Netanyahu's Violent Discourse Sows the Israeli Army's War Crimes of the Future -
Every rhetorician knows that when the argument is weak, the solution is to turn up the volume. The tone of the public conversation in Israel in the past several weeks not only points to the weakness of the argument and the vulgarization of the discourse – it is also dangerous within itself.
The Israeli public discourse has embraced the base language of incitement against all Palestinians and Arabs. From the prime minister down to the lowliest of inarticulate television field reporters, they all feel obligated to rant crudely against Hamas and the Gaza Strip as much as possible, as if doing so enhances the validity of their arguments. One can no longer say "Hamas" without attaching the adjective "Nazi", or refer to Gaza without saying "monsters"; this way of speaking is what is truly monstrous.
After Benjamin Netanyahu set the tone, the national competition of curses and insults ensued.
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"We are all angry at the monsters of Hamas," the prime minister said the day the four bodies of hostages were returned, in accordance with the Israel-Hamas cease-fire, and he immediately promised to "annihilate" the murderers.
The style is the man, and those who say words like "monsters" and "annihilate" say more about themselves than they do about the object of their words. The killing of the Bibas family was cruel and heinous. But he who says "monsters" also describes the actions of his soldiers, who have killed thousands of children.
When it was announced that the remains that were presumed to be of Shiri Bibas were not hers, the gloves went completely off. Netanyahu repeated "monsters," this time in his official language – English. The incitement army followed in his wake, and the fact that Hamas corrected the error overnight did not change anything. Monsters they were and monsters they remain.
Palestinian Hamas fighters and people gather in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, as preparations take place for the release of three Israeli hostages, on Saturday.Credit: AFP/BASHAR TALEB
The hostage handover ceremonies, including Saturday's emotional ones, also attested to the "Nazism" and the "monstrosity" of Hamas. Those who organize such ceremonies are Nazis – it's not clear why – and those who exploit the moment for propaganda purposes are also, apparently, Nazis. Only Israel is permitted to exploit the return of hostages for propaganda purposes.
The truth must be told: Most of the hostage handovers have gone smoothly, even if Israelis don't like to see a hostage planting a kiss on the forehead of his two captors, as one did Saturday. The news anchors were quick to reassure viewers: The kiss was coerced, even though it didn't seem that way.
Why do they do this? After all, Hamas' evil is evident in its actions: Why does everyone, from the army all the way to Israeli journalist Amnon Abramovich, add incitement? Netanyahu, who feeds off incitement for his political needs, is one thing, but why the media? But only to find favor, to get a pat on the back from the fired-up masses.
There's no defending Hamas. It is a depraved organization that carried out a depraved attack on Israel. But the contaminated discourse will exact a heavy price. One-fifth of Israelis are Palestinians: How will we live with them when their brothers are Nazi monsters? Half of the people living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea are Palestinians: How will we live alongside them? Israel launched this terrible attack on Gaza before the "monster" discourse began.
October 7, 2023, sowed havoc in the Israeli consciousness, and the inflammatory rhetoric of politicians and media outlets added to it. Humanity no longer exists in Israel, because there are no noncombatants in Gaza. Not even infants who died as soon as they were born. Not even the men of peace and wisdom in Gaza (yes, there are some of those as well).
Add to this the poisoned discourse of recent weeks and imagine what the next war will look like, which will be directed not only against Hamas but also against the Nazi monsters.
Imagine the thoughts going through the head of a soldier invading a home in the West Bank, when this incitement is flowing through his veins. If he believes he is entering the home of Nazi monsters, how will he treat its residents? He will destroy more and kill more, in way more brutal than ever before.
One day, we will yearn for the delicacy and the moral restraint of the IDF in the current war, with only half the Gaza Strip destroyed and only 15,000 dead children. Just wait until the next war we will wage against the Nazis.