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Home » As expected, Biden and company want a “pause” by Israel: politics and psychological warfare

As expected, Biden and company want a “pause” by Israel: politics and psychological warfare

The New Neo Posted on by

Biden call it a “humanitarian pause,” of course. And indeed, it would be very kind to Hamas. But remember that old saying, “Whoever is kind to the cruel will end up being cruel to the kind.” An actual humanitarian pause would involve Hamas removing its arms and terrorists from close proximity to its citizenry, as well as returning the hostages. The sort of “pause” Biden and company are suggesting allows Hamas to regroup as well as to steal whatever humanitarian aid is supplied, as is its wont.

Netanyahu has responded to the call by saying no to a pause or to fuel delivery. Neither would even be considered till the hostages are freed. Meanwhile the MSM keeps the “poor Gazans” news coming, printing as truth the numbers of civilians killed issued by none other than Hamas. And – as Ace points out here:

No American news channel reported Hamas’s declaration that they would conduct 10/7 slaughters forever — “10/7, 10/10, 10/one million,” Hamas’s spokesterrorist promised — until Israel was “annihilated.”

Except for NBC, unbelievably, which made a fleeting reference to it.

Without that all-important context, they can be more successful at making the Israelis look intransigent and Biden look magnanimous.

To add to the absurdity, Blinken called for the now completely discredited “two-state solution.” Are they that foolish, or perhaps that knavish? It’s hard to choose, so let’s not and just say “both.” And it’s fairly clear that what motivates them is internal politics. Biden and his advisors are well aware that his support for Israel has lost him prospective votes from the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic wing of his own party, which is rather large.

And by the way, the right definitely has such a wing as well, although its arguments and motives are somewhat different and it has less support from actual politicians on the right. It’s smaller than that of the left and less of a political force. But the anti-Israel and/or anti-Semitic right is described in some detail here, and I can attest to its existence from comments I’ve seen all around the blogosphere.

Israel has long had a public relations information war problem. As I’ve written before, that is the topic of the work of Richard Landes, the man who invented the term “Pallywood” and exposed the al Durah hoax, as well as coining the phrase “lethal journalism” for much of the MSM coverage of Israel. Yesterday I happened across a video with another expert on the subject, an Israeli named Ron Schleifer who studies psychological warfare. I found his talk fascinating and illuminating, although depressing (again, I suggest you watch the video speeded up to at least 1.5 time, which you can do by going to the video settings):

That information war is at the heart of so much that is happening today, and not just in Israel and Gaza. It is a big part of the psychological battle between left and right, a war that so far the left has been winning.

Comments

As expected, Biden and company want a “pause” by Israel: politics and psychological warfare — 61 Comments

  1. And it’s fairly clear that what motivates them is internal politics.

    I think this is exactly right, and any president who is a Democrat would be under the same pressure. It is easy, and understandable, to pile on Biden, but he actually isn’t the problem.

  2. He may not be THE problem, but he is a problem. A big one.

    I hope Bibi doesn’t cave.

    The only peace Bibi should seek is a Carthaginian peace..

  3. Mike Plaiss:

    The fact that most Democrats are also the problem doesn’t mean that Biden isn’t the problem. It just means he isn’t the only problem.

  4. I’m not sure the left is winning in the sense that it is gaining adherents. I think it’s more a case of the left unmasking its numbers. Like when I used to turn on the kitchen light in my student slum apartment to find legions of cockroaches on the countertops, in the sink, on the floor, etc. I didn’t realize the extent of the roach problem until then.

    The lights have been turned on in the Middle East, in North America and Europe . . . everywhere. A lot of roaches are coming to light, as it were. But no more than I always thought.

    Kill them all.

  5. Michigan is an important battleground state, it’s also home to a fairly large number of Muslims.
    Kacklin Kammy just announced a task force to impede Islamophobia.

    The call for a ceasefire and the task force are strictly about November 2024.

  6. Amid the hysteria over humanitarian concerns in Gaza, I did some superficial research on largely ignored, and ongoing, humanitarian disasters across the Muslim world.
    A sample
    Pakistan: deporting 1.7 million Afghan refugees, and destroying camps.

    Sudan: 5.6 million displaced (characterized as ‘one of worst humanitarian nightmares in recent history’)

    Yemen: 150,000 killed in nine year Civil War

    Syria, 470,000+ violent deaths estimated since 2011

    There are, of course, a multitude of under the radar humanitarian travesties outside of the core Muslim world; Sub-Sahara Africa and Myanmar for example.

