Under the cover of drone-attack panic, Netanyahu is mustering Israel toward a dim future
Coverage of preparations for an Iranian attack, news programs
By Yoana Gonen • Translated by Sol Salbe
Ah, the silly season, the long summer days of July and August when, in normal countries, the public goes on vacation, there is no news and the media is forced to deal with silly news stories. Meanwhile, in Israel, insanity rules and a zombie apocalypse is upon us: the entire country is terrified, waiting for a vague attack from an unknown direction at an unexpected time. Two civilians were murdered in an attack in Holon near Tel Aviv. Dozens of projectiles launched into the north, with rockets hitting the coastal plain as well. There’s an anticipated blackout scenario. Citizens have come to blows in Petah Tikva. Thousands of Israelis abandoned and stranded in airports due to flight cancellations with about the only thing that does soar to the sky being the cost of living. And in the midst of all this, we must also continue to listen to Benjamin Netanyahu incessantly laying it thick (with organic compost, no less).
Lacking concrete information about the impending attack, the TV panels turned to endless prattle that at times sounded like a parody. “There is some general discourse, which I hear from several sources, that talks about it starting tomorrow, but you can’t trust it one hundred per cent. In addition, no one can say whether it will be a simultaneous response, whether it will come in incremental steps, there are all kinds of assessments,” Channel 12 political reporter Yaron Avraham provided an enlightening commentary on Rafi Reshef’s program. How fortunate I was to have switched to the news program in the nick of time, now I understand everything. Reshef himself displayed admirable sincerity, admitting with a half-smile: “People come and ask me what will happen, as if I really know, yes? And I say: I don’t know.”
Meanwhile, the uncertainty is creating a rumour mill, and it seems that almost everyone around you has a niece of a cousin’s neighbour who works in the Military’s underground headquarters AKA The Pit, and she says that most certainly it may be happening tonight (it seems that the level of data security in The Pit is not very high). The supermarket ran out of six-pack water containers. TV anchor Yonit Levy’s facial expression seems even more severe than usual, and the IDF Spokesperson clarifies that in the meantime, citizens are requested to behave normally — that is, to fold into a foetal position and cry.
The abnormal becomes routine, and instead of refusing to cooperate, Israelis have become addicted to the anxiety and excitement of life on the brink of a permanent disaster. If the holidays in classical Europe have already been cancelled, we must find another way to pass the time. News programs enjoy record ratings, and in order to keep viewers glued to screens, they continue to prattle on and rev up the level of panic to the maximum.
The catastrophe ambience provides a sense of meaning in a situation of abysmal despair. When dealing with Hezbollah’s missile arsenal and uniting against the external enemy, it is easy to forget that another threat to Israel is already at an advanced stage. Netanyahu and his people are currently immersed in fortifying an extremist nationalist autocratic regime and are working to trample upon every person and obstacle in their path. Under cover of war, they are mustering Israel toward a dim future, and even though it’s less talked about in the studios, it’s just as dangerous as any drone or rocket launched at us simultaneously or step by step incrementally.
Translated by Sol Salbe, Middle East News Service
Haaretz Hebrew original article:
