Today, social media can invert reality. It's not "a terror group hides behind civilians" but "Israel slaughters children." Hamas has perfected it, and the world swallows it whole.
It's the evil coalition of social media and indoctrination on the college campuses that is capable of shifting support from the true victim to the fraudulent claims of the perpetrator. That coalition is united in its evil and irrational support of Hamas. That coalition is funded by Qatar and by China.
The first obligation is to win on the battlefield. If you kill enough of the enemy, they will stop fighting. The winner of the military conflict gets to write the history books. Jews should stop worrying about being loved. Just imagine how much worse it would be if Israel lost the war. There would have been no aid if the roles were reversed.
Absolutely 100%. Israel is never allowed to win. As soon as it is attacked the calls for a cease fire begin, which is just a code word for Hamas to begin to restock the tunnels. Israel knows this, but has gone along to get along.
One of the first things Israel needs to do is withdraw from the UN. The United Nations is basically a stand in for Hamas or any other terror group when Israel is concerned. They will rejoin when ALL countries represented agree to Israel's right to exist. The double standards are not only unfair, they have kept the world from understanding the reality of life in the Middle East.
I agree Israel needs to fight to win but it can also begin the war against the rampant cancerous propaganda that has been so effective against it. This includes educating AMERICAN Jews, who too often speak against Israel's best interest. Any references to "apartheid" "colonialism" and "genocide" must be immediately rebuffed by Israel. Call out the networks that maintain the double standard.
Israel can do both - WIN the war and educate the world in a much more aggressive fashion.
What you say is say is important and disturbing, but if Israel stops now, having achieved only one of the three aims of the war effort as developed by their security council and then articulated by Netanyahu, then this whole 2 years was just "mowing the grass". I thought Israelis had reached a consensus (well, not the leftist crazies) that this time the effort had to result in a more permanent change in Gaza. This intervention by Trump is stopping Israel just short of clearing out Hamas or forcing it to surrender. Just like he stopped Israel short of wiping out Iran's ballistic missile arsenal (which still remains a clear existential threat), or when he jerked Israel back from destroying its Hesbollah targets in Lebanon (well, they're still bombing those). I see a pattern here. Trump is keeping Israel from the victory it must have to achieve future deterrence, because he is playing both sides.
2) Iran's Nuclear weapons program will have to start all over again.
3) Gaza is parking lot of rubble.
In two years, Israel was extraordinarily successful in getting rid of its neighboring enemies and its greatest existential threat: Iranian atomic weapons.
If on October 6th 2023 you were in front of The Knesset and reported on the exact changes that would subsequently take place in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and Iran no one would have believed you.
Yet here we are. Is it perfect?
No, but it is a huge improvement.
I guess we both want the same thing but I see the glass as 85% full and you see it has 15% empty. I think we both are correct from our own points of view.
This is a good analysis. Propaganda is a potent weapon. The quality of political and moral leadership shouldn't be discounted, either. Churchill and Roosevelt prevailed in part because their messages overcame Axis propaganda, regardless of the technology involved.
Thanks to Barack Obama's Iran Deal, his insistence that there be 'daylight' between the US and Israel, his history with a pastor whose sermon was "G-d Damn the United States", and his fascination with graduates of the 1960's Weathermen, the stage was set for mass inversion of reality and morality. What we are seeing now is a perfect storm of morally blind leadersihp combined with world-shaking developments in communications technology.
I want to express my appreciation for your exceptional writing. It's rare to find individuals capable of articulating intricate and nuanced concepts with such clarity. You’ve effectively captured my sentiments in your article, and I must admit, you outpaced me in addressing this topic. Thank you once again for your insightful contribution.
But they *didn't* and now we have a whole lot more information on how these things work -- and their subcomponents, from incipience.
Glad some of us are sticking to the truth, close as possible. Decisions must be made based on stark reality, *not* based on trying to live inside the seductive panorama created by our own wishful thinking and encouraged by articulate creators or varied, but closely aligned, versions of more comfortable alternate realities.
We have to stay strong in all of this -- not reactive, which plays right into what the enemy envisions and plans for us -- but steadfast.
That's my best assessment as of the evening of the first night of Chol HaMoed Sukkoth, 5786.
I want to believe the hostages will be home Shabbos B"H. And: While pre- visualizing that and praying for it, I also cannot *know* that until I see it as accomplished fact.
