by Yisrael Pasternak Director-General, Israel Construction Center, translated by Hillel Fendel.
How much are people in Israel really interested in all the hatred and in-fighting? The average guy on the street is interested only in victory in the war, the welfare of the soldiers, and the hostages. Everything else is marginal.
- A visit by Prime Minister Netanyahu at the north-Gaza front made headlines last week. For me, the most exciting and moving aspect of it was the fact that that's where our soldiers are. Throughout the video of the visit, soldiers can be seen asking Netanyahu just one thing: "Please don't stop the war in the middle! Let's do it until we finish!" They're not worried about themselves at all. They realize that they are a part of something much bigger than each of them as individuals: a fight for the future of the Nation of Israel. The talk on the front is not about their individual needs. They give everything, but everything!, for victory. Incredible.
- Haggai Lober of Beit El, still now sitting shiva for his son Yehonatan who was killed in battle in Gaza, made an impassioned but chilling plea at the funeral: "We embrace the entire Nation of Israel, and we ask the media, and everyone in our nation, please! Let us have one day – one day! – of unity on behalf of the soul of my son. Please, do not write and do not broadcast anything that smacks of dissention. Please, speak only good; highlight the good among our national decision-makers and among our wonderful nation that Yehonatan was so proud to fight for. One day of togetherness and of good things to say. Yehonatan would be so happy up there." What strengths!
- Precisely because of the great spirit we see and experience both at the battlefront and the homefront, especially among bereaved parents of fallen soldiers, it was so hard for me to read a post by a young officer who came home from the battles for the first time in two months. He wrote sadly: "I was sure that Israel would look different than before and would be united. But when I opened the internet and news and social media for the first time in all those weeks, all I saw was black. The same old brotherly hatred… Very depressing."
- This presents a very strong question that bothers almost every single one of us: How can there be such a great fracture between the war front and back home, to the extent that when a soldier returns home, he nearly breaks down? Where does his great spirit and strength that he had in battle disappear to when he returns home?
- The answer is simple: What a soldier sees when he opens the news is not the homefront – but rather the media! The press floods us with content that simply fans the flames of hatred and social friction. Don't expect to see anything other than that, because that type of content is precisely what fuels each typical newspaper and website. For a journalistic project to succeed, it must evoke strong emotions – the stronger, the better. If not, it will simply be glossed over and ignored by the masses of media consumers. The topics of hatred and disputes are the very stuff of controversy, which itself is the essential necessary ingredient for a "successful" piece.
- If you would stop an average Yehuda or Yehudit on a street in Israel, you would find that the topics that most interest them are winning the war, how the soldiers are doing, and the hostages. Everything else is marginal, by a wide margin. Still and all, these topics don’t guarantee wide readership; how many times can they talk about unity, love of Israel, and concern for our soldiers? And so, the writers are stuck talking about the types of things that stir up not only controversy, but even hatred. Such hatred weakens society – even though it, still, exists much more in print and on the screens than it does in real life.
- With this in mind, I ask two things: When you open a news site, don't expect to see only Israeli flags and stories of how Jews are coming together during this period. In addition, don't assume that what you do see on the screen actually portrays Israeli reality. Even in wartime, the media continues to do what it knows best: stir up controversy, even where it doesn't really exist.
- On the other hand, those who are over-exposed to or over-influenced by the media should take heart from a fine initiative of the Jerusalem Municipality, the eternal city in which I have the privilege of residing. Ever since the war started, the city streets have been filled with Israeli flags, including on announcement boards and traffic roundabouts. The emotions they stir up are positive, as if the city is reminding us: "Nation of Israel, I'm with you – even in the simple things!"
- We have no expectations of being able to change the media sometime soon. We simply have to recognize their modus operandi, take what they say in the proper proportions, and "consume" them only as necessary – until the desired changes come.
But for now, let's try to be constructive members of Am Yisrael in the simple things. As Haggai Lober said, "Let's not write or broadcast – or forward to others – anything that smacks of dissention. Highlight the good among our national decision-makers and among our wonderful nation that Yehonatan was so proud to fight for. Let's have one day of togetherness and good things to say."
A reality like that is much stronger and more truthful than what we see now on our screens. Let's just simply be Am Yisrael.