Just a thought tonight. Did you know that Israel has invaded Gaza? Yeah, apparently they have. Interestingly, I don't see it covered anywhere except for Fox News. It doesn't make the front page of Yahoo or the AP. It doesn't rate on CNBC except for an initial discussion of whether or not it would affect the stock market (HINT: it didn't). I don't see the bloggers screaming about it. The UN isn't awash in antisemitic dictators trying to get Israel condemned. There are no riots in Europe. There are no riots on the Arab street that I've seen. And this is despite a fairly high number of casualties.
Now, maybe, I've missed all of this. I guess that's possible. But I suspect the reality is that the world has changed. Here are my thoughts on why there is so little interest about this war:
(1) Obama defended Israel from the get-go, which shut down the American left, which is where the antisemites find a home. So the media, the peaceniks, the OWS crowd, and the Democrats all felt compelled to look the other way this time.
(2) The Europeans are feeling too shamed to address this. After helplessly watching Putin sodomize the Ukrainians and finding that they were incapable of making any realistic response because they choose their economies over their principles, the self-eunuched Europeans seem to have lost their will to cast stones on others.
(3) A lot of the usual dictators who came out and attacked Israel are dead or gone and have been replaced by the Arab Spring. The new leaders are too preoccupied trying to keep their own people happy and realize that attacking Israel won't help.
(4) The Palestinians have lost their victim status. For several years now, the Palestinians have been running their own country (effectively), and they've done a miserable job of it. This is despite billions of dollars in aid and support. So essentially, they have worn out all their excuses. Then you add the fact they keep picking on Israel when it's obvious they cannot gain anything by doing it, and suddenly people like the Saudis realize that they are more trouble than they are worth.
That doesn't leave a lot of people to care about what is happening. I think that's why this is possibly one of the least-covered Middle East events in recent history. And if I'm right, this could eventually be seen as the first step in the Middle East calming down if the Palestinians cease being a cause celebre.
Thoughts? Have I missed anything?
Now, maybe, I've missed all of this. I guess that's possible. But I suspect the reality is that the world has changed. Here are my thoughts on why there is so little interest about this war:
(1) Obama defended Israel from the get-go, which shut down the American left, which is where the antisemites find a home. So the media, the peaceniks, the OWS crowd, and the Democrats all felt compelled to look the other way this time.
(2) The Europeans are feeling too shamed to address this. After helplessly watching Putin sodomize the Ukrainians and finding that they were incapable of making any realistic response because they choose their economies over their principles, the self-eunuched Europeans seem to have lost their will to cast stones on others.
(3) A lot of the usual dictators who came out and attacked Israel are dead or gone and have been replaced by the Arab Spring. The new leaders are too preoccupied trying to keep their own people happy and realize that attacking Israel won't help.
(4) The Palestinians have lost their victim status. For several years now, the Palestinians have been running their own country (effectively), and they've done a miserable job of it. This is despite billions of dollars in aid and support. So essentially, they have worn out all their excuses. Then you add the fact they keep picking on Israel when it's obvious they cannot gain anything by doing it, and suddenly people like the Saudis realize that they are more trouble than they are worth.
That doesn't leave a lot of people to care about what is happening. I think that's why this is possibly one of the least-covered Middle East events in recent history. And if I'm right, this could eventually be seen as the first step in the Middle East calming down if the Palestinians cease being a cause celebre.
Thoughts? Have I missed anything?
30 comments:
You hit it right on the head, no one cares this time. Maybe we're entering an Era of Common Sense....nah, that ain't gonna happen...
Fox News' coverage (like Drudge Report) seems to be more about how THE WORLD IS TURNING AGAINST ISRAEL!!!!
An interesting story in the Times of Israel how even the left in Israel is supporting this operation.
The War of the Doves
"A study conducted by the left-leaning Israel Democracy Institute found that nearly all Israeli Jews – 96%, 92% and 97% in three July polls that were part of the study – believe the Gaza operation is just. Such high figures necessarily include peace activists, a majority of Meretz voters and most of the rest of the staunch left."
