The Israeli government is guilty of abandonment , but many reporters have aided and abetted it
And what is the role of the media in a state that has lost basic humanity and is sinking into the twilight of a dictatorship? This is a cowardly media, which has been in its position for months, selling the lie that “military pressure leads to the release of hostages” and concealing the horrors happening in Gaza from us.
By Yoana Gonen (Hebrew Haaretz) *
“How do you actually imagine a dictatorship? A government that kills citizens, a police force that dismantles opponents, a large majority that despises the government but stays at home out of fear or helplessness, a small elite that enjoys the government’s perks and cooperates with its crimes, and a disturbed and detached leader, who sits on his throne for many years, makes decisions alone and there’s no senior official who opposes him or a mechanism that restrains him. Isn’t this an accurate description of contemporary Israel, which at this point has already become such a hollow democracy that if you scream into it you hear the echo coming back from the walls?
And what is the role of the media in a state that has lost basic humanity and is sinking into the twilight of a dictatorship? From Channel 14, the attack dog of the autocracy, of course there are no expectations, but it is impossible to absolve the other channels as well, who for some reason are convinced that the main role of the press is to maintain good order and protect the feelings of the fragile public.
This is a cowardly media, which has been in its position for months, selling the lie that “military pressure leads to the release of hostages” and concealing the horrors happening in Gaza from us. And now, after what everyone with eyes in their head warned of has happened, it wears mourning clothes and broadcasts live from the raging demonstrations, because on such a day even it doesn’t like to air “Dancing with the Stars” and continue to spoil the viewers with bread and circuses.
“Continuous abandonment was committed, day by day, hour by hour, 331 days. You were sacrificed on the altar of destroying Hamas, Rafah, Philadelphi corridor,” Nira, Almog Sarousi’s mother, cried yesterday at his fresh grave. Binyamin Netanyahu and his government are to blame for the ongoing neglect, but they were aided by legions of reporters and commentators who constantly ranted about destroying Hamas, Rafah and the Philadelphi corridor, and convinced the public that these are real goals and not a collection of spins and lies that can be changed before the need arises. These are the same reporters and commentators who called for the destruction of Gaza and for continued crushing and shelling, and now they are crying along with the families when it becomes clear that military pressure returns abductees mostly in coffins.
And in the meantime, even on the day when the horrifying consequences of a regime that has turned more and more violent and authoritarian became clear, the studios continued to observe the etiquette good manners and bogus balance so as not to come across as too leftist, God forbid, and thus make sure that no one gets angry, the war will continue forever and we can cry in more and more special broadcasts about more and more abductees coming back dead. “You can say hard stuff, but you also need to know how to maintain a dialogue,” said Almog Boker, the new acquisition of Channel 12, following the harsh criticism of the government yesterday, “because in the end we are supposed to be one nation, talking about ‘together we will win’, etc., and doing what’s happening now seems like we have completely lost it.”
There is no dispute: if that is the conclusion on this terrible day, it certainly seems that we have lost it completely.
Translated by Ofer Neiman
Haaretz Hebrew original article:
