JERUSALEM/TEL AVIV
– More and more people now see themselves as victims. We used to think of ourselves as heroes – strong.
I saw the Jerusalemite Alumah Dor summarizes as a view of how the Israelis have changed their image in the midst of the war in Gaza, which has been going on for almost ten months.
The idea of victimhood has been strong in Israel, of course, even before the terrorist attacks on the seventh of last October. The extraordinary terror of Hamas was combined with the collective memory of the Holocaust, i.e. the memory of the genocide of the Jews by the Nazis.
The story of the victims of the attacks by Hamas was a continuation of the same story that has been told in Jewish families who experienced Nazi persecution and extermination. The victims at the music festival and the kibbutz, as well as the hostages taken to Gaza, have formed an additional chapter in the history of the Holocaust.
Professor of Sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi has researched the Holocaust and collective memory. In this context, collective memory can be thought of as the Holocaust memories of Jews, with which they create a common identity.
– The terror of Hamas reminded many of the Holocaust. Having to hide the children, having to run away or be behind bars without getting out, he describes the anxiety people go through.
According to Professor Vered Vinitzky-Serouss, the Hamas attack was a huge trauma for Israel. In addition to the blind evil, the essential thing was that the Israelis felt they were left alone.
– The army was not there. The government was not vigilant. As if the entire state was out of the game.
The wound of the Holocaust is still open
Sociologist Vinityzky-Seroussi says that terrorist attacks and the subsequent war should be treated as two different things. Of course, they are connected to each other.
To put it bluntly, the terrorist attack tore open the wound of the Holocaust, which has never fully healed. In addition, insecurity took away trust in the state and government.
– It will take years for people’s trust in the state to be restored.
The government has located the initial moment of invisibility with the intense war in Gaza. In its struggle, Israel has maintained the image of a defensive victim. The Holocaust has been strongly featured in it.
Listen to the World Politics Daily program “From Holocaust victim to outcast – Israel looks in the mirror”:
Benjamin Netanyahu the right-wing government treats the Hamas attacks and the war as one and the same event, where the Hamas terrorist attacks are the cause of everything. That is why, according to Israel’s view, the victims in Gaza also go on Hamas’s sin list.
But when viewed from abroad, the war events in Gaza appear to be more than just a defensive battle for the victim.
A significant proportion of the more than 30,000 victims in Gaza are women and children. Many airstrikes have landed directly on the necks of civilians seeking shelter. Hospitals have also received their share of bombs, and aid transports have not arrived. The supply of clean water stagnates and diseases spread.
Israel’s attacks have destroyed almost everything that can be destroyed in the densely built Gaza.
Israel says it seeks to protect civilians and strikes terrorist bases. It also accuses the extremist organization Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
In Israeli defense speeches, it is considered that it is not possible to distinguish between a Hamas terrorist and a civilian. The further interpretation is that no one in Gaza is ultimately innocent of the attacks against Israel.
“Israel’s image in the world is terrible – so what”
The world has watched Gaza’s suffering powerlessly, and on the other hand, Israel’s international reputation has crumbled along with Gaza’s collapsed infrastructure.
– Israel’s image in the world is terrible. It has probably never been this bad, but so what, says the political commentator from Jerusalem Mitchell Barak.
According to him, Israel’s war against Hamas is more justified than ever. Israelis now think that the world is against them, they will do whatever they want.
– Even in Europe, people are against Israel. There they are!
Israel has drifted into a situation where it is more isolated internationally than at any other time in its history. In Israel, it is considered that the country has slipped into the caste of outcast states in the eyes of the international community.
Although Mitchell Barak refers with a glove to world opinion, the Israelis are not quite so indifferent. Israelis are worried about their country’s reputation in the world.
According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Institute in the spring, well over half (58 percent) of Israelis think that Israel is no longer respected internationally.
The Israeli self-image is particularly disturbed by the fact that the International Criminal Court (ICC) accuses its political leadership alongside the Hamas leaders of war crimes in Gaza.
In the past, the ICC has accused mostly leaders of African countries and last year the president of war crimes Vladimir Putin and other Russian military leadership.
In turn, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has decided to investigate whether Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the hallmarks of genocide.