First, something to note. Something that Fox News, CNN, and many other (American) news outlets forget. Israel is not only a parliamentary democracy but a coalition government. That means Netanyahu is not the big kahuna that American genuine conservatives like to imagine him as.
In a parliamentary government, if the cabinet does not support an idea of the Prime Minister's refuses to get behind it, then nothing happens. He (or she) might be able to push it through but it would be very difficult. Thatcher had to get the approval of her entire cabinet to go to war in the Falklands.
This is even more true when your government is a coalition government, that is one made up of multiple parties. 2 in Britain (Conservative and Liberal Dems) or 6 like in Belgium.
And Netanyahu's current coalition government, while mostly conservative, contains both the centrist Yesh Astid under Yair Lapid (Finance Minister) and the left-wing Hatnuah under Livni. Both are fervent supporters of the military operation in Gaza.
The result: Netanyahu has a broad base of support for the war in Israel.
Also, there is evidence that a number of Palestinians, at least in the Gaza Strip, are shifting away from Hamas.
Since Hamas gained control of the Gaza Strip they have waged near-constant war on Israel and Israel has, in 2008, 2012, and this summer, hit back —ferociously.
Today, in Israel the Iron Dome has been incredibly effective in stopping Hamas's rocket attacks and the IDF has been very effective in stopping up Hamas's tunnels.
Hamas has a good day when one of their rockets actually hits the ground —even if there are no casualties. In the Gaza Strip the IDF's biggest problem is knowing what not to bomb, largely due to Hamas's human shield tactics. Hamas can barely get anything through while the IDF can bomb anything they want. Israel could do to Gaza City what the US did to Tokyo and Dresden in 1944-1945 and there is not a thing Hamas could do to stop it.
So, the reason Hamas is using human shields is because that is the only tactic they can use effectively. They can't kill Jews and they can't stop Jews from killing them so they must rely on forcing the Jews to kill Palestinian children in order to kill them. Think about that.
Now think about how the average Palestinian living in Gaza must see this. They may not care for the Jews and may wish them out of "Palestine" but with Hamas in charge the chances of even having an independent country under a two-state solution are looking closer and closer to zero.
Of course, any Palestinians who oppose Hamas in the Gaza Strip usually end up getting a bullet in the head —and in the heads of their family members. But it will be interesting to watch how things unfold among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Andrew - Honestly, at first I thought you'd lost your mind. Because we've been having daily demonstrations in NYC and I see riots in Paris, London, Munich, the West Bank etc. And HuffPo is awash with anti-Zionist rhetoric. But then I realized, of course my perspective is different because I AM seeing aggressive demonstrations a block from me...and, well, NYC has a very high Jewish population.
And as you are always right on the top of the wave, editorialist the NY papers are saying exactly what you are saying. Even the Palestinians outside of Gaza are not really running for their guns. No one is coming to pitch in with Hamas, not even their besties Hezbollah. Even Arab editorials see Hamas as the aggressors who are sacrificing their own to score points. Europeans seem to be the most aggressively Pro Palestinian or should I say, that they are being traditionally Anti-Semitic/Israel.
Interesting fact - along with the pro-Palestinians who are protesting in NY there are groups of ultra Orthodox Jews right in the middle of the crowd. It is not so crazy to see them if you understand that they are strident anti-Zionists who believe that it is not the time for Israel to exist because their Messiah has not come yet.
But all that being said, it disturbs me to see such blatant anti-Jewish rhetoric permeate the blogosphere and read signs that say "Kill The Jews" so prominently display. Okay "disturbs" is putting it mildly...
Bev, Being outside of New York, I definitely don't see any of that. There is virtually no coverage of anything related to it -- just a brief mention that it's still ongoing and no discussion of any sort of protests or responses,
I do like to be on top of the wave! :D Glad to hear the NY papers are catching up to me. LOL!
I agree entirely about how shocking it is to see such blatant anti-Jewish rhetoric.