    Not an Israeli in sight in any of these instances.

    So, my reaction to the newly minted humanitarians, ‘your angst is too little, too late. Spare me, please’.

  7. With Biden, one doesn’t know if his policy is something that is in the best interests of the United States or if he has been bribed.

    This guy should have been impeached months ago.

  8. I like these Scott Adams comments:

    Why does Israel owe Gaza anything after pulling out the first time?

    If you think Gaza is about the poor treatment of Palestinians, where is their list of reasonable demands worthy of negotiating?

  9. Finish the the job Israel! Nobody has your good interests in mind. I happen to have a live and let live attitude towards snakes

  12. The other day I read a number that I have trouble accepting. It was that 50% of Democrat contributions come from Jews. I’m sure secular Jews are included but even so, that is a surprisng number. I wonder if it is true ?

  13. robert malley certainly is one, so is bitar, anyone what happened to him,

    jack lew who was involved in the iran deal, is on his way to replace thomas nides hillary’s deputy at foggy bottom, a fannie mae exec, who had mismanaged the arab spring, most critically in benghazi,

  19. The other day I read a number that I have trouble accepting. It was that 50% of Democrat contributions come from Jews.

    Mike K:

    I saw that too and wondered. Dunno.

    I do believe that 10/7 has changed the game with Americans and American Jews.

    There are now definite penalties for siding with Hamas and the Palestinians against Israel.

  20. Just sent a message to Biden via WH comm site. “If you want a pause, tell Hamas to release hostages. No brainer.”
    I am sure that he will take it to heart.

    I also expect to win Megamillion.

  22. I doubt if the Biden administration is particularly worried about their base deserting them. What are they gonna do? Vote for the republican nominee? Vote for a third party candidate with no chance whatsoever? Stay home and refuse to vote?

    As for Netanyahu refusing to call off the war, even if Israel kills every member of Hamas and Hezbollah, it would only buy them a few years. Islam will have no trouble finding replacements. Every year there’s a new ‘crop’ of fanatics to harvest. Refuse to identify a mortal enemy’s true motivation and you’re reduced to perpetually playing Whac-a-Mole with one hand tied behind your back and your ankles hobbled. Equivalent to in World War 2 going after Hitler while leaving the Nazis in charge of Germany

  23. Geoffrey Britain:

    I think the fear is that a significant number of Democrat voters might stay home.

    I agree about the ease of replacing Hamas in Gaza. The idea is that something new will be needed rather than self-government in Gaza – some sort of oversight and change in particular in the education system. Is that possible? It certainly would be difficult.

  25. I doubt if the Biden administration is particularly worried about their base deserting them.

    Geoffrey Britain:

    By definition the base does not desert its party. Or almost never does. I don’t consider all blacks part of the Democrat base, though certainly some number are.

    So, yeah, the base isn’t going anywhere. They might sit on their hands, as neo suggests, and to preserve their clout, they must make some threatening noises to warn the Democrat leadership from triangulating to the center.

    The real problem IMO is the response of moderate and swing voters. Change is happening and from what I can tell it is working against Democrats. Judging by Biden’s polls alone, some Democrat voters are definitely peeling off. We’ve also been seeing Changer stories.

    So, pragmatically speaking, who should the Democrats try to satisfy?

    To triangulate or not to triangulate, that is the question.

  26. This is not some less-than-war action like reprisal. Israel declared war. Want peace? Hamas surrenders their arms and marches their war criminals into prison camps for war crimes processing. Meanwhile the whole of Gaza is under military occupation for decades for demilitarization and destruction of all arms and military works. Otherwise kill them all.

  27. If there is a rattlesnake nest near your home, and some of the snakes have bitten your family, you need to destroy the nest. Period, end of story.

  28. Completely expected. As I said in a post on your site waaaaay back on October 8th, even as we were still learning the extent of the horrors:

    ‘If the horrors of the 20th century and the on-again-off-again nature of Islamist regime and terrorist actions haven’t been able to make a dent in the West’s (and Israel’s) grasp of human nature yet, I’m not sure why we would expect anything to change now. No one is ready to rock any boats in any significant way, as has been demonstrated again and again over the past 50 years.

    There will be much wailing and some small scale repercussions over this and then things will go back to ‘normal’ after a few weeks like they always have. Past is prologue.’

    The push to return to ‘normal’ is here.

  29. Jagitmoto:

    The US and Europeans haven’t changed in any substantial way. But I think Israel has. It is determined to go much further this time. Whether it will be successful remains to be seen.

