thanks for the apology. My issue is that while I have never been particularly positive about the approach adopted by Israel the very characteristics of this conflict place intolerable demands on Israel and I remain of the view that there has been careful manipulation of public opinion because all the evidence is that the long term planning associated with the attack on October 7 was based on conducting not just an armed conflict but also a psychological propaganda based war against Israel
my view is informed by a number of reports on the matter (not Israeli) but also by thinking through events and accusations against Israel. The accusation of genocide first lodged by South Africa happened well before significant numbers of dead and well before the inflammatory and in my opinion foolish comments from the likes of smotrich. Further Iran paid off the south African debt. They had plenty of motivation to do as requested
the protests against Israel and jews started on October 8 before Israel responded and while missiles we’re being fired from both Lebanon and Gaza
early satellite imagery confirmed exactly what Israel was saying - their attacks were highly targeted and in some cases you could see tunnels exposed.
numbers of dead civilians “rocketed”(apologies for the term used) when Israel really hadn’t done so much and then plateaued in comparative terms. They have walked back their claims on numbers and the age/gender distribution but way after the damage was done. This walking back of claims is far more regular than you may be aware of. Sadly the narratives are already implanted. This is absolutely consistent with well established principles around psychological warfare
there were patterns in the protests across the world that suggested a well coordinated and world wide drive and clear patterns in people who clearly had little understanding of the conflict, of Hamas, of the differences between fundamentalist Hamas and secular PA. Further the protests were not just about Palestine but very obvious displays of Islamic power
there is already a well established record of left wing radicals teaming up with despots of the religious or. On religious persuasion and Iran was a beneficiary of this so they understand well what works. I have read documents that relate to the role of Russia in many aspects of this conflict that emerged after Israel rejected communism and alignment close political relationship with Russia and this intensified after us eventually decided there was strategic advantage in being connected with Israel. However that relationship has not been consistent no matter what the narrative. and despite current beliefs Britain was far from an enabler - in fact slowly through duplicity and their own political interests they shafted Israel in multiple ways
there is much more that can be written about behaviour and the way social pressure has been used to shape narratives and noise and anyone who denies it is either blind or bigoted.
Yes there are statements from Israel but these are poorly framed if they are trying to influence thinking. I’ve been curious about the difference in framing and response and it’s significant
Very early on people called for proportionality in Israel’s response. I’ve not seen one convincing description of exactly what that might mean. Nor any convincing explanation of exactly how Israel might fight an urban guerilla war with very clear evidence of civilian buildings being used for Hamas operations without any civilian deaths beyond what Israel has consistently done from the beginning - announce the impending attack, move civilians to safe zones and focus on areas of known Hamas operations.
Again satellite images show clearly that the whole of the strip is not obliterated as Hamas would have us believe and Gazans own social media posts confirm this
There have been criticisms asking how come the IDF hasn’t used their intel to know where Hamas operators are. Hamas is embedded, widespread and hidden. They used hostages as shields and moved regularly using the tunnel network. I think they’ve used what they can but that doesn’t automatically mean they can achieve quick results
To be frank if all Israel wanted to do was flatten Gaza and get rid of everyone they could have been far more random, far less precise and far faster
I could go on - the issues with aid and profiteering, the clear use of faked or altered imagery or stolen from other theatres of war in which Israel played no part
It takes me hours each week to check and recheck, to test myself by trying to identity where and how I might be right or wrong.
Sometimes I have doubts. Often I feel despair but not once have I ended up thinking as you do. sometimes I think that it won’t really matter what they do because the psychological warfare is so powerful
If you have an answer for how Israel should respond even now to an intransigent enemy determined to destroy them without destroying itself I’d be curious to know
