RICHARD LANDES SUMS UP THE LETHAL NARRATIVE STRATEGY OF ANTISEMITISM

On his blog http://www.theaugeanstables.com Richard Landes has summed up the Hamas strategy. I want to record it simply because it is the truth:

 

Hamas’ strategy works like this:

1. Cyclically attack your enemy’s civilians in such as way as to provoke a violent retaliation.
2. Hide behind civilians (neighborhoods, schools, hospitals) so that the retaliation does your civilians the maximal damage.
3. Produce an industry of lethal narratives portraying Israel as ruthless murderers of civilians (a projection of Hamas tactics and desires).
4. Have these lethal narratives circulated by journalists as news, so that international opinion rises up against Israel.
5. Survive until that international outrage forces the Israelis to pull back and save you.
6. Repeat, with each reiteration making Israel weaker on the military battlefield and more isolated in the global community.

Given how merciless and self-destructive this strategy, it has proven surprisingly effective. As Jeremy Bowen explains, each round is a race in time between the moments the Israelis strike (back) and the time an incensed international community intervenes decisively to stop the “humanitarian crisis.”