Better pray also that Hamas does NOT, before returning both whatever remaining hostages and the remains of the deceased, butcher whomever has managed to stay alive thus far B"H. That's been a pattern and I pray for these people's safety before whatever plays out in what we're being told is the "endgame" (chess metaphor, here) that's supposed to be completed this Shabbos. Sorry to be so verbose on this point and not phrase it in a more positive way, but it *does* seem dire from here and -- for myself -- it's important to not drop my guard in a rush of relief over what hasn't yet happened.
May this ongoing waking nightmare end, much as possible, G-d willing very soon.
Let's say Israel had a standing army of social influencers, registered FARA Act political influencers, endowed chairs in university Middle East Studies, and/or media ambassadors, maybe even a bot farm or two, all ready to act when called. Iran does, Qatar does; Israel probably should. Would the mainstream media listen to the Jews' side? Would TikTok? Would Chat GPT?
The evidence is that the media response to Oct 7th was a COORDINATED moral inversion of barbarian vs. victim. Israel made and promoted showings of the Oct 7th atrocities, and barely anyone came. Not reporters, not politicians. Hamas plays to the media and the algorithms because those instruments are OWNED and STAFFED by people committed to the destruction of the Jews worldwide. The purpose of the system is what it does.
So true and so scary. I listen to people that I thought were smart or at least aware become mindless zombies parroting back whatever CBC or NBC feeds them. Esp. When it comes to Israel. Islamist whom they feared after 9/11 now seem to get a free pass as does Communism. Etc. Horrific reports of terror seem to just go over heads, the shock stopping to roost for seconds lm before it dissipates. I am feeling a bit of despair. We need a super natural intervention or something to knock us off this propaganda treadmill
Yes. Information is a weapon, and informational warfare is as dangerous as any other form of warfare — and it should be treated as such!
And it has two faces: external and internal. We should treat external sources targeting the West the same way we treat individuals crossing physical borders — informational borders are borders too. No one should be allowed to cross them without control. Media outlets, social accounts, and similar platforms from outside the West should remain accessible for those who seek them out, but they should not be promoted by algorithms, search engines or pushed onto Western audiences.
As for internal forces, we should address them as well, but in a different way. Today, the West is trying to fight it through censorship, which only makes things worse. That’s not the way. We should view today’s media space the same way we view 19th-century capitalism — a lawless arena where the strong crush the weak, build monopolies, and manipulate the market. And just as modern capitalism is now regulated by law, so too should the media be regulated.
No censorship — everyone should be free to express their views, but no one should be allowed to hold a monopoly on information through sheer volume or reach.
Nations and legitimate political groups should have rights too — the right to be heard! And people should have rights as well — the right to be warned about bias, and so on.
What if Jews being rounded up and in concentration and death camps had smart phones and sent out photos and movies. Same goes for disgusted camp guards, Hitler hating officers, Hitler hating enlisted men and The White Rose Movement of Sophie Scholl. The list doesn't end there.
The bombings might have been doubled
Same for Chinese, Asians as well as Allied captured soldiers being butchered and tortured by The Japanese Imperial Army and videos of that going around the world instantaneously.
Japan might have been obliterated and its people exterminated. No surrender just annihilation.
No, when Jews send out images of their suffering, the world feels a deep quiet satisfaction and then turns on the hypocrisy so as to avoid having to admit to themselves how hateful they are. If Leaders do anything, they make insincere comments with no actions behind them of oh you really shouldn't do that to Jews but we have to be careful not to think badly of the people murdering them.
If the press behaved during World War II as they do today, the US Government would have thrown them in jail or put them against a wall and shot them for treason.
It's the evil coalition of social media and indoctrination on the college campuses that is capable of shifting support from the true victim to the fraudulent claims of the perpetrator. That coalition is united in its evil and irrational support of Hamas. That coalition is funded by Qatar and by China.
Headline is so true!
The first obligation is to win on the battlefield. If you kill enough of the enemy, they will stop fighting. The winner of the military conflict gets to write the history books. Jews should stop worrying about being loved. Just imagine how much worse it would be if Israel lost the war. There would have been no aid if the roles were reversed.
Absolutely 100%. Israel is never allowed to win. As soon as it is attacked the calls for a cease fire begin, which is just a code word for Hamas to begin to restock the tunnels. Israel knows this, but has gone along to get along.
