79 Percent Of Israelis Aren’t ‘Troubled’ By Reports Of Famine In Gaza And That Is Precisely What Their Government Wants.
How can anyone be ‘troubled’ by something they’ve either chosen not to believe, or aren’t allowed to?
Repeat: There is no starvation in Gaza. If the Israeli government could have hypnotized all of its citizens with this mantra, it would have.
But it might not even need to. A new poll carried out by the Israel Democracy Institute showed that a vast majority of Israeli Jews – 79 percent – say they are “not so troubled” or “not troubled at all” by the reports of famine and suffering among the Palestinian population in Gaza. An almost exact mirror image appears among Israel’s Arab public, where 86 percent said they are “very troubled” or “somewhat troubled.”
This sad statistic is precisely what the government wants: How can Israelis be troubled by something they’ve either chosen not to believe, or aren’t allowed to?
If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had his way, the Israel Democracy Institute would have been shut down for even having the temerity to ask people their opinion on such an “antisemitic blood libel.”
It seems the government’s highest priority is to silence those who dare to mention verified reports that Israel’s months-long blockade on humanitarian aid has caused starvation in Gaza. The country is now vowing to punish artists who dared to sign a now-infamous petition against the war and Israel’s policies of starvation. On Tuesday, the Knesset’s coalition whip, Ofir Katz, said those “traitors” have “no place in the country,” vowing to cut state funding to anything related to them. A Likud minister, May Golan, said the artists “stuck a knife in the backs of our soldiers.”
At the same time, Israel is diplomatically fighting international allies that dare to raise the allegation of starvation. On Tuesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry reprimanded the Polish ambassador over what it called “unacceptable” statements made by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Tusk, on X, had reaffirmed Poland’s support for Israel in its fight against Hamas but said it “will never be on the side of politicians whose actions lead to hunger and the death of mothers and children.”
But not all Israelis are buying the government’s influence operation against them, even though they know it may not be safe to do so. On Monday, a fundraiser in Tel Aviv by Israeli artists in support of Gazans was forced to change to a secret venue following concrete threats from right-wingers with accusations of “donating to the enemy.” After a right-wing mob stormed a synagogue in central Israel that screened an Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony in April, no one is taking chances.
There are small signs that the unofficial censorship of suffering in Gaza may be beginning to crack. On Wednesday, a popular Tel Aviv club, Phi, put up a sign outside and posted a short message: “End the war now. Bring back the hostages. Stop the killing and starvation in Gaza.” For few, it was welcome and overdue, drawing some praise online. But most comments were livid. One wrote, “Disgusting. I’ll never set foot in your place again.”
While a small number of people, mostly in Tel Aviv and some in Haifa and Jerusalem, are trying to act against starvation and war in Gaza, they remain under threat from those who actively deny it and a government that fosters that denial.
In his extensive report in The New Yorker, titled ‘Israel’s Zones of Denial,’ David Remnick wrote, “To look away is an act of both will and denialism, a form of self-preservation.” The past few days have shown that the Israeli government’s fight for its survival begins, continues, and ends with its most important method: silence.
Hidden History -- In The Making 