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Natalie Shalom🙋's avatar

So what I took away from this is .. 1) still pretty depressing, even though you promise me part 3 will be better. Seriously if it’s not , think Jews are facing a Masada moment 2) no one , not the Arab countries, Hamas, Hezbollah etc etc really give a flying f*** about the Palestinian people , they are only ever a stick to hit Israel with 3) the truth is irrelevant in a world of bots and misinformation 4) our future generation of leaders are lemmings who have neither the capability or the desire to actually look into the causes they are championing .. God help us all .. because if this is the future , then you can forget worrying about Israel’s right to exist and start worrying about the whole of Western Society’s right to exist

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JVG's avatar
Jul 3Edited

Excellent as always! RE (Hamas/Hezbollah/Iran): “Their relevance would fade if Palestinians were to shift to new leadership under an international arrangement.”

I think most of the Gazan population, at least, is fed up with how badly they’ve been treated by their own leaders, starved, tortured, extorted and used as human sacrifices. Those in the West Bank seem to be a bit fed up with their own corrupt leaders and ready for something new. I hope an expanded Abraham Accords can deliver a deal that lifts them and delivers peace for all.

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Philippe du Col's avatar

A lot to ingest here. Give me a few days.

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Alison R Noyes's avatar

I feel disconsolate too! I am older rather than younger and feel the world will be taken over by "Tiktok" zealots. How can the generations continue to relate properly to one another in the face of "Glastonbury" fervour? Dispiriting!

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Rebekah Lee's avatar

Superlative analysis. Thoughtful reading required.

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Doug Israel's avatar

I look forward to your solution as I cannot think of a thing that can restore Israel's public image in a Western World gone insane. In terms of the things you describe here, this is the reason there must not be ceasefire so that the evil ones can prepare for the next round. There must be real change. If only an American president would say "You Palestinians will NEVER have a state as long as you continue to seek the violent destruction of the state of Israel. " If only he would say "Qatar you CANNOT continue to play both sides. You are with us or you are with Iran and Hamas. And we will act accordingly." This war CANNOT end with anyone believing that this was just a rough round but its time to prepare for the next one. It cannot end with Hamas in control of Gaza and it should not end with the Mullahs in charge of Iran.

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Aviel's avatar

I just don’t see any way to win the public relations battle. Israel and its supporters try to appeal to reason and logic, while its enemies mass produce endlessly repeated incendiary claims, backed by real or fake images and videos, while dumbing everything down to simplistic narratives that unfortunately resonate with a lot of people today.

Good luck to us all when it comes to winning over the TikTok generation like this!

What I believe you only alluded to is that also American support could shift dramatically already once Trump is out of office. Regardless of whether he’s replaced by a conservative or a liberal.

I can only hope that Israel will somehow increase its self-reliance and self-sufficiency at the same pace its support evaporates, and that the effect of the latter will primarily be symbolic rather than substantial for trade, investments and intelligence sharing.

Looking forward to the third installment!

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Veronica Coak's avatar

Read through once, there is a lot to ingest and reflect upon. So far the points under Reputational Cost, the disinformation assaults and victories thereof strike me as a very key analysis and how to undo? Second reading required, excellent work.

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Ian Mark Sirota's avatar

I was depressed about Israel’s situation before reading this. Now I’m downright disconsolate.

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GREGORY MEDIS's avatar

Yes, relieving the humanitarian situation in Gaza if important. The question I have is how that can be done. Long term Israeli occupation may result in long term resentment and does not seem to be a viable option. Someone, other than Israel, is going to have to police Gaza to suppress Hamas or its remnants and establish a functioning government that has popular support. . As of now, it is not clear who has the capability and will do that.

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