Netanyahu tries to market the Gaza annihilation, without success
There is something almost lyrical — if you consider an advertisement for comfy shoes in the fancy shopping mall lyrical — in Netanyahu’s obsessive effort to find a catchy name for the ongoing horror in Gaza. The furniture salesperson turned merchant of death is trying to sell us the military occupation of the Strip in a special operation: a war of annihilation spread over 36 instalments, with the blood being shed slowly, drop by drop.
By Yoana Gonen • Translated by Sol Salbe
As the IDF is getting organised for a ground entry into Gaza City, Benjamin Netanyahu is planning a ground takeover of public opinion. Yesterday, it was revealed that the prime minister is looking for a new and “attractive” name for the operation, in order to market it as a move that has not yet been tried in this war. After two years of blood, fire and smoke, which have mainly achieved moral destruction and global isolation, our illustrious leader proves once again that he is made more in the mould of PR guru Reuven Adler than of Winston Churchill. Instead of political vision, strategic decisions and bravery of heart (or even just a heart) — we got a creative PR workshop.
There is something almost lyrical — if you consider an advertisement for comfy shoes in the fancy shopping mall lyrical — in Netanyahu’s obsessive effort to find a catchy name for the ongoing horror in Gaza. The furniture salesperson turned merchant of death is trying to sell us the military occupation of the Strip in a special operation: a war of annihilation spread over 36 installments, with the blood being shed slowly, drop by drop. The need to come up with a new name every few months indicates that this copywriter knows that there has been no progress (what is advertising if not a misrepresentation of capabilities and achievements?). And yet — if Netanyahu insists on turning the massacre into a consumer product, here are some suggestions for rebranding the war:
“Castles in the air”:
In Hebrew the castles turn into building towers, a charming expression that immediately conjures up the image of the high-rise buildings that the Air Force demolished over the weekend — a war crime that was greeted with tremendous jubilation in Israel. At the same time, the new name incorporates recognition that the recycled promises of “total victory” are an illusion that Netanyahu sells to the public in order to preserve his rule. It is an apt representation of our current situation: an entire country applauding collapsing buildings, while it itself is collapsing from within.
“Spiral staircase”:
The IDF explained that the conquest of Gaza City will be carried out in “stairs.” A beautiful, almost architectural term, except that these stairs are taken from a painting by M C Escher: going up and down to infinity and leading nowhere. An endless loop of destruction, in which each shiny new “stage” is a copy-paste of the previous stage. The name also reflects the public feeling well: a Sisyphean, exhausting type, with no apparent way out.
“Gan Mesouyad” — Hebrew for “Whitewashed Garden”.
Say it out loud and you can just about hear the word Genocide, only without any unpleasant feeling or the implied moral responsibility. An innocent, even pastoral, name but in reality, it is the landscape that not only ministers but also many ordinary Israeli citizens fantasise about: Gaza as a desolate, cleansed space — an empty lot ready to be rebuilt. The new branding succeeds in distilling the illusion that the crimes can be covered with a thin layer of whitewash and the horror turned into a desirable real estate project.
“Operation Liquidation Everything”:
Of the captives, of Gaza, of the State of Israel, of hope for the future. A catchy lucid name. Exactly what Netanyahu is looking for.
