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Americans Should Ask Not Only What War Has Done to Gaza, but Also What It's Done to Israel

41 26
yesterday

Israeli TV debates have shown just how far the local media it is willing to go to look away from Gaza. Since the war began, Israeli audiences have largely been shielded from the reality of Gaza's devastation. It's not just censorship – it's that most Israelis would rather not know.

While a few reporters on Channel 12 defended the duty to document starvation and mass death in Gaza, editor Ron Yaron confessed that "it's hard to relate to" the coverage. On Channel 13, however, former footballer-turned-host Eyal Berkovic spelled it out by asking why images of starvation should even be shown. Veteran journalist Moriah Asraf replied, "I have no idea."

But a similar, perhaps parallel denial runs deep in the United States as well. While some in the media and from Jewish communities have started to act, many are unwilling to ask what this war has done to Israel. Unlike Israelis, they've seen the images coming out of Gaza, but they choose instead to give cover instead of condemnation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, who are wielding famine toward mass death.

In these circles, from pundits to politicians to conservative-leaning Jewish organizations, obfuscation reigns. First: there's no famine, just Hamas propaganda. Then: there's famine, but the UN is to blame. Then: even if there's famine, Hamas caused it. And now? Israel is praised for restoring a trickle of aid it was obligated to allow all along – reviving the very system it dismantled. Here, the name of the game is deny, distort and discredit.

None of these allegations aligns with the facts. A U.S. government review

© Haaretz