  30. “No American news channel reported Hamas’s declaration that they would conduct 10/7 slaughters forever — “10/7, 10/10, 10/one million,” Hamas’s spokesterrorist promised — until Israel was “annihilated.”

    Except for NBC, unbelievably, which made a fleeting reference to it … ”

    I’m stunned to read this here.
    I would swear I saw repeatedly on Fox News the clip of the Hamas thug saying they would repeat the 10/07 atrocities on Israel, again & again.

  31. }}} I can attest to its existence from comments I’ve seen all around the blogosphere.

    I ack it exists, but suggest it’s mostly the same kind of cretinous malcontents that are often part of the right — CT worshippers, the actual racists, and the generally low-educational elements. The “white trash”, in general. Not people with educations or any actual power beyond their franchise.

    On the Left, though, it’s generally the ones who are educated and usually also soft-bigots — the people with actual power, like university professors and administrators, as well as other high-level lefty power people…

  32. Marlene:

    I am pretty sure the person I was quoting there – the blogger “Ace of Spades” – meant that to refer to news programs on the big three broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) and not on cable news. Fox is cable news. If so, however, he should have specified that.

    Doing a search just now, I did indeed find one Fox News video that aired the interview.

  33. There is a substact blog by Mark Wuack.

    He, like many, started his posts on another platform.

    He was an FBI agent who turned in his brother in law, Hansen, for spying for the USSR. It was a big deal.

    Thing is, if you read his posts, he is flat out a Russophile. That’s weird in and of itself. He is also an antisemite. That’s very clear.

    Worse, he wants theocracy to be the main government form. Yes, he does. And it’s not something he states outright.

    The problem we have today is also due to people like him. Right now, he is justifying the killing of children by Hamas.

  34. The Democrats may sell Israel down the river and Jewish leftists here may weep about it. But when they get in the voting booth, they will still pull the lever for a straight Democratic ticket because their trusty news media has so thoroughly brainwashed them to be terrified of a Republicans in power. They seriously believe that Republicans in power in the US will be as bad as Hitler, of not worse.

  35. I don’t think that Biden really wants a ceasefire – he wants to publicly say that he wants a ceasefire. Partly it’s to appease the radical left, and partly to appease other governments in the Middle East. Some of these governments would probably not mind very much if the Palestinian problem just disappeared, but can’t say so without triggering radical Islamists within their own borders.

  36. @ Someone Else > ” They seriously believe that Republicans in power in the US will be as bad as Hitler, of not worse”

    I often saw this MAGA retort during Trump’s tenure: “If Trump was Hitler, you would be dead by now. You aren’t, and he isn’t.”

    For Trump substitute: Bushitler (GWB had other problems); GOP in general; Conservatives; Christians; etc.

    On the other hand, our Democrats under the sway of their extremists are fast making the Israel-Palestine trope into a US analog: If the Republicans had ultimate power there would be peace in America; if the Democrats did, the Republicans would all be dead.

  37. @ Mike Plaiss > “Well this seems like good news:”

    This was an interesting and important observation from Strom’s post, with some context:

    Jews have been inundated by propaganda that suggests that conservatives are Nazis, but on the morning of October 7th they woke up to a world where their erstwhile allies were calling for Jews to be raped, murdered, and kidnapped before being wiped off the face of the Earth.

    It was pretty jarring for many of them, as you might imagine. It’s not like any of them wanted to leave the Matrix, but they had little choice.
    …
    The more Jews turn to Fox News, the less scared they will be of conservatives, who actually aren’t scary in the real world. It takes a steady diet of New York Times, Washington Post, and MSNBC propaganda to buy into that nonsense. And the monopoly is being broken.

  38. Comments from Hot Air’s post, file under “Changers”:

    Cosmo
    One of our good family friends is an older Jewish woman who is a typical Jewish democrat. I about fell over when she said she’s been watching Fox News because of the same reasons stated in the article. I think the cognitive dissidence was even too much for her to take anymore.

    Eric R Cosmo
    I moved on from my default leftwing views after 9/11. I started off calling myself libertarian but as I read more and understood more I admitted the truth that I was a conservative in the classically liberal model.
    The most “dangerous” thing for a lefty is getting out of the echo chamber because leftism requires an absence opposing opinion in order to thrive. It might take a few years but a lot of those viewers will probably shift.

  39. @ Neo > But remember that old saying, “Whoever is kind to the cruel will end up being cruel to the kind.”

