This week marked a milestone in international support for Israel in its brutal war against Hamas.
It had been fading for some time, as the barbaric atrocities of the Hamas invasion last October were replaced in the public mind by the much larger and ever-increasing number of civilian deaths in Gaza as a result of Israeli military retaliation.
But the killing Monday by an Israeli drone strike of seven aid workers delivering desperately needed food to Palestinians has hardened opinion against Israel.
Israel’s friends are desperate.
What was increasingly difficult to defend has now become almost impossible to justify.
Israel’s many enemies took satisfaction in seeing its global reputation in tatters. The Jewish State could be unbeatable on the battlefield. But in the propaganda war for public opinion, it now faces defeat.
Even before Monday’s attack, recent polls had shown that more than half of Americans disapproved of Israel’s military action in Gaza.
But the killing Monday by an Israeli drone strike of seven aid workers delivering desperately needed food to Palestinians has hardened opinion against Israel. Israel’s friends are desperate. (Pictured: Prime Minister Netanyahu).
Democratic voters were becoming increasingly understanding, and even supportive, of the Palestinians.
The Biden administration, from the president on down, had begun to publicly make known its frustration with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s unpopular and tough Prime Minister.
Even Donald Trump told reporters last week that Israel was losing public support for the attack on Gaza, that the images of devastation emerging there were bad for Israel’s global image and that Netanyahu should end his war soon. The Israeli government, especially Netanyahu, who had always been sure of Trump’s strong support, was shocked.
All of this was bad enough. But since Monday, Israel’s global standing has plummeted further.
Six of the seven aid workers killed by Israeli missiles in their three-vehicle convoy were staunch allies of Israel, including the United States, Britain and Australia.
The charity they worked for, World Central Kitchen (WCK), was founded by a well-known chef, José Andrés, with restaurants in Washington and ties to the Biden administration, including the president. In terms of perception, it couldn’t be worse for Israelis.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claim that this was a “misidentification” – that the attack was unintentional.
But the idea that it was a freak accident involving unauthorized missiles will be a hard sell, even to friends of Israel.
The IDF has acknowledged that it works closely with WCK. The convoy was clearly marked with the WCK frying pan logo. Their route along the Gaza coastal highway had been cleared by the IDF. The former British soldiers providing security had set up a GPS signal for the convoy to send to the IDF.
The attack was not a hasty mistake, terrible but understandable, in the fog of war. The IDF drone shot down one car with a missile, then waited, shot down another, waited again, then destroyed the third car, which the aid workers had piled into, killing all seven in the process.
Since then, anger among Israel’s allies has reached boiling point.
Israel’s ambassador to Britain was summoned to the Foreign Office in London for a rare reprimand.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak immediately called Netanyahu to tell him he was “horrified” by the attack. There is growing British support for the arms embargo on Israel. Across Europe, opinion is becoming palpably sour.
Six of the seven aid workers killed by Israeli missiles in their three-vehicle convoy were staunch allies of Israel, including the United States, Britain and Australia.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claim that this was a “misidentification” – that the attack was unintentional. But the idea that it was a freak accident involving unauthorized missiles will be a hard sell, even to friends of Israel.
Jacob Flickinger, a 33-year-old American-Canadian citizen (pictured with his family), was among those killed in the attack.
The same thing happens in the United States. Biden realizes this, and that is why he has made it known that he is “outraged and heartbroken” by Monday’s tragedy.
Today he finally managed to call Netanyahu himself. We are told that the president spoke firmly. Monday’s strike was “unacceptable”, as was the overall humanitarian situation. Israel should announce some (unspecified) measures to improve things.
From now on, American policy “with respect to Gaza will be determined by (the United States’) assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.” An immediate ceasefire was “essential.”
And that was practically it. If Israel will face any current The United States, the only ally he really cares about, is unlikely to have any consequences. The Biden administration has a long history of talking tough and doing nothing — “rinse and repeat,” as one administration official put it privately this week.
There is nothing anti-Israel — much less anti-Semitic — about taking a harder line with Netanyahu’s government. The Israeli people feel the same. Only 32 percent of Israelis approve of Netanyahu’s conduct since October 7. In many eyes, the carnage and destruction that followed that fateful day surpasses the original atrocity.
Six months later, Hamas is bloodied but unfazed. The war drags on, introducing misery into every aspect of Gaza life, while 134 hostages remain in horrendous captivity.
Yes, the claim that more than 30,000 Palestinians have lost their lives during the Israeli retaliation is a propaganda figure for Hamas, which the Western liberal media repeats too easily and without question, and includes thousands of deaths of Hamas fighters.
But you don’t have to swallow Hamas’ lies to accept that thousands of civilians in Gaza have lost their lives in atrocious circumstances, many of them women and children. Or wonder if the IDF is as scrupulous or as willing to avoid civilian casualties as it often claims.
Of course, Hamas is beyond the pale. But he is an evil and depraved death cult. Israel is a civilized and progressive democracy. Hamas cannot be the benchmark by which Israel judges itself. It’s better than that. Better. Or it should be.
However, the worst could be yet to come. If Israel stages its long-awaited incursion into Rafah in southern Gaza – where what remains of the Hamas leadership appears to have gathered along with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have fled the conflict in the north – there is likely to be a humanitarian catastrophe of unimaginable proportions.
Israel’s reputation, which for many is already in the ground, may never recover. It is one of the reasons why internal dissent in Israel is again on the rise.
Mass demonstrations are once again being organized against Netanyahu and his government, which prevailed last summer but were abandoned after October 7.
Today, Biden finally managed to call Netanyahu. Israel is unlikely to face any real consequences from the United States, the only ally it really cares about. The Biden administration has a long history of talking tough and doing nothing.
The families of the hostages are joining in. Netanyahu remains in power thanks to a few politicians on the far right of Israeli politics. If just five defected, his government would fall, forcing elections, which is what most Israelis now want this fall (they don’t need to be held until 2026).
If Israelis themselves are critical of their government in these difficult times, there is no reason why Israel’s friends and allies should not be as well. Unconditional support is the last thing you need in the current circumstances.
Under Netanyahu, the country was clearly ill-prepared to deal with the Hamas incursion. He has presided over a retaliation that after six months has still not produced results, but that increasingly alienates Israel’s allies.
He is planning another attack that will likely cause even more massive loss of life, but will not necessarily wipe out Hamas. And it stands in the way of a broader regional agreement that Arab allies are still willing to help bring about.
Israel deserves support in its current situation. She has been gravely wronged and has every right to be steadfast in the face of implacable enemies whose only goal is to destroy her. You can’t negotiate with people like that.
But support for Israel does not necessarily mean support for its current government. On that, the Israeli people and their global allies must agree.
Monday’s atrocity could yet galvanize opinion at home and abroad in that direction.