Building Bridges: Israeli society more cruel than ever

Despite the heavy blow dealt to Hamas by the IDF, the improvement of the security situation in the South and the lower-than-expected number of casualties during combat, something very bad happened to Israeli society during the 22-day offensive in Gaza - dubbed Operation Cast Lead.

On the ethical and moral front, the war in Gaza exposed the many weaknesses of Israeli society. 650 innocent Palestinians, including 220 children, were killed and no one spoke up.

If the murders in the Sabra and Shatila camps during the Lebanon War brought hundreds of people to demonstrate in Israel's city squares and induced shock and disgust within Israeli society, decades later when a similar number of innocent Palestinians have been killed, no one protested and no one took to the squares. Everyone was too busy being washed away in the wave of patriotism that overtook the country.

I also agree that the war in Gaza was a defensive war whose goal was to bring some peace and quiet to Israel's turbulent borders. In wars, innocent people get killed, especially in a confrontation with terrorist groups who are active in civilian areas. But the war against Hamas, as justified as it is, was not carte blanche to retaliate against masses of people - children and whole families who were trapped in Gaza with nowhere to go.

As one of the lessons learned during the Second Lebanon War, the IDF decided to use unprecedented force in Gaza, even in such a populated and crowded battlefield where many would die as a result. It was the Lt. Commander of the Givati Brigade who reported from the field that ever since his debut in the IDF, long ago, he did not remember such massive force being used during a war. In other words, the Lt. Commander admitted that in all of Israel's wars and operations in which he participated, the IDF's fingers have never been so light on the trigger.

Another lesson from the Second Lebanon War brought Israel to prevent foreign and Israeli journalists from entering the Strip. When it was China who did such a thing in its conflict with Tibet, the Israeli media depicted China as a dictatorial state that tries to hide the reality from the world.

In the current war, the Israeli military censor made a sensational comeback and the media, instead of rebelling against the limitations set by the IDF Spokesperson's office, played along.

The reports that did make it out of Gaza were brushed aside and dismissed with the words: the world will not like these pictures. The killing of innocents had become a PR problem only and Israelis living in Israel had no right to be outraged, to ask questions, and to demand an explanation from the political and military echelons.

There is no objection to the fact that the Israeli media must give priority to its own casualties but its omission of the pictures of destruction and devastation from the other side constituted a deliberate blinding of Israeli society and presented a warped image of the reality on the ground.

In more peaceful periods, when there are no dilemmas and the tanks are silent, it is easy to portray Israeli society as a moral, ethical and democratic. But the moment of truth comes with war when the true face of society is revealed and when its ability to stand firm in the face of dilemmas concerning the use of weapons and the preservation of innocent lives is put to the test.

In this justified war with Hamas, Israeli society suffered a resounding defeat and has become more unfeeling, self-absorbed and cruel than ever.