How we stopped fearing the world, found our courage, and started hurting ourselves
Once, as the story goes, David Ben-Gurion remarked that it doesn’t matter what the gentiles say—what matters is what the Jews do. A statement etched in memory as a license not to seek love or approval. No need to be liked. No need to explain. We know what’s good.
But the Jews in their land have learned to speak. Too much, if you ask the defense team in South Africa’s case against Israel at The Hague, where Israel is facing an accusation of genocide. The provisional relief requested so far is arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, but what truly interests the international court at this moment is the question of the intent of the entire state. Not only Netanyahu and Gallant are in the crosshairs. The reputation of the entire Zionist enterprise is at stake.
One of the central pieces of evidence the prosecution seeks to present to the judges is not a specific action or military maneuver—but the mental element. Unlike war crimes, which may occur without prior intent, genocide requires proof of specific intent to destroy an ethnic, racial, or national group.The case submitted to The Hague includes a lengthy collection of quotes from a variety of Israeli figures—mainly politicians. And no, not just the unruly kids from the “Kahane Lives” school. This time, it’s the grown-ups talking. Loudly. Publicly. And possibly—self-incriminatingly
And how is such intent proven? Not only through official orders or military documents. Often, the most practical way is through public statements made by decision-makers, on social media, in the press, by decision-makers, elected officials, officers, and soldiers.
Not just the unruly kids of Kahanism
The lawsuit submitted to The Hague includes a long list of statements by various Israeli figures, mainly politicians. And not necessarily from the back benches of the unruly kids from the “Kahane Lives” school. In fact, one could start directly with citizen number one, the President of the State, Isaac Herzog, who said: “It’s an entire nation there that is responsible. The discourse about uninvolved and unaware civilians is incorrect.”
Then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant continued to pour fuel on the fire when he said: “Gaza will not return to what it was. We will eliminate everything. I have released all restraints.” He also added on another occasion: “We are imposing a complete siege on Gaza City. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel.”
In the same context, Israel Katz ordered the water company Mekorot to immediately cut off the water supply to the Gaza Strip.
That’s just the “centrists.” Alongside them, the South African indictment includes many more statements from those chasing likes and attention.
Avi Dichter declared a “Gaza Nakba 2023”; Minister Amichai Eliyahu raised the possibility of a nuclear bomb on Gaza; MK Galit Distel-Atbaryan tweeted about “erasing all of Gaza from the face of the earth”; Moshe Saada also called to “kill all Gazans.”
Avigdor Lieberman, former Defense Minister, joined the chorus and said: “There are no innocents in Gaza.”
The lawsuit is also padded with entertainers: Eyal Golan and Kobi Peretz, who each in turn called before audiences to “wipe Gaza off the face of the earth.”
The Harbu Darbu crew actually didn’t make it into The Hague, contrary to what one might think, nor did the soldiers who filmed themselves in clothing likely belonging to women no longer alive, in homes they had taken over—and uploaded it online. But all of them surely contributed to the general atmosphere of genocide that South Africa is trying to paint.
If I Were South African
If I were a South African prosecutor working on this case, it wouldn’t be very hard to prove intent with all this splendid evidentiary material. It meets both the quantity and quality thresholds: there’s a lot of it, it’s coherent, public, and emerges from every corner of Israeli public life.
It could cost us Israel’s good name for years, harm citizens’ ability to live in security, make a living, move freely. And what did all this incitement actually serve? After all, the brutal attack Israel suffered on October 7th—the blood, the destruction, the trauma—served Israel’s interests more effectively than anything else. Israel’s moral right to defend itself was an existing fact in the universe; there was no need to inflate it with promises to wipe out the seed of Amalek. So why did they talk so much, and spew so much hatred? The answer is probably not complicated: because it feels good. That’s why kids scream when they’re angry. But all the people mentioned in this article, as far as I know—were adults at the time of these statements. They have no excuse.
