Talking Past Each Other in Israel
Some passers-by stop to look at the pictures and read the children's names; others throw out a curse and keep walking. Strangely, unlike at many antigovernment protests I attend, where I feel a bit pointless, at this vigil I do feel of some use. It's not much, but I am creating an encounter between a dead child and the gaze of a person who didn't know that child existed.
On a recent Saturday, the vigil was more charged than usual. Hamas had just released a monstrous video showing the skeletal Israeli hostage Evyatar David digging his own grave upon his captors' orders. A few people stopped as they walked past us. A man wearing swim shorts stared at me and asked me if I had seen the video: 'He's your people. It's his picture you should be holding. His!' Another woman stopped and yelled at us: 'It's all Hamas propaganda! Don't you get it? Those kids — It's all A.I. They're not real!'
It would have been easy for me to argue, to find myself condescending to these people's claims. But because the vigil is silent, I was forced to just look at them and keep quiet. I've never been very good at keeping quiet. In some ways I'm like the running commentary on a director's cut, with an answer or explanation for everything. I used to feel like the only one who did that, but now that social media is everywhere, it seems the whole world has become like me.
The man in the swim shorts tried to get a verbal response out of me, and when he failed, he quickly recalibrated and realized he could keep talking unhindered. His attempt to stir up an argument soon turned into a peculiar blend of internal monologue and Facebook post. He spoke about loss, and enemies, and this country of ours and what the hell has become of it, and about the hostages and his reserve duty and his nephew who's serving in Gaza.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
20 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Netanyahu attacks Australia for recognizing Palestinian state
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese of betrayal for planning to recognize a Palestinian state, in a rare public attack on a historically friendly nation. Ties began taking a turn for the worse last week when Australia announced it would join France, the U.K. and Canada in recognizing a Palestinian state at next month's United Nations summit. Tensions escalated this week after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke canceled the visa of Simcha Rothman, a member of Israel's far-right Religious Zionism party who had been scheduled to speak in Australia. Israel in turn revoked visas for Australian diplomats in the Palestinian territories, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar saying the decision was in response to Australia's plan to recognize Palestine and the barring of Rothman's visit. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called that action "unjustified" and said the Netanyahu government is isolating Israel. A post then appeared on the X account of the Israeli prime minister late Tuesday saying, "History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews." Australia, a long-time backer of Israel, threw its full support behind the Jewish state after Hamas' deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023, when militants rampaged through Israel killing 1,200 people and abducting 250. But as the conflict has dragged on, Israel has found itself increasingly isolated - aside from the U.S. - over the mounting humanitarian toll in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry in the territory says more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, while Israeli restrictions on aid have drawn warnings of worsening hunger from the U.N. and relief agencies. In Australia, anti-Israeli sentiment and antisemitic incidents have increased, with an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue. While Albanese's government has condemned these cases and called for social cohesion, local Jewish communities say they feel increasingly unsafe. Responding to Netanyahu, Burke described the comments as a "lashing out" similar to those seen toward other countries that announced plans to recognize a Palestinian state. The home affairs minister noted that Albanese had telephoned Netanyahu as a courtesy ahead of the announcement on Palestine. "Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many people you can leave hungry," Burke said. "Strength is much better measured by what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has done, which is when there's a decision we know Israel won't like he goes straight to Benjamin Netanyahu." Israel's liberal Haaretz newspaper also criticized Netanyahu's comments, describing the post on X as "deranged." "Netanyahu is not satisfied with Israel's seven war fronts over the last two years," Haaretz said in an editorial. "He seems very determined to declare war on the entire world." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Miami Herald
20 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Syrian and Israeli officials hold Paris talks to ease tensions
