The ongoing Israel-Hamas war has not slowed down since its inception, six months ago. as antisemitic incidents drastically continue to rise throughout Europe. Sitting down with Portal Novosti, WJC's Head of Combating Antisemitism, Intelligence, & Security, Ernest Herzog, answered the biggest questions surrounding the conflict.
The media extensively reports on the conflict and violence in Gaza. How much do these events affect Israeli society and Jews around the world?
The situation in Gaza enormously affects every member of Israeli society, whether Jews or non-Jews, as well as the Jewish population in the world. With that, the focus of our organization has also changed. The work of the World Jewish Congress since October 7 has been redirected to the return of all hostages from Gaza as soon as possible. This is not only about Israeli citizens but also about the safety of Jewish communities in the world, which have been dramatically shaken by the strong increase in antisemitism.
The people of Israel are well versed in the conflict in the Middle East itself. On average, it is much better than those of us who watch it from a distance, and all that takes place goes beyond propaganda and media manipulation, regardless of whether it comes from Israeli, Palestinian, or international sources. The Arab-Israeli conflict did not start yesterday; it has been going on for at least 75 years, essentially even longer because there were conflicts during the British administration of Palestine.
Most of the international media, without verification and as credible from the field, transmit information coming from various UN agencies and sometimes directly from the terrorist organization Hamas, or the so-called. Ministry of Health in Gaza. In the last few months alone, we have heard that 12 employees of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) actively participated in the massacre of the Israeli population on October 7, that 1,200 UNWRA employees belong to one of the terrorist groups, Hamas or Islamic Jihad, that 3,000 UNWRA teachers working in Palestinian schools were active on a Telegram group celebrating the October 7 massacre, and that Hamas had built a tunnel under UNWRA headquarters in Gaza, which housed a computer intelligence center that drew electricity directly from this UN agency. If we want to be objective, after all that, we have to ask the question of how much we can trust the UN agency as a credible source of information from Gaza when, at the same time, they have members of terrorist groups and their sympathizers in their ranks.
However, there remains information about a large number of civilians killed and wounded as collateral victims in battles or in incidents such as the recent deaths of people who tried to reach humanitarian aid. How much can Israel help to reduce the suffering of these people?
Any civilian casualty in any war is terrible and absolutely unnecessary, especially when it comes to children. The fact that the vast majority of the civilian population of Gaza has been completely indoctrinated in the last 20 years, learns from a young age to hate and kill Jews, and at the same time provides full support to Hamas, does not mean that they cease to be a part of the civilian population that should be protected by all means during the current conflicts. However, when we talk about civilian casualties in Gaza, it is important to emphasize that there is a lot of falsehood and noise in the communication channels.
It is interesting that in other conflicts around the world, the figures presented by unreliable actors, for example, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Russia with regard to Ukraine, are not taken as absolute facts but as part of psychological propaganda, and Hamas data are used as indisputable facts. as if they were reported by a credible party that adheres to all the rules of the Geneva Convention and not by an organization that does not hide its genocidal intentions in its founding act. It should be added that the data of the so-called health ministries in Gaza do not distinguish between the deaths or injuries of actual civilians and fighters of terrorist organizations such as Hamas or Islamic Jihad. According to them, all victims are civilians, just as every Israeli civilian is considered an "occupier" who can be eliminated or kidnapped. It is important to note that the only time Hamas members wear some sort of military uniform is when they are parading in military parades or in front of cameras. During military operations, they usually wear civilian clothes and infiltrate the civilian population in order to be counted among civilian victims in cases of death.
We know that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have disbanded 20 of the 24 Hamas battalions since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, which means that Hamas suffered a significant number of casualties and that their share in the total number of casualties is high. Military experts estimate that the ratio of civilian to military casualties in Gaza is slightly higher then 1:1; that is, the percentage of civilian casualties is somewhere between 61 and 67 percent, which is less than any other urban warfare victim in the last hundred years. Finally, if we look at the facts, it is very clear that Israel is really doing more than any other side in a similar situation to protect civilians, while on the other hand, Hamas have a huge interest in having as many civilian casualties in this conflict as possible and to condemn those civilian casualties. Israel.
Complex situation in Israel
How much has antisemitism increased in the world?
The drastic increase in antisemitism all over the world is a domino effect of what is happening in the Middle East, so we can say that every Jew on the planet is more or less directly affected by what is happening in Gaza. It should be emphasized that the residents of Israel do not want this conflict, as they have not wanted any conflict since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. But history teaches us that they were forced to enter into conflicts if they wanted to survive as a state. It should also be made very clear that there is not a single party in Israel, from the far left to the far right, that civilian casualties on the Palestinian side are in favor of. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Hamas and those who support it, which they do not even hide.