    I think it’s important to point out that the saying is Jewish in origin, as Neo’s linked post explains.

    Distinctions are crucial to our understanding, a gift for which we express our gratitude. We don’t say that we must be kind to all because we can’t distinguish between the cruel and the kind. The late Alexander Solzhenitsyn warned of “an atmosphere of moral mediocrity, paralyzing man’s noblest impulses”.

    We are compelled to exercise our ability to make fine distinctions and determinations. Defining what we mean by cruel and being very careful about our application of these principles requires wisdom and deliberation. One crucial point to clarify up front is that when we refer to the cruel we do NOT mean personal enemies (this is not about your annoying neighbor), but rather enemies of the Jewish people and the values we stand for.
    …
    We don’t want to be cruel, we certainly don’t look for opportunities to be cruel but sometimes it is demanded of us. Sometimes (and here our ability to make crucial distinctions is put to the test) there is real evil in the world. Sometimes our lives and the lives of those we love are at stake. Sometimes our nation’s existence, either spiritually or physically, is threatened. Sometimes all the values and principles we hold dear are on the line. We don’t want to be cruel but sometimes there is no other option.

    And perhaps, after all, cruel is the wrong word. Destroying evil is in fact not cruel, but maybe the greatest act of kindness possible.

  41. }}} Huxley: So, yeah, the base isn’t going anywhere. They might sit on their hands, as neo suggests, and to preserve their clout, they must make some threatening noises to warn the Democrat leadership from triangulating to the center.

    1 — Not so the Dems. There is a reason there is a term “Yellow Dog Democrat” but nothing similar… a “Yellow Dog Republican” is unheard of. The Dems believe in “collective” voting, i.e., voting as a bloc, not as individuals.

    2 — As to “preserving their clout”, is this the Democrat “leadership” group who openly stated in court that the bylaws of the Democratic Party (a corporation or other legal entity) mean that they (the “leadership”) are under no obligation — repeat NO obligation — to follow the diktat of their electorate, that they were free to pick whatever candidate they chose, regardless of the primary vote?

    https://observer.com/2017/05/dnc-lawsuit-presidential-primaries-bernie-sanders-supporters/

    The only way to change this would be for there to be mass defections to another party. Now see #1.

  42. Was Shakespeare influenced by the Medrash?
    ___________________________________

    I do repent; but heaven hath pleas’d it so
    To punish me with this, and this with me,
    That I must be their scourge and minister.
    I will bestow him, and will answer well
    The death I gave him. So again good night
    I must be cruel only to be kind.
    Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.”

    –Shakespeare, “Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4”

  43. Or Nick Lowe?
    ___________________________________

    You’ve gotta be
    Cruel to be kind in the right measure,
    Cruel to be kind it’s a very good sign,
    Cruel to be kind means that I love you,
    Baby, you’ve gotta be cruel to be kind.

    –Nick Lowe, “Cruel To Be Kind with Lyrics” (1979)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7tsz1Jow1g
    ___________________________________

    I had forgotten what a perfect pop song that was.

    I still don’t trust the girlfriend.

  44. well let us remember that the dems have adopted many of commissar sanders policies, see that seemingly nonbinary desk officer at state,

  45. consider though, this was largely true in states like texas and alabama, which are now red states, now with ballot harvesting, they can pretend,

  46. this is why they looted sbv and ftx to put a Hamas fanboi, warnock, back in, you haven’t heard word one from him

  47. What a disgrace.

    But frankly, I’m not sure this is a political needle that Biden can thread.

    The premise of the “pause” is nonsense. Israel gave Gazans several weeks to abandon Gaza City before the ground invasion began and they were either not willing to leave or not permitted to leave by Hamas. Why would anyone expect that to change now? Hamas’s battle plan is literally to to sacrifice as many Palestian civilian human shields as possible and then count on the western left to go wobbly. Why would they give up that chip? Militarily, against the IDF, its the only play they have.

    Which leads to the next problem with Biden’s “pause.” He is explicitly placing himself, and the United States, on the side of genocidal barbarians. Again, Hamas is no military match for the IDF. Their plan for victory involves goading lefitsts such as Biden to do exactly what he has done. Surely, he knows that. Anyone with half a brain does, and will notice.

    And finally, Israel isn’t going to stop. The US is going to send aid to Israel. We already have two carrier groups in the area to dissuade Israel’s other enemies. I can’t see how Biden’s actions are possibly going to satisfy the Hamas caucus in the Democratic Party.

