State Department Complains That Israel is 'Writing Off Their Reputation Damage'

by Daniel Greenfield

• The Israelis are too busy trying to win a war to worry about "reputation damage," as everything Israel does, beginning with merely existing, inflicts "reputation damage," since much of the Left and Islam spend much of their time launching every possible smear at Israel.
• Israel was being accused of genocide even before October 7, for not letting Hamas invade Israel to kill Jews. Fighting back against Hamas is definitely genocide. Anything short of Jewish genocide is... genocide.
• Israel is not going to win a "reputation" game. It can, however, rebuild its reputation of being too dangerous to attack. That's worth a whole lot more in the Middle East than trying to win friends and influence enemies with territorial concessions and appeasement.

The Israelis are too busy trying to win a war to worry about "reputation damage," as everything Israel does, beginning with merely existing, inflicts "reputation damage," since much of the Left and Islam spend much of their time launching every possible smear at Israel. There are lessons here for America that the State Department is eager that we never ever learn. Pictured: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet on January 30, 2023 in Jerusalem, Israel. (Photo by Debbie Hill/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

"The Israelis seemed oblivious to the fact that they are facing major, possibly generational damage to their reputation."

When your country has been invaded and over a thousand of your people have been murdered, do you:

A. Smash Those Responsible
B. Focus on Your Reputation

America initially went with A after 9/11. And then decided to spend the next 20 years in B mode.

Israel is now understandably in A mode after spending even longer in B mode after the Oslo Accords. This is understandable to anyone who is a normal human being and therefore unemployable at the State Dept.

Assistant Secretary of State Bill Russo, overseeing global public affairs in the State Department, told Israeli foreign ministry officials in a call on March 13 that both the U.S. and Israel face a "major credibility problem" as a result of the "unpopular" Israeli military offensive in Gaza, according to a memo cited by NPR.

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