At the end of this post, a few truly uplifting moments from Israeli social media, moments which we all deeply need. But first, the bigger story that is blanketing Israel in ways that the non-Hebrew press cannot fully capture.
I got home late from the office last night, shortly after 8:30, so the evening news was almost done. But I was tired and figured that rather than do something that required focus, I’d watch whatever was left. I popped something in the microwave and turned on Channel 12.
They were wrapping up a report about how the hunger tragedy in Gaza is being portrayed by news outlets around the world—US, Canada, France, England (you can hear a bit of French at the end of the clip before the Hebrew starts). And then, as the report ended, Yonit Levi, the Channel 12 anchor for that program (she is the first woman to anchor a major news program in Israel) said what she said in the clip above.
I was stunned that an anchor would say that, so clearly and without hesitancy. “Something big is clearly changing,” I noted to myself, and kind of wished that somehow I’d recorded those few seconds. But I hadn’t.
This morning, though, that few-seconds-long remark was all over Israeli social media, including here. The post was by Einat Schiff, the TV and music critic for Yediot Achronot. She posted the video of Yonit Levi, and in the process also noted what I’d felt—that this was a very changed tone for Israeli TV.
Here’s the translation of Schiff’s remark:
An unusual moment on Channel 12 News: Yonit Levi says about the images from Gaza, “It’s time to understand that this is not a failure of public diplomacy, but a moral failure.” Maybe she knows of an influential and widely watched broadcast that could help on this issue.
Yes, a bit of snark. But also gratitude on Schiff’s part to Yonit Levi for calling it like she sees it.
Yonit Levi and Einav Schiff may have led the charge on TV (or posting about what had been said on TV), but they were hardly alone in the Israeli Hebrew press, which is changing its tune on the Gaza hunger calamity with astonishing rapidity.
Avi Yissacharoff, the well respected journalist and co-creator of Fauda, pulled no punches in his regular YNet column (AI-generated translation below):
This is No Longer Just Gross Incompetence – This is a Colossal Policy Failure
Everyone knew, everyone warned: We must create new realities in Gaza in order to translate the military and tactical achievements into different political realities. Everyone understood this—except for Netanyahu and his cabinet. Now, everyone is paying the price.
Almost everything has been said and written about the intelligence and military failure, the IDF’s and the government’s failure on October 7. But it turns out that the disaster did not end there—it merely began, and has grown, month after month, mainly in the humanitarian disasters. What is happening now in Gaza is worse than ever.
Even our friends around the world are no longer willing to see the images coming out of Gaza, which now manage to unite the entire world against us.
Seasoned Israeli writers, including the former Editor in Chief of the Jerusalem Post (and frequent guest on our podcast) Yaakov Katz joined the pile-on in accusing the government of having no plan and thus having brought this disaster on ourselves:
Katz was referring to a previous post by Smotrich which, as Katz suggests, seemed silly then and now looks positively moronic:
Here’s the text:
Remember these images and this day (the beginning of the distribution of aid in Gaza through the American company that provides services to civilians and in a way that does not allow Hamas to control the aid).
This is a turning point in the war that will bring Israel victory and the destruction of Hamas. Better late than never.
Smotrich understands that the political tide is turning against him. With the Haredim in revolt, Israel now despised internationally to a degree that has never, ever been the case before, a war we cannot figure out how to win and a trial he cannot get to end, Netanyahu is up to his ears in trouble and has lost patience with him. Indeed, Smotrich was excluded from high level meetings about the increased humanitarian aid, because the PM didn’t want to deal with his predictable tantrum when it was so obvious that Israel had no choice that even the PM was caving in.
As predicted, Smotrich threatened to resign. And then, not surprisingly, recognizing that his political capital has dwindled to almost nothing (polls show him not making it into the Knesset next time), he just whimpered and limped off with his tail between his legs.
To save face, he’s now claiming that he’s not objecting to the humanitarian aid because it’s the prelude to the IDF’s new offensive in Gaza. His powers of imagination are impressive.
Finally, on this topic, I wanted to link to what I thought was a beautifully written piece by my friend and colleague, Gabi Mitchell. We’ve linked to Gabi’s work before and he’s been on our podcast.
When I asked him yesterday after I read his piece how many days he’d served in Gaza during this war, he told me that he’d lost count. But it was hundreds, during which he left his wife and three daughters and like hundreds of thousands of others, went to war for a war he hated but deeply believed in.
Now, like thousands and thousands of others, he, too, has changed. Those readers interested in getting a sense of how much the Israeli mindset has changed over the course of this war would do well to read Gabi’s column from January 2024 here
while comparing it to his column yesterday. Nothing sums up the change better than that.
The new piece is not short, but it is beautiful and deeply honest—it’s the kind of writing we all need to let seep in. I urge you to take the time to read it.
And still …
There are hard days. Most of the tragedy was brought on us by barbarians whom we haven’t yet fully defeated, while some of our predicament we’ve brought on ourselves.
Still, most of the people I know who live here believe that we’ll see this through. It won’t be quick and it won’t be soon. It might not be in our lifetimes. But it will happen. We’ll eventually begin to climb out of the abyss—which might well first get deeper, so long as we are willing to stick it out and keep working …
With that in mind, two recent posts, one from yesterday and one a bit older, uploaded by people who are determined to keep our spirits — and thus hopefully those of our readers, too — high.
And then, Chilli Tropper, a well known public personality in Israel who often posts heartwarming material, posted this last week (AI-generated translation of his post below the screenshot):
Boris was seriously injured in the war. He also lost a leg.
Anna came to visit him in the hospital. They fell in love and last night they got married.
That too is a victory.
Under the chuppah, they were also blessed by the doctor who treated him in the field and the IDF medic who held his fingers on a pressure point [to stop bleeding] for two hours.
The people who saved Boris’s life were there to celebrate with him at this emotional moment.
And around them stood countless war heroes—wounded, scarred, and amputated—with a great love for life and a daily choice to live.
Congratulations, Boris and Anna.
Here’s the brief video he posted … it looks so simple, and it’s so not …
Mazal tov …. and thank you …