In this war, we have one side, Israel, which does not want this conflict, but after October 7, it was drawn into the war against Hamas. No country would allow such a massacre of its civilian population. On the other hand, Hamas provoked the conflict with a barbaric attack, hoping for an Israeli response and, as paradoxical as it sounds, hoping for as many Palestinian victims as possible, which can then be used in a media war in which the goal is to dehumanize the state of Israel, its population, and Jews all over the world. Hamas, along with its allies around the world, is currently leading this war of dehumanization very successfully. We should not forget the very complex political situation in Israel itself, which existed even before October 7, in which there are parties that try to profit from the existing conflict in daily politics.
How strong and present is the opinion of the Israeli public about the necessity of ending the conflict, as well as the opinion that Netanyahu is comfortable with this conflict, because only after it ends can the question of his policy and even his guilt for what happened on October 7 be raised? How do you comment on the criticism of the Israeli operation and the demand to deliver humanitarian aid to the Palestinians from the West, including the USA?
Let's be serious and realistic, and let's not engage in replacing theses. Of course, all normal people want an end to the war, because no normal person wants this war. This is a war that Hamas wanted and started with its allies, and this war will end when Hamas is dismantled enough that it can no longer pose a threat to Israel and will no longer be able to rule Gaza through fear. It is interesting that Israel is being asked to end the conflict, but no one is asking the one who started the conflict. Why? The war could end immediately if Hamas surrendered. I have yet to see anyone demand the surrender of Hamas. It would be naive to expect an end to the conflict before the complete defeat of Hamas. Similar to the expectation that during the Second World War the Allies would stop halfway and leave Hitler to rebuild a new Nazi Germany with his Nazis.
The situation with Israel's internal politics is a separate topic. It would be both irresponsible and frivolous to try to explain, or worse, justify, the events of October 7 and later in Gaza using the internal political situation in Israel as the key argument. Israel is still the only democratic country in the entire region. The political situation in Israel before October 7 was complex, and I am sure that it will be on the agenda and will be dealt with by Israeli citizens through the existing democratic institutions. Israel is very transparent in everything that happens regarding the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Journalists can access this information at any time. From the attached information, it can be clearly read that it is not Israel that is blocking humanitarian aid, but Hamas, which, according to local residents, is deliberately preventing the poor residents of Gaza from reaching humanitarian aid. Hamas members divide the humanitarian aid among themselves and sell the rest on the black market. It is estimated that Hamas controls 70% of it, with the rest going to traders who sell it in the market.
All forms of antisemitism
Have many people spoken about the rise of antisemitism, including Pope Francis?
The increase in antisemitic incidents in the world after October 7 is enormous. To name just a few countries, according to reports, France experienced the largest increase in antisemitic incidents, with an increase of over 1,000 percent compared to the same period last year; Canada more than 800%; Australia 738%; the U.S. 337%; and Germany 320%. There is no country where the level of antisemitism is lower than it was before October 7. More than 80 percent of antisemitic incidents are never reported to the authorities because the victims believe that nothing will be done. All forms of antisemitism are present, from writing graffiti and destroying property through verbal attacks to physical attacks with fatal outcomes. Here, we are not counting the huge jump in antisemitism on the Internet and social networks. I repeat that we are currently in the phase of dehumanizing the State of Israel, its citizens, and even the Jewish people, to whom false epithets of apartheid, genocide, colonizers, child killers, etc. are constantly added. We have learned from history that after years of dehumanization of a certain group comes violence. I must emphasize that we can be proud of Croatia, because despite the increase in antisemitism in the EU countries and in the surrounding area, the increase in antisemitism in Croatia is insignificant. The authorities in Croatia reacted very well and did not allow potential escalation in this direction.
Can it be accepted that lamenting the civilian casualties and asking for the provision of food and medical aid to displaced people in Gaza is not antisemitism?
Absolutely. Every normal person wants to help all people in need. The problem in this conflict is that you, me, Israelis, and most people in the world feel more sorry for those civilian casualties and try harder to help the displaced than those who represent the Palestinian people, whether it's Hamas members who cowardly hide in the tunnels using civilians as a human shield, whether it's their bosses, billionaires who watch all this from Qatar, Lebanon, or Turkey, or groups, even states, that stand behind Hamas and finance terrorist groups around the world.
This interview was originally published in Croatian in Portal Novosti.
