Netanyahu and the Israeli protesters share a common stance on the issue of genocide.
The anti-government protests in Israel are not driven by a desire to end the genocide in Gaza.
5 Sep 2024
In July 2014, shortly after the launch of Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” in the Gaza Strip—a 51-day military operation that resulted in the deaths of 2,251 Palestinians, including 551 children—Danish journalist Nikolaj Krak reported from Israel for the Copenhagen-based Kristeligt Dagblad newspaper.
Krak described a scene on a hill near the Israeli city of Sderot, close to the Gaza border, where Israelis had gathered to watch the airstrikes on Gaza as if it were a live spectacle. Some brought camping chairs and sofas, enjoying popcorn and hookahs, while the fiery airstrikes were met with cheers and applause.
Fast forward to the present, Israel’s "reality war theatre" has escalated into a full-scale genocide in Gaza, with the official death toll nearing 41,000. A Lancet study in July estimated that the true number of deaths could exceed 186,000 if the violence doesn’t stop soon.
Massive protests have erupted across Israel, not to end the bloodshed but to pressure Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government into securing a ceasefire and releasing approximately 100 Israeli captives held in Gaza. While some international observers have mistaken these protests as a call to end the violence, the reality is that the lives of Palestinians are not the main concern. The protests are focused on the hostages, with little attention given to the larger context of Gaza’s destruction.
As Israeli analyst Nimrod Flaschenberg pointed out, the return of the hostages is the core focus of the protests, and an end to the conflict is rarely discussed.
Ultimately, these protests highlight the disproportionate value placed on Israeli lives compared to the thousands of Palestinians being killed. This deep-seated chauvinism has been a consistent theme in Israel’s ongoing military campaigns, from Operation Protective Edge in 2014 to the present-day violence.
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