One of the first things Israel needs to do is withdraw from the UN. The United Nations is basically a stand in for Hamas or any other terror group when Israel is concerned. They will rejoin when ALL countries represented agree to Israel's right to exist. The double standards are not only unfair, they have kept the world from understanding the reality of life in the Middle East.
I agree Israel needs to fight to win but it can also begin the war against the rampant cancerous propaganda that has been so effective against it. This includes educating AMERICAN Jews, who too often speak against Israel's best interest. Any references to "apartheid" "colonialism" and "genocide" must be immediately rebuffed by Israel. Call out the networks that maintain the double standard.
Israel can do both - WIN the war and educate the world in a much more aggressive fashion.
Israel can't lose a war - ever.
Then its over.
Well, here's some news: Trump’s "peace deal" is in every way a loss being forced on Israel.
Do you have any clue how tired IDF soldiers are after 2 years of war?
Do you have any idea how many IDF soldiers are now divorced?
Gaza is 100% rubble.
Exactly what was Israel's next move?
Let's say they killed what's left of the Hamas Leadership in Gaza and the hostages were either then all murdered or freed.
Then what exactly? Right. Thought so. That is exactly where we are now.
What you say is say is important and disturbing, but if Israel stops now, having achieved only one of the three aims of the war effort as developed by their security council and then articulated by Netanyahu, then this whole 2 years was just "mowing the grass". I thought Israelis had reached a consensus (well, not the leftist crazies) that this time the effort had to result in a more permanent change in Gaza. This intervention by Trump is stopping Israel just short of clearing out Hamas or forcing it to surrender. Just like he stopped Israel short of wiping out Iran's ballistic missile arsenal (which still remains a clear existential threat), or when he jerked Israel back from destroying its Hesbollah targets in Lebanon (well, they're still bombing those). I see a pattern here. Trump is keeping Israel from the victory it must have to achieve future deterrence, because he is playing both sides.
1) Hezbollah is toast.
2) Iran's Nuclear weapons program will have to start all over again.
3) Gaza is parking lot of rubble.
In two years, Israel was extraordinarily successful in getting rid of its neighboring enemies and its greatest existential threat: Iranian atomic weapons.
If on October 6th 2023 you were in front of The Knesset and reported on the exact changes that would subsequently take place in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and Iran no one would have believed you.
Yet here we are. Is it perfect?
No, but it is a huge improvement.
I guess we both want the same thing but I see the glass as 85% full and you see it has 15% empty. I think we both are correct from our own points of view.
This article is terrifying and observably true.
This is a good analysis. Propaganda is a potent weapon. The quality of political and moral leadership shouldn't be discounted, either. Churchill and Roosevelt prevailed in part because their messages overcame Axis propaganda, regardless of the technology involved.
Thanks to Barack Obama's Iran Deal, his insistence that there be 'daylight' between the US and Israel, his history with a pastor whose sermon was "G-d Damn the United States", and his fascination with graduates of the 1960's Weathermen, the stage was set for mass inversion of reality and morality. What we are seeing now is a perfect storm of morally blind leadersihp combined with world-shaking developments in communications technology.
Lucy,
I want to express my appreciation for your exceptional writing. It's rare to find individuals capable of articulating intricate and nuanced concepts with such clarity. You’ve effectively captured my sentiments in your article, and I must admit, you outpaced me in addressing this topic. Thank you once again for your insightful contribution.
No ‘might’ about it, they would have won.
Chas v'sholom (G-d Forbid).
But they *didn't* and now we have a whole lot more information on how these things work -- and their subcomponents, from incipience.
Glad some of us are sticking to the truth, close as possible. Decisions must be made based on stark reality, *not* based on trying to live inside the seductive panorama created by our own wishful thinking and encouraged by articulate creators or varied, but closely aligned, versions of more comfortable alternate realities.
We have to stay strong in all of this -- not reactive, which plays right into what the enemy envisions and plans for us -- but steadfast.
That's my best assessment as of the evening of the first night of Chol HaMoed Sukkoth, 5786.
I want to believe the hostages will be home Shabbos B"H. And: While pre- visualizing that and praying for it, I also cannot *know* that until I see it as accomplished fact.
