‘We are hated’: Israelis feel isolated over Gaza war

Jerusalem, Occupied Palestinian Territories — AFP

In the wake of Israel’s relentless genocidal campaign in Gaza climaxing in its grisly Rafah blitzkrieg, public opinion around the world has clearly shifted with an outpouring of sympathy for the Palestinians. Diplomatic setbacks and intense protests on university campuses for the Free Palestine movement have left Israelis feeling isolated.

Israelis vainly expected unwavering support from their Western allies and the international community after Hamas’s October 7 incursion. However, as Israel’s offensive against Gaza intensified with febrile ferocity, it seems to have lost the sympathy it initially received after the unprecedented attack.

This loss of support increased following last week’s devastating Israeli strike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah, which killed at least 45 displaced people by fire, including women and children.

The horrific strike drew condemnations from Istanbul to Beijing and from Washington to Paris.

On social media platform Instagram, more than 47 million posts with the hashtag “All eyes on Rafah” have been recorded since the strike.

But Israelis remain arrogantly defiant despite the growing isolation.

“I don’t think Israel should care what the world has to say… I support our military 100 percent,” Netanel Aronson, a 24-year-old Israeli-American said.

“I pray for them every day that they should be safe and come home.”

– ‘Tragedy for everyone’ –

At least 36,379 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza in Israeli bombardments and ground offensive since October 7.

“It is a tragedy for everyone,” said Nathalie, who declined to give her last name, referring also to the fate of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

“Since everybody is connected, we can see what’s happening. We feel that we are hated,” the 50-year-old said.

“We have the feeling that we are accused of being colonialists and imperialists. But we see ourselves as refugees,” she added, echoing the feeling of many Jews who arrived during the creation of Israel in 1948.

The Palestinians call the catastrophic and bloody events of the 1948 creation of Israel as the Nakba — or “catastrophe” — when about 760,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes by the arbitrary occupation of Palestinian land to make way for the Zionist state of Israel.

Last month, Israel faced a series of diplomatic setbacks.

While the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to stop its ongoing offensive in Rafah, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court sought arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, along with three senior Hamas leaders.

Ireland, Norway and Spain also recognized a Palestinian state in a coordinated decision on Tuesday, while Slovenia’s parliament is due to vote on such a proposal next week.

– World ‘against Israel’ –

Political analyst Dahlia Scheindlin said Israelis were aware the war was damaging their global standing.

“(Israelis) think the world is against Israel. They think that many institutions and countries are ‘anti-Semitic’, and that there is a double standard,” Scheindlin said.

She regretted the “devastating” impact of the war on Gaza, but explained that Israelis see the ongoing military campaign as an “existential struggle” for their people.

Scheindlin said Israelis have been demoralized over the setbacks at international tribunals after Israel was accused of committing some of the worst crimes in Gaza.

Such crimes “Israelis believed were only ever committed against them”, she added.

“So, it’s very hard for them to accept this. They fear the isolation.”

Israelis are also countering the social media campaign “All Eyes on Rafah,” with their own that says “If your eyes are on Rafah, then help us find the hostages”.

In a survey by US-based Pew Research Center before the May 26 strike on a camp of displaced people in Rafah, 40 percent of Israelis thought the country would “definitely” achieve its Gaza war goals.

Only four percent of the Jewish majority thought Israel’s military response in the Palestinian territory had gone “too far”.

But for Christians like Annie Dikbikian, the war has only increased “the hatred” on both sides.

“It’s affecting us… as Christians,” said the Jerusalem-based hairdresser, who hoped “peace, love, and respect” would return soon.