Sergeant Major Ben Kerido shares real time, first person updates from the front lines of Gaza during Operation Swords of Iron. This post is written by his wife, Sarai.
“There are laws to protect the freedom of the press’s speech, but none that are worth anything to protect the people from the press.” -Mark Twain
In America we talk at length about “misinformation” and “fact checking.” We’ve discussed “fake news” we’ve talked about finding balance in truth telling. As a person who started her career in journalism, it has always been very important to me to make sure that my personal opinions are based in both truth and fact. I have always been an advocate for being your own news source.
What happened on Tuesday night with the explosion at a hospital in Gaza proves how absolutely crucial it is to question everything you read, and to look for bias in everything you consume. Within moments of a blast occurring in Gaza, almost every major news outlet in the world reported that 500 civilians had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. This was information directly obtained from Hamas, the known terrorist organization that committed the barbaric October 7 attacks.
Israel did an investigation into the incident. Multiple videos of the explosion were obtained and shared (including even a live stream from propaganda machine Al Jezeera) and overwhelmingly the facts and proof determined that the explosion (A.) did not take place at a hospital, and (B.) most importantly it was not the result of Israeli interaction at all. Rather, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (another terrorist organization operating in Gaza) launched a barrage of missiles towards Tel Aviv and one of them fell short, landing near the hospital. It didn’t matter though. The international media was already spreading deadly misinformation and lies that Israel had intentionally blown up a hospital and killed “hundreds of innocent civilians.
This propaganda incited a dramatic wave of antisemitism and calls for a “day of anger against Jews.” Synagogues have been attacked, Jews have been threatened, and Israelis have been evacuated from embassies all over the world after this incident. Rashida Tlaib led a disgusting display of antisemitism at the U.S. Capitol yesterday with hundreds of antisemites taking over the building in “response” to the Israeli airstrike…..that never actually happened. You know when similar things like this took place? During the HOLOCAUST when Hitler spread propaganda about the Jews and we all know how that story ended.
It is incredibly important to be mindful of everything that we say and everything that we share. Not just when it suits our political opinions or aligns with our views, but in general. Now there is dangerous, antisemitic rhetoric spread all over the world that we cannot stop. Some of the media outlets have corrected their stories, but many have not. Or they have made it seem as though it was just a completely random blast that took place, and had no involvement from Hamas/PIJ at all.
This is what has been happening to Israel for decades. The media reports something that has no truth to it, and the rest of the world listens because they are told to and truthfully because the amount of underlying antisemitism in the culture of the world is astonishing. Did you know that one of Hamas’ rockets DID hit a hospital in Israel last week? No. I’m sure you didn’t. Because if you can’t blame the Jews for something, the media just buries it and pretends it didn’t happen. There is a huge way that those outside of Israel can help. Help us SPREAD the TRUTH. The Holocaust happened because people didn’t speak up. People believed the lies and said NOTHING. You have the opportunity to help make sure that NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN.
Speech is important. The Torah says that Hashem literally spoke the world into being. What we say and what we share matters, now and always.
Stand with Israel. Stand with truth.
This is a completely volunteer project to get the word out about what is REALLY happening in Israel and Gaza that the mainstream media with their notorious anti-Israel bias doesn’t want you to know. Support our unfunded, out-of-pocket volunteer project and the marketing / social media advertising budget through the link below. Even a few dollars / shekels helps immensely and makes a huge difference.
