Assaf Gavron on Israeli public opinion on the Gaza war

The Israeli writer Assaf Gavron analyses in the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung Israeli public opinion on the war in Gaza: "What I perceived as particularly painful and distressing during the Gaza war was the growing intolerance on the Israeli side - not only regarding the suffering of the Palestinians but also as regarded any opinion that went against the mainstream chorus; against any argument that called the operation into question. It is difficult to find a more fitting term than 'brainwashing' to describe how the war and its consequences were treated in the media. Images of death and destruction on the Palestinian side were barely shown, while Hamas was blamed for any victims among the Palestinian civilian population; almost every commentator extolled the virtues of Israel's actions while alternate or critical opinions were never expressed. ... What is so good about the UN Security Council's resolutions, about the worldwide anti-Israeli demonstrations and the fact that Venezuela and Bolivia have broken off diplomatic relations with us? If we reach such a level of aggressiveness that we can't even bear to listen to the voices of others we gamble away not only the prospect of peace and order in our region but also lose the right to be seen as a civil, responsible and democratic society."

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