Commentary
Israel is battling Hamas, a largely anti-semitic media, the Islamist diaspora, Iran, and time in a war they can’t afford to lose.
The stakes for Israel couldn’t be higher. In what was and remains a barbaric and heinous attack on Israeli citizens of all ages, Israel is rapidly finding itself waging a war of words and truth against much of the world in addition to fighting against Hamas in Gaza.Spirit of Auschwitz Alive in Hamas
He’s right in at least one context. If nothing else, the utter inhumanity of the attacks on Oct. 7 showed the Israelis in stark and unmistakable terms that the dark spirit of Auschwitz and Dachau has found a home in the hearts of too many of the people living in Gaza.International Support for Israel Weakening
The meaning of this rapidly emerging global reality is surely not lost on the Israelis. They know that in terms of enjoying international support, the tide is rising and the skies are quickly darkening against their cause with each passing day. As the destruction and death toll in Gaza climb, so too does the world’s condemnation.A Deadly Ceasefire
The issue is that a ceasefire doesn’t help Israel defend itself. If anything, it would make it even more vulnerable to attacks and leave it less able to protect its people and country.The rationale is clear and simple. To not destroy Hamas, Iran’s proxy terror organization that runs Gaza, is to lose.
To not deny Hamas the capabilities to launch missiles and transport men and weapons into Israel via a vast network of tunnels is to lose.
To give in to international pressure would demonstrate that the loudest voices of your enemies can dictate policy to the Israeli government. That, too, would be a loss and invite more of the same kind of attacks as the one Hamas launched on Oct. 7 and likely much worse.
A Slanted Narrative
Israel also faces a tremendously negative narrative. That narrative typically criticizes the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for its lack of proportionate response, higher Palestinian casualties, Israel’s unfair advantage, and how the IDF recklessly or even purposely kills Palestinian children and that it’s starving Gaza of fuel, food, and water.Hamas is rarely truly condemned for these atrocities. On the contrary, they’re often celebrated, particularly among the radical cadres that have infested academia for decades. In short, Hamas is portrayed as the underdog, not the brutes that they truly are. This kind of yellow journalism paints Israel as fascists and the Palestinians in Gaza as freedom fighters.
Winning May Mean More War
Israel is surrounded by corrupt, brutal dictatorships whose potentates become billionaires from oil sales, foreign aid from the United States and Europe, or both. In fact, Hamas is also led by billionaires directing their war against Israel from the comfort of their penthouses in Qatar, far away from the battle.In other words, the more success Israel has in Gaza against Hamas, the more enemies it will have to fight. As it stands today, Israel will never win the global propaganda war. It must win the war against Hamas as quickly and as comprehensively as possible while convincing would-be adversaries that the price they’ll pay for waging war against them will be much higher than the one that Hamas is paying.