    Biden may have only succeeded in ticking everyone off. Let us pray that the Obamaites running his administration don’t try to withhold aid to force a ceasefire.

  48. Israel actually did make a “pause”, announcing in the morning (local time) today a three hour period from 1pm-4pm (just ended at 10am eastern) for passage of civilians in north Gaza to south Gaza. Piffle, if you ask me, but there it is.

  49. we had a pause in the seven weeks before we started bombing Afghanistan, what did the Taliban and Al Queda do with it, they relocated the bulk of their operation, across the Border into the NorthWestern Frontier of Pakistan

  50. Let us pray that the Obamaites running his administration don’t try to withhold aid to force a ceasefire.

    This, of course, is exactly what they will threaten and maybe impose.

  52. The way to help the Palestinian civilians isn’t to slow the Israeli advance. The less control Hamas has over Gaza’s streets, the more civilians can escape the fighting and the more aid can be brought in securely.

    A good point from today’s lead WSJ editorial, in case you find yourself in a discussion with someone you think actually cares about the civilians in Gaza, and isn’t just looking to help Hamas.

  53. I think Biden’s “pause” is merely a bone thrown in the direction of the pro-Hamas wing of his party. I don’t think he will back it up forcefully given the widespread support for Israel’s self-defense in the US at large. He’s just hoping Detroit doesn’t sit on its hands in November 2024.

  55. Israel needs to disseminate around the world ALL the very vivid and horrific photos and videos of slaughtered Israeli civilians to counteract the ongoing Hamas propaganda efforts. .It is not enough for them to show them just to Israeli members of parliament and to select foreign diplomats (like to that total moron, Blinken) .

    Presently, Hamas is taking center stage – with the active cooperation of the world’s media – showing dead /injured Gazans ; this will continue 24/7 until all hostilities cease and will cause greater pressures upon Israel to show restraint and, once again, allow Hamas to exist in Gaza.

    As for that moron Blinken and other members of the US govt and the “hate-Israel-first and hate-Jews-first” US state dept (a govt agency that should be downsized by about 95%), don’t be surprised if they recommend that Iran be given the Sudetenland in exchange for Middle East peace in out time.

    The stupidity and incompetence of many within the US govt appears to be positively correlated with their level of education. It seems the more intelligent an individual is ( academically speaking, that is) the easier it is for them to be brain washed and believe anything.

    Orwell said it best; some ideas are so stupid, only intellectuals can believe them.

  57. Interview with an IDF paratrooper commander. The Israeli military is committed to whatever it takes to eliminate Hamas and its supporters whether it takes ‘days, weeks, years’. The commander is a dual US-Israel citizen who had just left the IDF when Oct. 7 happened.

    There will be no pause if the IDF is consulted.

    The interviewer is a podcaster Willy OAM, an Australian veteran who was covering the Ukraine-Russia war, but recently went to Israel to cover this war.

    “A Dreadful Clarity – The Problem With Tunnels – Israeli Paratrooper Commander Interview”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UfbvWoWfTs

  58. Pingback:A question of statistics: Jewish financial contributions to the Democrats? - The New Neo

  59. And in the latest installment of his long-running series on that vaunted Obamian humor: “The AUDACITY of Stand-Up Comedy”!…

    Obama’s most audacious stand-up routine yet!
    (Could it be his most wildly successful one!!?)

    “Obama calls for end of ‘occupation,’ security for Israel, state for Palestinians;
    “Obama called the Israel-Hamas conflict a ‘moral reckoning for all of us’ “—
    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-calls-end-occupation-security-israel-state-palestinians

    (Hmmm. Does he see UN Secretary General in his future….?– the Moral Reckoning part is pure gold!!!)

  60. Taking the IDF at its word, we’re not going to get any clues as to how Israel will deal with the tunnel network and Hamas’ forces underground, other than it has recognized this problem for decades and come up with planned solutions.

    Somehow, as Biden & others put pressure on Israel to give pauses and other euphemisms for ceasefires, I suspect Israel will likewise figure out ways to give lip service and token actions while continuing to pummel Hamas incessantly regardless. If the other side can be hypocrites in declaring that Israel has the right of defense while pausing, why can’t Israel declare a ‘pause’ while continuing to blow up tunnels?

    IDF spokesman with plausible deniability, “Tunnels? What tunnels?” Like recent US presidents… “Payments? What payments?”

    And how long would Hamas last if there were no tunnel system in which to hide?

  61. Expected Immelman Turn from support of Israel to antisemitism on the part of Biden.

    I had money on October 16 for this. Dang.

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