Critch, Sadly, the age of common sense will probably never arrive. But at least it sounds like people have lost interest in this particular conflict.
Kit, Fox is all about sensationalization. Even their weather coverage comes with casualty counters and crackpot experts predicting storms that will kill us all.
Interesting additions about the Israeli cabinet. That might factor in too if both their left and right needed to sign off on this.
It's very possible that Hama's tactics are turning people off too. But even without going into specific tactics, the Palestinians have largely been given what they've been demanding -- an independent place to call their own. Now that they have that, I get the sense that their sponsors are kind of sick of their constant demands and their constant provocations, which only cause the entire region problems.
And keep in mind, a war with Israel might be ideologically satisfying, but it doesn't put food on the table, clear the garbage from the curve, or get anyone a job. That's the problem with the being the guy with whom the buck stops.
Let me see if I got the three cable news networks down:
Fox News: "STORMS KILL THOUSANDS! OBAMA TAKING OVER HEALTHCARE! WORLD TURNING AGAINST ISRAEL AND AMERICA! GAME OVER MAN! GAME OVER!"
MSNBC: "Obama is doing great things for this country and if you disagree, you're a racist. Also, all Republicans are racist."
CNN: Meanwhile, "MH370 remains missing which leaves many asking the question, were UFOs responsible? In other news, MH370 remains missing."
CNN Headline News: "I'm Nancy Grace, and today we have another guilty suspect. All suspects guilty, you know that? Guilty until proven innocent. At least they would be if this country were run with a sense of right and wrong."
Andrew,
The article also talks about the "floating voters" or, apparently, the vast middle. Israelis who are neither peacenik "we are evil oppressors" leftists nor zionist radicals/religious zealots who want to rebuild "greater Israel". Most of them want peace but they want Israel to be secure from rocket attacks, terror bombings, kidnappings, and invasions from Arab countries. They want peace with security. and will vote for whoever they think will bring that, right or left.
Kit, Imagine that. They don't want to wage a crusade or surrender to their enemies... all they want is to safe from their enemies and live in peace.
Bev,
re my "radical zionists" comment,
When you see socialists, Marxists, and other leftists attacking Zionism as another form of racism remember this: Many of Zionism's roots lie in the left.
While a number of early supporters were clearly religious zealots, many of the early Zionists were socialists.
Really, in the early 20th century, and all the way until the late-60s (Six Day War) Israel was sort of a cause célèbre among leftists. Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, was a socialist, the Soviet Union was a big supporter of Israeli independence (when they became independent they switched to the Arabs), and Hollywood communist Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay for the 1960 pro-Israel movie Exodus.
Irony!
"Kit, Imagine that. They don't want to wage a crusade or surrender to their enemies... all they want is to safe from their enemies and live in peace."
I think someone needs to phone Pat Robertson and members of the Religious Right.
Bolivia has denounced Israel as a "terrorist state", with the left-wing President Morales saying “Israel is not a guarantor of the principles of respect for life and the elementary precepts of rights that govern the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of our international community.”
In other news, Bolivia legalizes child labor for children as young as ten (UN minimum age is 14).
LINK
Kit, Yeah, Bolivia should probably not criticize anyone else. After all, it is a failed narco state that is now trying socialism to fix the problems caused by generations of socialism.
On your networks, MSNBC should be:
"THE REPUBLICANS ARE RACISTS!! EVERYONE IS A RACIST!!! Why doesn't anyone watch our channel?"
Andrew,
Forgot about that one. Everything else good?
I'll believe Obama is defending Israel when he quits giving money to Hamas and quits pressuring Israel into a ceasefire before the IDF can take out all the Hamas tunnels and rocket launchers.
On top of that, Kerry's latest attempt to get a ceasefire has Turkey and Qatar as mediators, lol. No wonder Israelis considered that an insult, because Turkey and Qatar are the only countries actively backing Hamas.
I concur most people aren't interested in this war. But most of the leftist websites have gone completely anti-semitic.
