Israel is feeling like a winner

Washington Post:

After 15 days of war that have left more than 800 Palestinians dead -- as many as half of them civilians, medical officials say -- Israelis are sure of two things: They are the victims, and they are also the victors.

This is an unwanted war, Israelis say, but it is necessary, and they are winning it.

Unlike in 2006, when Israelis grew bitterly split over the war in Lebanon, the invasion of Gaza has produced a rare consensus here. In newspapers and on television, commentators approvingly note that the Israeli military has sown devastation in Gaza without a high toll in Israeli lives. If Palestinians are dying, they say, it is Hamas's fault.

...

... polls show that 80 to 90 percent of Israeli Jews support the war. Far more common is the sentiment expressed by columnist Guy Bechor, writing in Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's largest daily, who declared a few days ago that "we have won."

"No one in the Arab world will now be able to say that Israel is weak and begging for its life," he wrote. "The images of the past two weeks have been imprinted for years, and Hamas's bravado and arrogance have gone into the tunnels along with their frightened leaders."

...

In an unusual move, Maariv also carried a piece by the publisher, Ofer Nimrodi, in which he publicly apologized for a column published the day before that he felt had been overly critical of the military.

Recalling his own military service, he assured readers that Maariv is "a patriotic newspaper."

"These are days of battle, days to sacrifice blood and tears," he wrote, "not days to curse and swear the soldiers of the IDF and their officers."

Not many in the US media could truly say they are patriotic. Most of them disdain patriotism and eagerly look for an opportunity to be critical of the troops and the administration. Few focus on the wickedness and evil of the enemy. Most look for those characteristics on our side. Today the media is focusing on whether people in the intelligence agencies should be prosecuted for causing discomfort to the enemy in gathering information about the enemies intentions to engage in mass murder of US noncombatants.

I think the Israeli media has the right priorities.

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