Syria's top diplomat held U.S.-mediated talks with Israeli delegates in Paris, seeking to defuse tensions following a flare-up of sectarian violence that prompted Israel to strike its neighboring country last month. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who is Benjamin Netanyahu's closest adviser on foreign policy, headed the Israeli delegation, the Jerusalem Post reported. He met Tuesday with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani. Clashes erupted between the Druze community and Bedouin tribes in the southwestern province of Suwayda last month, leading President Ahmed Al-Sharaa to deploy forces seeking to restore order. But reports by independent monitors said government forces - most of whom, like Sharaa, belong to the country's Sunni Muslim majority - instead sided with their co-religionists, the Bedouin and allied militias, to target the Druze. The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited mass atrocities against Druze and retribution by Druze militias against Bedouin. Israel responded to the violence - and a call for help from the Druze - with airstrikes in Suwayda and, at its most tense point, Syrian capital Damascus. Discussions on Tuesday centered on ways to stabilize the region and southern Syria, according to state-run news agency Sana. The fragile ceasefire in Suwayda and the reactivation of 1974 disengagement treaty between the two countries - which don't formally recognize each other - was part of talks, according to the outlet. Under the treaty, a buffer zone was created and maintained by United Nations forces along the Golan Heights to separate troops from Israel and Syria. Israel occupied parts of the Golan plateau in 1967 from Syria and annexed that portion in 1981. The U.S. recognized the annexation during the first term of President Donald Trump but most of the world doesn't. The Israeli government extended its military reach inside Syria after President Bashar Assad's overthrow in December, occupying the U.N.-patrolled separation zone. Israel's officials say they aim to protect the country's borders against any Islamist attacks after President Ahmed Al-Sharaa took over. Sharaa is a former Al-Qaeda commander whose Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group led the ousting of Assad. He has distanced himself from extremist doctrines but is still treated with suspicion by Israel - and minorities in his own country. The Syrian government has condemned Israel for intervening in its domestic affairs, one of the points of contention discussed during the Paris encounter, according to Sana. In a separate meeting in Paris, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif, met with U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack. Tarif asked for U.S. help in fully implementing the truce in Suwayda, as well as opening a corridor to the district, which is suffering from a shortage of food, water, electricity, and fuel, the Jerusalem Post reported. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Miami Herald
20 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Israel begins calling up 60,000 reservists ahead of Gaza offensive
Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Israel Defense Forces began calling up 60,000 reservists Wednesday as the country moved closer to launching a major military offensive to occupy Gaza City, despite opposition from the international community and a possible peace deal on the table. A spokesperson told NBC News that Defense Minister Israel Katz had approved operational plans for the ground assault on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet in the coming days. The IDF said the additional troops would report for duty in September, and while most of those deployed for the mission would be active-duty personnel, the tours of duty of 20,000 other reservists were also being extended. Advance forces were already operating in the Zeitoun district of Gaza City and Jabalia, just to the north, "dismantling military infrastructures above and below ground, eliminating terrorists, and consolidating operational control, "according to a senior Israeli military official. The official said chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, was expected in the next few days to approve the plan calling for a "gradual" and "precise" operation in and around Gaza City that would ultimately see five divisions mobilized -- up to 125,000 troops. The offensive, which received the preliminary backing from the security cabinet on Aug. 8, is likely to displace hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the north to the south of the strip, concentrating more and more people into areas where already widespread hunger is escalating into a full-blown crisis. The United Nations and NGOs have warned those areas, including al Mawasi near Khan Younis, are "overcrowded and ill-equipped to sustain human survival at scale." The U.N. and the other agencies have repeatedly warned that any new offensive would inflict a very high price on the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza -- warnings they reiterated on Monday. "The Israeli plan to intensify military operations in Gaza City will have a horrific humanitarian impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced and deprived of basics needed for survival. Forcing hundreds of thousands to move south is a recipe for further disaster and could amount to forcible transfer," they said in a joint statement. "Southern hospitals are operating at several times their capacity, and taking on patients from the north would have life-threatening consequences," the statement added. Domestic opposition to the war, and specifically the new offensive from families fearful of what it might mean for loved ones still being held hostage in Gaza or sent to fight there, continued to mount with days of street protests and strikes across the country. Israel on Wednesday had yet to give its official response to a cease-fire and hostage-prisoner swap deal negotiated by Egyptian and Qatari officials, which Hamas and other Palestinian groups have signed onto. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
