? I didn't see anyone questioning Israel's right to defend itself in the wake of the Hamas massacre, and there is no evidence to suggest that anyone would question that right in future. The question turns on the proportionality of the response. And on that issue, I see you adhering to the "Paliwood" narrative, but if we set that aside, let's hear from you how much is too much. Is any number of civilian casualties too disproportionate in your eyes?
I see you building a case that somehow the Iron Dome is to blame for Israel's present predicament. While I'd agree it is one factor, it is only but one in a complex system that has a lot more factors at play.
And if we accept your premise that Hezbollah and Hamas keep stunningly succeeding against Israel, why does Israel's leaders keep falling into their traps? It sounds from what you are saying that Israel would have been better off not attacking Hamas to deny it the current "triumph" it is currently enjoying. If so, I think you have a strong point, since if Israel had just sufficed with eliminating the immediate terrorist threat without going into Gaza, then world sympathy would still be on Israel's side and it would be the triumphant one.
Enough Already.