The ICJ has also defined Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories as illegal. In the most straightforward interpretations, Israel’s occupation is considered apartheid.
– It is not correct to say that Israel’s intention was to commit genocide in Gaza, when 30,000 people have died there in eight months, a guard working in Jerusalem Stallion evaluate.
In his opinion, the mass extermination of Jews by the Nazis, in which millions of people were killed, meets the hallmarks of genocide, but Israel’s actions in Gaza do not.
Israel is equated with African countries – and it hurts
In Israel, talk of the Holocaust and genocide is naturally associated with anti-Semitism. Netanyahu’s government’s communication tactic has been to label all criticism of Israel’s actions as anti-Semitism, anti-Semitism.
– I don’t call criticizing Israel anti-Semitism. On the other hand, I think Israel is viewed in a biased way, says Mitchell Barak.
In his opinion, for example, the ICC is selective in its actions. Attention is drawn to Gaza because Israel is complicit.
– There are places in the world where hundreds of thousands if not millions of people have been killed, but the ICC has not been interested in those conflicts.
Political researcher from Tel Aviv Dahlia Scheindlin disagrees. According to him, the ICC has evidence of, for example, condemning African leaders. Therefore, it is precisely equating Israel with Africa that makes it so difficult to accept.
That’s why the accusation of anti-Semitism is quickly introduced.
– The populist political leadership makes good use of this narrative. Dahlia Scheindlin says there is a favorable ground for accepting the explanation in the Israeli nation.
Sociologist Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi also recognizes the problematic use of anti-Semitism as a weapon in silencing.
– Of course, it is legitimate to criticize Israel. Antisemitism also has its roots. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between criticism and anti-Semitism, says Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi.
The accusation of anti-Semitism is a propaganda weapon
The editor of the Haaretz newspaper, which is critical of Netanyahu’s right-wing government Gideon Levy according to the Israeli government uses anti-Semitism as a propaganda weapon.
– It sinks in particularly well in Europe. Some Europeans easily fall into the trap. Nobody wants to be called anti-Semitic, Gideon Levy points out.
Labeling criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism works in Europe precisely in that it limits the discussion and prevents criticism of Israel.
Otherwise, Gideon Levy sees the Israeli government as having lost the opportunity to gain the world’s empathy after the horrific terrorist attacks last October.
He says that the attacks by Hamas should not have led to Israel interpreting that it can do whatever it wants.
– Now Israel kills, starves and destroys. The world reacts to it as it should. That’s why Israel is now in the position of an outcast state, says Gideon Levy.
According to Gideon Levy, Israel took hold of the sword and drowned with it.
A big problem is also that the people of Israel ultimately do not know what is happening in Gaza. Veteran journalist Gideon Levy reminds us that the media that sympathizes with the government helps prevent Israelis from seeing the suffering of the Gazans.
– What you see in Finland is not visible here.
Therefore, the vast majority of Israelis are not aware of possible crimes committed in the war. That is why they also support the continuation of the war. According to Gideon Levy’s assessment, the war can continue for a very long time.
Civil society is still strong
On the other hand, they want to get rid of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. For the Israeli government, the Gaza war came at a time when its popularity was very low.
Its desire to rein in the Supreme Court’s status led to unprecedented large-scale protests last year. The people fear that democracy is in danger.
This anti-government movement is still alive. Now it is combined with frustration with the government’s actions to free the hostages taken by Hamas to Gaza.
That’s why sociologist Vered Vinitzky-Seroussi sees that even under all the pressures, Israeli civil society is still strong. The country has held five elections in a short period of time, and the governments formed through them have been weak.
– Then came the far-right-leaning government and many of us went to show our opinion. We showed that we care about democracy.
According to Vered Vinitzky-Serouss, the same strong sense of community has worked through the ongoing war.
That’s why he believes in change. She remembers the year 1973, when she was a young girl.
He thought that the war that started at that time would be the end of the world. But just four years later, Egypt’s president Anwar Sadat was standing at an airport in Israel and a peace treaty had been concluded with the most prominent power in the region.
– That changed our view of the world. I’m an optimist. Maybe four years from now this terrible tragedy will be over and we will live in peace.