There is a massive popular 34 hour strike today by a VERY large part of the population. Tel Aviv is more affected than many outlying areas (local schools in Gush Etzion, where I live, are not affected). It’s all in response to the murder of the 6 kidnap victims whose bodies were just recovered. The focus of the complaints is, naturally, Benyamin Netanyahu. Many Israelis view him as the reason there has been no cease-fire/hostage release agreement. He’s also a convenient focus for the current US administration. American obsession with “innocent Palestinian lives” is certainly one of the reasons why the war is still dragging on. The US threatened to withhold munitions if Israel moved into Rafah (where, by the way, those 6 tragic victims were being held) and it resulted in a long delay before the IDF actually captured Rafah, the Rafah crossing into Egypt (where most Hamas armaments have been smuggled across the border), and the ‘Philadelphia’ road.
American policy over the war has been very ambiguous. It certainly has kept the IDF from attacking Hezbollah on the ground in Lebanon. But it hasn’t done anything about the Iranian regime that is the source of funding and ideology for Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen. The Houthis have stood up to American power and continue to interrupt ALL international trade heading to the Red Sea. The only brief pause came when Israel blasted Hodeidah. Houthi missile attacks on Israel faded after that, but American coalition attacks on Houthi installations have not resulted in any benefits for world trade. Most ships now travel around South Africa, a route change that adds about 5 days to the voyage (plus a lot of extra monetary charges). Such an indiscriminate blockade in an earlier era would have led to an all-out war. The USN is certainly fighting one, but the US government won’t call it a war (or, apparently, put any pressure on Iran to rein in their Houthi proxies).
The US media delivers selected news about the war. Most of them (except for FOX) tell you what the Biden Harris government wants you to hear. Frequently that means a lot of things are simply omitted. Hamas has long been involved in directing their media war. Hamas leader Sinwar said it clearly; “No blood, no news”. His statement does not differentiate between Jewish and Palestinian blood. Their media manipulation never gets any mention, but Israeli press releases seem to be routinely labeled “alleged” or “not independently verified”. That latter comment is designed to give readers/viewers the impression that other (pro-Hamas) reports have been verified, But that is totally NOT true.
Wetherhorn 