"Israel has to get rid of Netanjahu and everything will be fine."

[noname223]

I have to be cautious what I say on this issue. In my country you can get punished for many takes on Israel.

I consume a lot of German media outlets. And in my opinion there is a lie very prevelant in German media coverage. Israel has to get rid of Netanjahu and the Israeli democracy will be fixed. Figures like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich will disappear as a consequence. Personally, I perceive the German coverage on Israel often as sort of one-sided. And paternalistic in a bad way. The motive might be protecting Israel from criticism but actually Germany contributes a lot to the crisis the Israeli society is in. The US and Germany try to shield Israel from consequences for human right violations in the UN. But in the longrun this will make everything worse. The Israeli reputation will become even worse internationally and just sugarcoating the political atmosphere in Israel won't work in global affairs. Germany and the US already have contributed to the fact Israel did massive damage to its reputation for a very long time by providing weapons for the war.

In German outlets there are some narratives very popular. They just have to get rid of Netanjahu, then Smotrich and Ben-Gvir will disappear and a two state solution will be possible. Personally, when we look at surveys for me it looks like the vast majority of Israelis consider the suffering of Palestenians as neglectable. I once read in a news reports. They were very careful with the wording. They hinted maybe some Israelis even welcome the punishment of Palestinians. I don't think the Israeli society is evil. I don't think they are rotten. It is true they are traumatized. And many German publications give them a freepass by stating look they are so traumatized we should not judge them too harshly. For me that's extremely paternalistic and hypocritical. Look they are traumatized I guess we have no other choice than to give them weapons for their war and we have to protect their politicians from prosecution since. The bigger problem might be the media culture in Israel. There seem to be some TV stations that spread a lot of propaganda and they reinforce resentment against Palestinians. There is a shrinking minority of Israelis that try to speak out against the genocide against the Palestinians. But for me another lie. Give Eisenkot or Yair Lapid the power and Israel will be saved. From what I read I don't feel like these people would actually voice their concern about the Palestinians not nearly enough. They don't even call it a genocide.

Honestly, I wasn't aware how big the impact of media coverage actually can be. In politicial science you often read the media does not brainwash people to follow one opinion. Instead media coverage determines about which topics the recipients will think. Yes, if the German coverage emphasizes the traumata of Israelis more Germans will be empathetic to Israelis. I talked with some Germans about this issue. And they could not believe there were reports the Netanjahu government provided Hamas with money from Qatar before October 7th. They considered that fake news. And I think some people are really naive when it comes to narratives on this issue in my country.

 

[Hvergelmir]

I have to be cautious what I say on this issue.

I don't think caution is needed here.

I do have a difficult question, though:
What would a righteous Israeli government look like? How should they deal with the Hamas situation?

 

[noname223]

I don't think caution is needed here.

I do have a difficult question, though:
What would a righteous Israeli government look like? How should they deal with the Hamas situation?

A righteous Israeli government should strengthen the seperation of powers again. The independence of courts. And when there are whistleblowers within the system who talk about for example the torture of Palestinian civilians. One might even have to add torture in general. These people have to heard and not punished. Thus far they are silenced.
The elites in Israel that prefer a two class society should think about the consequences of their actions. Israel should extradite Netanjahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir to The Hague. So that the war crimes they commited can be prosecuted and eventually punished. From I have seen there is not much left from Israel's liberal democracy. And the erosion of these principles has started even before October 7th happened. But this event was a catalyst.

A righteous Israeli government should not play out real antisemitism against the hatred that was brought upon by the Israeli government. It is not smart to claim every valid criticism of Israel was antisemitic. This strategy used by the Netanjahu government is fueling real antisemitism all over the world. Honestly, I think Netanjahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir on the world stage were the actors that gave rise to antisemitism the most within the last years.. Even though this is a very controverisal take. You just have to listen how cynical they are when they pretend Israel would not violate any human rights and then they use the claim of antisemitism in a strategical way. Honestly, I am not sure whether the damage they have done is still repairable I think extradicting them was a good first step. Killing so many civilians in Gaza is like a gift for Hamas and the Hamas propaganda. I think in an asymmetrical warfare you cannot eliminate every single of your enemies. Moreover, let's assume for every terrorist you kill, you kill five civilians as colletaral damage. In the longrun you will create even more terrorists. The solution for Middle East is extremely complicated. And the situation has become way worse in the last years. Personally, I think Netanjahu uses the threat of the Hamas and the war in Gaza strategically in order to cling to power. The goal of the current warfare is in my eyes not solely the Hamas but also a displacement and occupation of Palestinian territories.

 

[Hvergelmir]

The goal of the current warfare is in my eyes not solely the Hamas but also a displacement and occupation of Palestinian territories.

I don't see how one could attack an organization like Hamas, while leaving their territory intact.
I wonder what other leaders would have done. The complete dissolution of the Gazan state and identity (genocide) is certainly one strategy. What bothers me is my inability to present alternatives. I really don't know what they're supposed to do.