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| U2 frontman and noted humanitarian, Bono (JTA) |
I admit to being depressed. Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that Israel would no longer be seen as a light unto the nations - especially given how it succeeded at such monumental levels economically, ethically, and militarily over the course of its 77 year history.
The apex of those feelings came in the immediate aftermath
of the Six-Day War, when Israel reclaimed all of Eretz Yisroel and began
settling it. The feeling then was that it was great to be a Jew. Israelis were
truly admired for the miracle of winning a war against enemy nations far
greater in number and military might (supposedly). U.S. military experts could
not say enough about the genius of Israel’s strategies and tactics.
Since then, Israel’s economy has boomed — becoming a
powerhouse of economic development, especially in the field of technology.
There were also innovations in agriculture (even before the Six-Day War), as
well as scientific research and medicine, recognized worldwide by experts in
those fields. Excellence in the arts was also recognized, with many
international awards granted to achievers in those areas. Israel was seen
worldwide as the only democracy in the region. All this was achieved under the
most adverse of conditions, challenged constantly by wars and relentless
terrorism.
Today, Israel is no longer seen as a light in the darkness.
It is seen as darkness itself. A nation that, over the last two years, has been
accused of committing genocide: killing innocent civilians with bullets, bombs,
or starvation; destroying the majority of homes in Gaza, making it
uninhabitable; and in general making life miserable for every Palestinian
living there. And the person blamed for all of this misery is its elected
leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Whose resolve to destroy every last
member of Hamas has, according to his critics, brought all this tragedy upon
innocent Palestinians. His recent announcement to take control of all of
Gaza will, they say, surely cause even more death and destruction. While
hostages have languished for nearly two years under the most inhumane
conditions imaginable at the hands of their Hamas captors.
Many believe Netanyahu has cost his country far too much
blood and treasure - and his new
initiative will only add to that toll. Condemnations are being made against
Israel all over the world, and recognition of the non-existent State of
Palestine is catching on among the nations like wildfire.
Individual condemnation is increasing as well. From
celebrities and other prominent figures, many of them Jews, and many of them
Israelis who have been increasingly protesting the war. Hostage families are
worried that the captives are being endangered by Netanyahu’s stubborn
insistence on carrying on a war that they feel has no good purpose. In short,
Netanyahu’s conduct of the war has - in the eyes of his critics - has ruined Israel’s reputation, perhaps even
irretrievably.
So yes, it was depressing to read of yet another prominent
person condemning Israel today. Especially someone recognized for his
humanitarianism. U2 frontman, Bono, was quoted today condemning Israel - using
two prominent Jews as his moral guides in making that condemnation (Mandy
Patinkin and Rabbi Sharon Brous). As noted by JTA:
U2 frontman Bono stood out in the immediate aftermath of
Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel for dedicating a song to the hundreds of
“beautiful kids” murdered at the Nova music festival.
I’m not much of a U2 fan. But Bono cannot be classified as
any kind of antisemite. And when celebrities like this start condemning Israel,
that’s pretty depressing.
But as depressing as this ‘change of heart’ by what seems
like the entire world may be -from seeing Israel as a light unto the nations to
seeing it as darkness - I cannot lose
sight of the fact that almost all of this criticism is based on Hamas
propaganda – aided and abetted by the UN and other ani Israel ‘humanitarian’
organizations in Gaza, re the only news sources being used by the mainstream
media (by their own admission), When the only people talking about the Jews are
Nazi like terrorists and their enablers, what can one expect other than
completely negative reporting?
This is not to say that all the images are fake - although
many of them are. There is no doubt in my mind that Palestinians are suffering.
The only questions are: why, whose fault is it, and to what extent?
The answers can be found among those of us willing to dig
for the facts. Facts that seem to elude the mainstream media, which simply
regurgitates what it is being fed by Israel’s enemies. And then pretending to
be providing hard evidence when in reality the ‘facts’ are often made up or
grossly exaggerated.
I hate to keep repeating this, but there are individuals -
civilized people - who have gone to the trouble of finding out the truth and
have reported it to both the mainstream liberal. media and conservative media.
But the mainstream media generally doesn’t believe them, preferring to rely on
sources in Gaza that are dripping with anti-Israel bias. Bias that existed long
before October 7th, and that has since used the war as an excuse to
capitalize on that bias as if it were irrefutable fact.
The truth? The ‘truth’ is their truth which is what mainstream
media shows you every night on TV and blame only on Israel.
That is why the world now sees Israel as spreading darkness
rather than light. They see bombs being dropped by Israel killing civilians.
They believe the lie that the IDF is preventing Palestinians from being fed.
They accuse Israel of killing anyone who tries to get food from U.S.-backed GHF.
They believe the lie that the IDF kills Palestinians that are simply trying to
get food from them for their families. They believe the lie that GHF aid isn’t
enough - repeating the demand by Hamas that GHF operations cease, despite
having already delivered hundreds of thousands of food packages to hungry
Palestinians. They ignore the fact that Hamas has controlled the food supply
from day one, and blames Israel for using starvation as a weapon — a lie
perpetuated by the media to this day!
Fortunately, there are still good people who know the truth:
the president, his foreign policy team (thank you Ambassador Huckabee - see below), most Evangelical Christians, most conservative
Republicans and a few Democrats in Congress, and the conservative media. For
this, I am grateful.
But the fact is so many good people who were once supportive
have been duped by media coverage into becoming extremely critical of Israel.
I therefore remain depressed. Good people are assuming the
worst, when – in my opinion - all Israel is trying to do is protect its people
from future attacks like the one on October 7th. And there is not a
damn thing I can do about it.
