Israel at War—Axis of Lies

Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Ireland and a member of the world wide progressive elites, turned his virtue signalling dial to 11 and posted a tweet on X coincident with the release of a few Israeli hostages that expressed joy that the little Israeli children who were "lost" had now been "found" and returned to Israel. Someone else noted that no child was "lost," but all of the children were kidnapped by a barbaric, Islamist terror group who used them as pawns to negotiate a cease fire that just might allow the terrorists to avoid obliteration.

What has been "lost" as days become weeks become months is the reason that a war occurred—the murder of entire Israeli families, the rape, murder, mutilation and barbaric display of young Israeli women, the murder and mutilation (beheading) of infants, and, of course, the kidnapping of 240+ men, women and children. [1]  Hamas—the perpetrator of these atrocities, sits at the center of an "axis of evil" that incorporates the terror group itself, its hundreds of thousands (millions?) of palestinian supporters, and its puppet masters in Iran.

But there's another 'axis' that is, in my opinion, just as important and just as impactful—an "Axis of Lies" who job it is to ensure that the atrocities are "lost" down a memory hole, the truth is obfuscated and distorted, and the public is convinced that Hamas is a group of freedom fighters while Israel is their "oppressor." The Axis of Lies encompasses pro-palestinian/pro-Hamas Muslim activists in the West, leftists who are their useful idiots, and the anti-Israel propaganda media (e.g., NYT, WaPo, LAT, BBC, Reuters, AP, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, PBS) that is the public relations are of the Palestinians and Hamas.

I have discussed some of the lies that are trafficked by the Axis here, here, here (especially) and here. But more lies surface every single day, enthusiastically spread by the Axis of Lies. For example:

LIE:  12,000+ palestinian civilians (half women and children) have been killed by Israel.  

TRUTH: where to begin: (1) these data come from Hamas and are unverifiable and based on part experience, flat-out propaganda; Here's a fair assessment:

The media have made a practice of presenting Hamas's propaganda as at least as credible as Israel's evidence-backed claims, despite the group's record of lying about everything from Palestinian deaths to its massacre Israeli civilians on Oct. 7.

(2) all women and children were told repeatedly by Israeli to leave the war zone and had opportunity to do unless they were stopped by Hamas; (3) a non-trivial percentage of whatever the accurate death toll is were Hamas terrorists and their palestinian supporters—odd that no one in the propaganda media asks what the percentage is.

LIE: Israel is attacking hospitals in Gaza for no reason. 

TRUTH: Video now proves that a web of Hams tunnels exist immediately under al Shifa hospital, whos patients, doctors and nurses were used a human shields for the Hamas cowards.

LIE: Gaza is the most crowded place on the planet. 

TRUTH: Actually, there are 239 other cities and/or locations that have a higher density of people per square kilometer. Gaza is densely populated, but doesn't even come close to the most crowded place on the planet.

As an aside, the Axis of Lies also makes heavy use of lies of omission. For example, the NYT posted a picture of a "disfigured palestinian woman prisoner [who was released as part of the Hamas hostage release deal] whose story is well known" on X with the specific intent of engendering sympathy for the poor palestinian woman. What they omitted is "the story." The woman was a suicide bomber who detonated her bomb early when intercepted by an Israeli police officer. The bomb disfigured her and injured the officer. The NYT's chutzpa and omission would actually be funny if it wasn't so blatant and biased. As someone once said: "No self respecting fish would want to be wrapped in an old copy of the New York Times."

And then, of course, there WaPo:

What WaPo omits is a statistical profile of the prisoners (a.k.a. convicted or detained terrorists and criminals) including murderers, suicide bombers, violent rioters, and the like. If those people are truly a "small shot of relief" for palestinians, the The Biggest Lie is yet again proven to be exactly that.

The Axis of Lies cultivates anti-Israel hysteria on university campuses and on the streets of major cities in the West. It is absolutely not hyperbole to suggest that the pro-Hamas activists and there leftist supporters who are rioting across the west have an eerie similarity to the Germans who did the same in the late 1930s. That led to a very dark place, and I have no doubt that more than a few of today's rioters/demonstrators would embrace going there.

I can only hope that their blatant anti-Semitic positions (think: "from the river to the sea ...") along with their growing violence against Jews and Jewish institutions, coupled with their obvious attempts to memory hole the Hamas atrocities (think: the tearing down of posters for the kidnapped children and others) will sway some who lean left, including a non-trivial number of Jewish progressives. The following X post is representative of the feeling of at least some progressives:

Since October 7, I have experienced a significant shift in my political beliefs towards the right. I am not alone. This is happening to most Jewish friends who are horrified by the call from the left that goes “from the river to the sea” asking for the end of the state of Israel. 

 In the past, I was a donor to the Democratic Party and served on the board of the Clinton Foundation. October 7th marked a turning point, profoundly altering my political worldview and leaving the party. 

The impact was twofold: on one hand, the realization of the horrific massacre of Hamas and the kidnappings and burning of babies, and systematic rapes, all wildly celebrated in Gaza. Seeing so vividly that what Hamas wants is to kill all Jews was horrifying enough but to then see such support for Hamas from the American left all chanting, "from the River to the Sea" was the end of my relationship with, the so called, "progressives". 

Previously, I held an idealistic view of the left. Now, that view has drastically changed, adapting to a darker reality. I see the alliance between certain progressive factions, such as those represented by Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, as a threat to Israel, to Jews and to democracy in the United States. The so-called "woke" culture, by sympathizing with Hamas, has become the enemy in my eyes. Conservative culture, in supporting the democracy of Israel, has become a new ally. 

I find it deeply troubling when figures like Tlaib and Omar express intentions to recognize Palestine without fully addressing the atrocities committed by Hamas. This, to me, seems like a reward to terror, a slap in the face to democratic ideals, to the Jewish people, and to all Americans who stand against rewarding terrorism. 

Jews were 10 million in Europe in 1939, now only 1 million remain. But just as Germany went from being Nazi to being a great defender of democracy, the right wing in the United States has transformed from having a history of denying rights to now being a leading force in the fight for individual freedom and the defense of the individual. The left instead, which once fought for democracy, now supports causes that attack individual freedom, Judaism and Israel. The world has changed. [emphasis mine]

October 7 was a wake-up call for me.

It damn well better be!

FOOTNOTE:

[1] You may wonder why I repeat the litany of Hamas atrocities in so many "Israel at War" posts. The reason is simple—to emphasize and re-emphasis that the Axis of Lies wants you to forget the atrocities. In my very small way, I refuse to let them succeed.

UPDATE-1 (11-27-2023):

I'm not the only person who believes that the entire narrative associated with the Israel-Hamas war and the "plight" of the palestinians is build on lies—from the very foundational claims to the day-to-day accusations that are widely promulgated by the anti-Israel propaganda media. Lies and more lies—all day, every day.

Here's David Bernstein outlining some of the most egregious and widely circulated lies:

 

These lies are rarely, if ever, challenged within the propaganda media. Rather, they are used by Muslim anti-Israel activists, the useful idiots on the Left (who are ignorant of both history and modern-day facts), and of course, a media that acts as their amplifier.

UPDATE-2 (11-27-2023):

One of the most blatant propaganda media sources and liars is Reuters:

Soldiers? Really? One of Reuter's "soldiers" was 4 years old—a little girl who watched her parents be brutally murdered by the Hamas barbarians that Reuter's news hounds seem to be infatuated with.

Lies from top to bottom!