A Public Mandate for Genocide
For decades, the international community has clung to the illusion that peace between Israel and Palestine is merely a matter of diplomacy. Yet the reality is far more disturbing. Recent polling shows that nearly half of Israeli Jews support genocidal violence against Palestinians — not just in rhetoric, but in principle. These findings, paired with ongoing military campaigns, settlement expansions, and systemic dehumanization, point to a state and society that have largely abandoned the idea of coexistence. What Israel wants is not peace. It wants all of Palestine — without Palestinians.
A March 2025 poll conducted by the Geocartography Knowledge Group, in collaboration with Haaretz and Penn State University, asked Jewish Israelis whether “the army should kill all inhabitants” when conquering an enemy city. 47% responded affirmatively. This staggering number was not limited to wartime rhetoric; it reflects a deep normalization of mass violence.
In the same study, 82% of Jewish Israelis supported the forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza, a position widely considered ethnic cleansing under international law. Such numbers reveal not only the extent of public radicalization, but how effectively decades of incitement, dehumanization, and religious nationalism have shaped policy and public belief.
These views are not abstract. They translate into real-world actions: military assaults on civilian areas, the siege and destruction of Gaza, and an apartheid system in the West Bank that systematically denies basic rights to millions. With over 700,000 settlers illegally living on Palestinian land, Israel continues to fragment and absorb Palestinian territory in direct violation of international law — while offering no viable path to Palestinian sovereignty. In this context, the “peace process” becomes not a roadmap, but a smokescreen. Real peace requires not just ceasefires, but accountability. And as long as genocide and ethnic cleansing enjoy mainstream support within Israel, peace remains not just elusive — but fundamentally incompatible with the current trajectory.
What the Western Media Won’t Show You
Western media outlets frequently frame the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a narrow lens that centers Israeli security and omits or sanitizes Israeli incitement and public sentiment. Israeli television regularly features public figures, pundits, and even cabinet ministers expressing overtly genocidal or racist views, including calls to flatten Gaza, erase Palestinian towns, or deny the very existence of the Palestinian people. Yet these statements — which would spark international outrage if uttered elsewhere — rarely make headlines in U.S. or European outlets. Instead, coverage often shields Western audiences from the uncomfortable reality that dehumanization of Palestinians is not a fringe view in Israel — it is often aired in primetime and echoed by state officials.
This media silence is not accidental. Western narratives tend to focus on Hamas, rockets, and Israeli victimhood, while ignoring the ideological and cultural climate inside Israel that enables violence and occupation. Polls showing widespread support for ethnic cleansing, footage of Israelis celebrating bombings, or interviews with citizens calling for mass displacement are either unreported or framed as outliers, despite being part of a clear public trend. By avoiding these topics, mainstream Western media contributes to a dangerous asymmetry in public understanding, concealing not only the scale of Palestinian suffering but the mindset driving Israeli policy. The result is a media ecosystem that claims objectivity while systematically censoring the colonial logic at the heart of the conflict.
The Radicalization of the Israeli State
Israel’s current trajectory is not a sudden reaction to conflict — it is the product of a decades-long process of self-radicalization, rooted in occupation, ethno-nationalism, and a political culture that rewards militarism over diplomacy. Since the 1967 occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, successive Israeli governments have nurtured a narrative of existential threat while expanding settlements, militarizing society, and eroding internal dissent. The shift has been gradual but deliberate: from Labor-led governments that at least paid lip service to peace, to today’s coalition dominated by far-right, ultranationalist, and openly racist figures who call for mass expulsions, annexation, and the destruction of Palestinian identity. The normalization of occupation has radicalized the state from within — legally, ideologically, and culturally.
This radicalization is also deeply embedded in Israeli education, media, and military structures. Generations have grown up viewing Palestinians not as neighbors, but as obstacles to a divine or national destiny. Peace activists have been marginalized or criminalized; human rights organizations labeled as traitors. The Israeli Supreme Court — once viewed as a democratic safeguard — has often rubber-stamped apartheid policies and land grabs. Meanwhile, the political mainstream has drifted so far right that even centrist parties rarely challenge the occupation’s fundamentals. Israel’s descent into radicalism is not only about policy — it is about a societal consensus that views domination as security, and dehumanization as survival. Without external accountability or internal reckoning, this path leads only further away from peace.
Israel’s Billion-Dollar Propaganda Engine
Israel’s global influence campaign is backed not only by diplomacy and alliances, but by a massive, well-funded propaganda machine. In its 2026 national budget, the Israeli government allocated approximately 2.35 billion shekels (about $729 million) to public diplomacy efforts — a dramatic expansion of its traditional hasbara (propaganda) budget. This surge in funding reflects a deliberate strategy to shape international opinion, particularly in Western countries, amid mounting criticism over its actions in Gaza and the occupied territories.
A large portion of this budget — including over $150 million via the Foreign Ministry alone — is directed at influencing foreign media, funding PR firms, recruiting online influencers, and launching aggressive ad campaigns on social media platforms. Some of these campaigns pay influencers thousands of dollars per post to promote pro-Israel messaging, while others operate under the radar, blurring ethical lines and avoiding transparency regulations. Recent efforts have also included investments in AI manipulation and digital content control, with Israeli tech firms and ministries working to influence how search engines and social media platforms present Israel-related content. Taken together, these efforts represent one of the most expansive state-run influence operations in the democratic world — not to promote peace, but to preserve global impunity for occupation, apartheid, and war.
How Israel Buys Silence in Washington
One of the most powerful forces shaping U.S. policy on Israel is not public opinion or diplomacy — it’s money. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), through its political arms and affiliated super PACs like the United Democracy Project, has become one of the most influential lobbying organizations in Washington. In the 2024 election cycle alone, AIPAC spent over $100 million to influence congressional races, with more than $53 million in direct support to candidates who align with its hardline pro-Israel agenda. It backed 361 candidates across party lines, and the vast majority — over 318 — won election, solidifying AIPAC’s role as a kingmaker in American politics.
This financial influence has deeply embedded AIPAC into the U.S. political system. As of 2025, at least 81 sitting members of Congress — including 8 senators and 73 representatives — list AIPAC as one of their top campaign contributors. These lawmakers, spanning both major parties, are often those who vote consistently to uphold military aid to Israel, oppose conditional funding, and shield Israel from accountability on the world stage. With involvement in nearly 400 congressional races over two cycles, AIPAC doesn’t just support candidates — it defines the boundaries of acceptable discourse on Israel in American politics. By saturating campaigns with cash, it ensures that criticism of Israeli policy remains politically toxic, regardless of growing opposition among voters and human rights advocates.
David vs. Goliath — But the Roles Are Reversed
For decades, Israel has framed itself as David — the small, embattled nation surrounded by enemies, fighting for survival against overwhelming odds. But in today’s reality, that image has collapsed. With the region’s most advanced military, billions in U.S. aid, a nuclear arsenal, and a vast apparatus of international influence, Israel more closely resembles Goliath — wielding overwhelming force against a stateless, blockaded, and displaced people. Meanwhile, Palestinians are the ones facing bombardment, occupation, and erasure, armed with little more than resilience and the hope of recognition. The biblical metaphor still fits — just not the way many in the West have been led to believe. The stone now lies in the hands of the oppressed, while the giant towers unchallenged, shielded by impunity and silence.