Better pray also that Hamas does NOT, before returning both whatever remaining hostages and the remains of the deceased, butcher whomever has managed to stay alive thus far B"H. That's been a pattern and I pray for these people's safety before whatever plays out in what we're being told is the "endgame" (chess metaphor, here) that's supposed to be completed this Shabbos. Sorry to be so verbose on this point and not phrase it in a more positive way, but it *does* seem dire from here and -- for myself -- it's important to not drop my guard in a rush of relief over what hasn't yet happened.
May this ongoing waking nightmare end, much as possible, G-d willing very soon.
Love your idea, but...
Let's say Israel had a standing army of social influencers, registered FARA Act political influencers, endowed chairs in university Middle East Studies, and/or media ambassadors, maybe even a bot farm or two, all ready to act when called. Iran does, Qatar does; Israel probably should. Would the mainstream media listen to the Jews' side? Would TikTok? Would Chat GPT?
The evidence is that the media response to Oct 7th was a COORDINATED moral inversion of barbarian vs. victim. Israel made and promoted showings of the Oct 7th atrocities, and barely anyone came. Not reporters, not politicians. Hamas plays to the media and the algorithms because those instruments are OWNED and STAFFED by people committed to the destruction of the Jews worldwide. The purpose of the system is what it does.
But OK. Better PR is worth a shot.
So true and so scary. I listen to people that I thought were smart or at least aware become mindless zombies parroting back whatever CBC or NBC feeds them. Esp. When it comes to Israel. Islamist whom they feared after 9/11 now seem to get a free pass as does Communism. Etc. Horrific reports of terror seem to just go over heads, the shock stopping to roost for seconds lm before it dissipates. I am feeling a bit of despair. We need a super natural intervention or something to knock us off this propaganda treadmill
Yes. Information is a weapon, and informational warfare is as dangerous as any other form of warfare — and it should be treated as such!
And it has two faces: external and internal. We should treat external sources targeting the West the same way we treat individuals crossing physical borders — informational borders are borders too. No one should be allowed to cross them without control. Media outlets, social accounts, and similar platforms from outside the West should remain accessible for those who seek them out, but they should not be promoted by algorithms, search engines or pushed onto Western audiences.
As for internal forces, we should address them as well, but in a different way. Today, the West is trying to fight it through censorship, which only makes things worse. That’s not the way. We should view today’s media space the same way we view 19th-century capitalism — a lawless arena where the strong crush the weak, build monopolies, and manipulate the market. And just as modern capitalism is now regulated by law, so too should the media be regulated.
No censorship — everyone should be free to express their views, but no one should be allowed to hold a monopoly on information through sheer volume or reach.
Nations and legitimate political groups should have rights too — the right to be heard! And people should have rights as well — the right to be warned about bias, and so on.
You are making the wrong assumptions. Germans are not Jews. Remember that almost everyone helped them to execute the final solution.
The Arabs are just using the same tools of hatred to motivate the animosity against the Jews.
No Jews, no news.
"The Arabs are just using the same tools of hatred to motivate the animosity against the Jews."
They have had that for 1300 to 1400 years when the Koran and Sira became available to read.
I agree! I’m sure in the event of another WW social media would be shut down, for that very reason!
"The power of suggestion" has today been rephrased as "The power of the Infuencers on TikTok". Emotional gullibility and bias are what they target.
Works both ways.
What if Jews being rounded up and in concentration and death camps had smart phones and sent out photos and movies. Same goes for disgusted camp guards, Hitler hating officers, Hitler hating enlisted men and The White Rose Movement of Sophie Scholl. The list doesn't end there.
The bombings might have been doubled
Same for Chinese, Asians as well as Allied captured soldiers being butchered and tortured by The Japanese Imperial Army and videos of that going around the world instantaneously.
Japan might have been obliterated and its people exterminated. No surrender just annihilation.
No, when Jews send out images of their suffering, the world feels a deep quiet satisfaction and then turns on the hypocrisy so as to avoid having to admit to themselves how hateful they are. If Leaders do anything, they make insincere comments with no actions behind them of oh you really shouldn't do that to Jews but we have to be careful not to think badly of the people murdering them.
Really? Then why did the Americans support Israel and Trump bomb Iran?
You are right about a lot of Euro leaders and Democrats but not the vast majority of Trump voters and the Trump administration.
Bibi understands all this and that's more important than your opinion.
In this day & age, definitely 😖
If the press behaved during World War II as they do today, the US Government would have thrown them in jail or put them against a wall and shot them for treason.