As of dawn, November
19, 2012, Israel time, a state of war exists between Hamas in Gaza and the
state of Israel. The fighting began on November 14, after Hamas fired more than
250 rockets at civilian targets in Israel, over a thirteen day period beginning
November 1.
So far, a
pattern emerges. As Israel and Hamas pound each other, exchanging perhaps 1,750
rockets and bombs over the first 100 hours of fighting, journalists, political
commentators and world opinion-makers rush to publish. Much of what they write
is anti-Israel. To one who supports Israel, such reporting is not new. It may
actually be today’s norm.
But there is
something new. Consumers of news are changing the tenor and, possibly, the
impact of news and political commentary.
As Israel appears
to prepare a ground assault into Gaza, we see a second war unfolding—on the
internet. It is a war for the hearts and minds of news consumers, and
pro-Israel forces are aggressive. On CNN, NBC News, CBS News, Al Jazeera
English, Yahoo!News and the Guardian (to name just a few internet news sources),
anti-Israel references get hammered almost the instant they get published. Read
the ‘reader comment’ sections of these outlets. According to an informal scan
of these news sources for days number 2-4 of the fighting, a strong pro-Israel
voice has emerged in those comments. The Israel narrative is being told. The
Hamas narrative does not go unanswered.
Hamas—and
its supporters--attack Israel on the internet because its war against Israel is
both actual and verbal. To demonize Israel, they re-invent language, history
and Western morality. At times one suspects this is done specifically to keep
you from remembering that Hamas is an outlawed terror organization.
The
pro-Israel voice reminds us that Hamas are killers--who lie.
For example,
after just two days of fighting, readers and internet watchdogs (and then
readers again, as they pick up on watchdog observations) hammer home the
accusation that two Hamas anti-Israel pictures have been proven false, an
anti-Israel news video was faked, and news reports of ‘civilian’ injuries in
Gaza are being exaggerated.
These
observations appear at the bottom of essays that support the Hamas narrative,
thereby undercutting that narrative. The presence of this readership voice reveals
Hamas’ criminal underbelly.
Until
fighting broke out on November 14, Hamas had reason to believe that its version
of history had become accepted tradition; they seemed the darling of the
world’s media. But a vigilant pro-Israel readership fights back. Here are some comments:
-you say it
is misleading that Israel uses ‘precision’ bombing to protect civilians? Well,
with 1,000 air strikes and only 24 civilian deaths [to date], I would call that
pretty damn precise, especially since Hamas uses heavily populated areas to
fight from;
-do Gazan
authorities provide sufficient and effective air-raid shelters for their
citizens? Did Gaza put any of its money into safe infrastructure, or do they
use their money to kill Israelis?
-What gives
Gaza the right to terrorize Israeli civilians?
-the world
protests 51 deaths in Gaza—half of which are terrorists. Meanwhile, the death
toll in Syria for defenceless children is 2,300 and counting. The world should
protest the real horror—in Syria.
-There is a
saying, ‘if Arabs put down their weapons, there’d be peace; if Israel put down
her weapons, there’d be no more Israel.’
-stop your claims that Israelis murder
civilians. If Hamas stopped using human shields, civilian death would [plummet].
-you say
Israel must negotiate, not fight? How do you negotiate with people who say you
have no right to exist—and whose goal is to destroy the country you live in?
-you want
peace? Give Palestinians hope by building within your own Arab societies more
freedom and opportunity than Israel offers Arabs.
-the people
who live in Gaza voted for Hamas. They chose terror over peace. After Israeli
disengagement [in 2005], Hamas could have made an example of Gaza as a thriving
peaceful region. Instead, Hamas turned Gaza into a military base to attack
Israeli civilians.
-iron
dome—and Israeli intelligence services—are the real winners in this conflict.
Israel has now re-established its deterrence capability.
Finally, a
comment that quotes writer Jeffrey Goldberg: the media is biased against
Israel…probably 300 people in Syria have been murdered since the Gaza [attacks
began]…a Syrian acquaintance [has complained] that Syria gets very little
attention in international press…Mr Goldberg’s advice is to get killed by Jews.
On the most
anti-Israel sites, readers defend Israel in comment after comment, sustaining
their arguments, point-by-point, against those who attack Israel.
This strong
pro-Israel defense is neither random nor accidental. Readers believe in Israel.
They go to battle for Israel. Consumers of news are no longer passive. Media might malign Israel. But readers now come
to the rescue.
Suddenly, a
war for Israel has begun online.
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