Israel’s Gaza war and ‘post-truth’ politics
On the eve of the release of the report on the failures of the political leadership during Operation Protective Edge, the country’s leaders have launched a war of versions in order to derive political benefit.
It was a well-organized and meticulously timed campaign, featuring pinpoint precision. On Jan. 24, HaBayit HaYehudi Chair Education Minister Naftali Bennett succeeded in establishing himself as the sole hero of 2014’s Operation Protective Edge among all the members of the Security Cabinet.
The reason behind this assault on the media is the state comptroller’s report on the war in Gaza, which is expected to be released in the next few days, and which (reportedly) includes sharp criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. Tensions in the political arena surrounding the report’s release, combined with Jan. 24’s annual conference of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), resulted in a battle of conflicting versions of events.