What little I have seen of CNN they have become Hamas mouthpieces, much like MSNBC.
I'll take your word about the networks.
In other news, Jesse Venture won almost $2million in a defamation suit against a deceased Navy SEAL's estate, i.e., the SEAL's widow.
Well, winning a settlement from the widow of a dead Navy SEAL. Jesse must be so proud of himself today...
Bev,
Well, according to him, he is the victim here.
Ventura is a scumbag. He wasn't defamed by Chris Kyle, he defamed himself with his anti-American rants, 9/11 conspiracy theory, and all the other idiotic things he says.
Going after the widow of a real American hero just shows what kind of vile, sub-human pos Ventura really is.
I haven't paid a ton of attention to recent Israel news, but there have been a lot of conflicting messages, some of them coming from people nominally on the same side. Good to learn that there hasn't been much backlash.
Palestinian terrorists poke Israel with a stick until they hit a sensitive spot, then curling up into ball and cry 'Don't hurt me, I'm weak and by hurting the weak you're just like the Nazis!' is a decades old game.
Its long been my pet theory that the Palestinian cause was one embraced by dictators (most of whom are now either dead or besieged by Islamists) to distract people from their problems at home.
Ventura has made a big deal out of being a Navy SEAL and that Kyle damaged his rep with the community and his public image. Problem is, Ventura's a UDT - a frogman, not a SEAL. There's been a lot of internet debate on this but the facts are that, when Ventura served, UDTs and SEALs were different groups, trained to do different things. Eight years later, the SEALs absorbed the UDTs, but no man who served as a UDT prior to that date could ever claim to be a SEAL. It's stolen valor.
Stolen valor is a moral crime and Ventura is a national embarassment.
I am amazed aat the jury's finding - they should be ashamed.
Somehow, I've seen more coverage of the Israel/Palestine thing. But what I'm seeing is a lot different from what I'm used to. Not that there is any praise for Israel. However, the general consensus seems to be the Hamas is acting very cynically. That's lost that much favor. On the other hand, the usual consensus towards Israel still applies: that they are too heavy handed in their response to Palestine. Apparently when someone throws sticks at you, you're supposed to throw sticks back, not rocks
And of course by Palestine, I mean Gaza. Sorry, habits.
Ben, I don't mean to say that Obama is truly defending Israel, but in this case, he came out and said point blank that Israel has a right to defend itself. That cut off the left at the knees.
tryanmax, It is a lot different than I am used to as well. I'm used to this full court press telling us how Israel is evil and violating human rights etc. etc. This time, the coverage is really dismissive, indifferent, or "the Palestinians need to stop provoking these attacks." That's all new to me as well.
Andrew, I came across an op-ed attempting to explain why the treatment of the current Israel/Gaza conflict is different this time. I think it raised some salient points, which it spread across several bullet points. I can sum them up in two:
1) The entire Middle East is still torn up by the Arab Spring in 2012, putting the lie to the notion that Israel is the lone obstacle to peace in the region. And the US intervention into the affair looked (and was) very capricious. The US lacks credibility to broker peace.
2) The Palestinian Authority has gotten cozy with Hamas, which the US has branded a terrorist group. So now the PA, who never liked talking to us anyway, refuses to even look at us because we don't like his new girlfriend. Plus, our buddy Egypt, who could always get us a minute with the PA before, just dumped Hama's sister. Worse, Iran, who never liked anybody, just picked up Ms. Hamas on the rebound. It's like a reality show.
A third, minor point which Kit noted that wouldn't matter in the absence of the other two is that over 90% of Israelis support the current actions against Gaza. So the media can't do its usual bit of saying even the Israelis are against it.
tryanmax, I believe point 1,but not point 2. I think the Arab Spring has wiped out the dictators who usually use Israel as a distraction. It has also lit a fire under those governments' butts, letting them know that attacking Israel will not excuse poor economic performance. So why attack Israel is it can't really help you?
On point 2, all of that already happened years ago. I think the media is only admitting it now because Obama is in charge.
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