Seth Mandel
Commentary Magazine, Feb. 8, 2024
“Blinkin said: “Every day for the rest of my life I will ask myself and think about the thousands of children who were killed in Gaza.” Netanyahu reportedly responded: “The responsibility lies with Hamas, which operates from within the civilian population.”
It must be said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shown a renewed level of focus and diplomatic prudence of late. This is especially noticeable in light of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s inconsistency-of-message and Democratic senators’ coordinated strategy of escalating their delegitimization of Israel’s war effort.
Put simply: A lot people are baiting Bibi, and Bibi ain’t biting.
This contrasts with the situation a couple months ago when Netanyahu was allowing pointed disagreements over postwar Gaza to bleed into the public debate. He’s showing more diplomatic deftness these days, and the result is that Israel’s position seems less precarious than perhaps at any time since October 7.
Yesterday, there were several tests of Netanyahu’s restraint. Some of them came from Blinken. The most controversial comment from the secretary of state’s diplomatic blitz came at a press briefing after his meetings with Netanyahu and with President Isaac Herzog. “Israelis were dehumanized in the most horrific way on October 7th. The hostages have been dehumanized every day since,” he began. “But that cannot be a license to dehumanize others.”. … [To read the full article, click here]