Israel’s Victimhood Narrative Falls ApartNetanyahu started the war. He and his country bear the blame for civilian damage
Monday, March 2, 2026, Istanbul Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seethed with self-righteousness as he spoke to journalists at Jerusalem’s Beit Hemish, where a presumed Iranian missile struck a residence and killed a family. “You see the difference,” he said. “The tyrants of Tehran target civilians. We target the tyrants of Tehran to protect civilians.” Israel accused Iran of violating the Geneva convention by “targeting” civilians. “Homes and neighborhoods torn apart, families shattered,” Israel’s foreign ministry said. “The murderous Iranian regime deliberately targets civilians.” Left unaddressed were at least a half-dozen attacks on civilian sites by the Israeli-US axis, including the horrific destruction of an all-girls elementary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab on Saturday, severe damage to a maternity hospital in Tehran on Sunday, and the ruinous destruction of the capital’s historic Ferdowsi Square, near the old theater and antiques district, on Monday. Also left unsaid was that it was Israel that started the conflict. Netanyahu goaded a pliant, compromised Donald Trump to go all-in on a war without a casus belli, endgame, and or exit strategy. The Iranian regime had explicitly warned it would set the Middle East on fire were it attacked . Did Bibi expect Iran would launch bouquets of flowers at Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Jerusalem after he killed Iran’s Supreme Leader and bombed a girls’ school? Upgrade to paid Israel and its surrogates have consistently sought to depict themselves as victims in a war of choice their own government launched. They film themselves sheltering in bunkers. They laughably accuse the Islamic Republic of failing to abide by international war conventions neither Israel nor Tehran have ratified. They complain about the destruction of religious sites even after they have explicitly targeted mosques in Iran, and decimated every single house of worship in Gaza. Two rights don’t make a wrong. Israel’s violations of the rules of war don’t justify Iran’s. However, Israel is trying to reshape and distort a narrative in which it was clearly belligerent. This is not Oct. 7, when war kicked off after Israeli civilians were killed at the hands of Hamas guerrilla fighters. This is an unprovoked war Israel and the US chose to undertake. The target is a country of 93 million with a massive industrial base and a vast military arsenal. It is run by ideologically driven clergy and military commanders who fetishize war and martyrdom. Successive US administrations have wisely chosen to pass on war against Iran for precisely these reasons. Knowing the risks, Netanyahu gambled anyway, and used the levers of power in a corrupt Washington to bring the US along for the ride. The entire of the war is built on a deceptive premise. Iran is too extreme and untrustworthy to acquire the nuclear capability. The same capabiluty that Israel has but refuses to put under international safeguards, and that only the US has ever in history used as a weapon of war. Israel’s victimhood act is only for the foreign cameras and audiences. Once Netanyahu switches from English to Hebrew, the mask comes off. In his speech at Beit Hamesh, he referenced the Biblical tale of the Amalek people, whom Israelites were instructed to slaughter en masse in act of vengeance. “We read in this week’s Torah portion, ‘Remember what Amalek did to you,’” Netanyahu said. “We remember, and we act.” There he is. There’s the real Netanyahu. Share badlands The world has changed since Gaza. Israel’s alleged violations of international law and the norms of war have made it a pariah and Netanyahu an indicted war criminal who must tailor his flight plans to avoid the air space of countries that might bring him to justice. Forget the global south, even the US and Europe now largely view Israel in a negative light, even if their political elite have yet to catch up. Years ago, Israel could cast itself as the underdog fighting against a hostile Middle East. But now it is the aggressor. Just as Israel blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties the IDF inflicted on Palestinians, much of the world will blame Israel for the human and material damage of this conflict. Leave a comment |