In the first episode of Black Mirror, a popular princess in the British royal family gets kidnapped. The kidnapper promises to release the princess if the prime minister goes on national television and makes love to a pig.
The episode centers around the public reaction – the novelty, the shock, the disbelief, and the eventual discomfort – as the prime minister becomes intimate with a farm animal on live television. The kidnapper didn’t ask for money; he wanted to see someone he didn’t like humiliate themselves on live television.
I’m not saying that Hamas’s unspeakable levels of evil in murdering and abducting Israelis is like an episode of Black Mirror. They are clearly not the same. But seeing the last few weeks of hostage releases, with malnourished, vitamin-deficient, and traumatized Israelis, young and old, walking up to that hastily created stage with epithets of destruction behind them, my mind was drawn to that episode.
Every week, the Israeli public perches in front of the TV, hoping to get a glimpse of personified PTSD. Live images from Gaza were being displayed on the big screen in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square like it was the World Cup Final. All to see young women fresh out of high school who have spent at least 15 months in the worst possible conditions undergo one final, public humiliation.
Why do we do this to ourselves? And why do we indulge in this?
Since October 7, 2023, no matter where you go in Israel, you will be reminded of the plight of the hostages – stickers, posters, television interviews of family members. As soon as you open social media, you will see more pictures and stories of them. It tugs on people’s heartstrings.
This could be their son, daughter, or friend. Hostages and their family members have become household names, to the point of celebrity. The empathy of the Israeli public is what has made this such a spectacle, with news channels syndicating cameras from Gaza in order to give the public what they want to see.
THIS EMPATHY is a weakness against Hamas. They don’t view human life the same way we do. They know how the Israeli public thinks. They watch our news and our TV shows. They listen to the family members of hostages and see the hundreds of thousands who take to the streets to plead for their return. They know that Israelis have developed an almost para-social relationship with the hostages and will tune in just to make sure that they are OK.
Hamas knows this is the one opportunity that everyone in Israel will have their eyes planted firmly on them. They can do whatever they want with the full knowledge that everyone here and worldwide will see.
They realized this as the November 2023 hostage deal was implemented. It started small, with a few people surrounding the Israelis as they were transferred into the Red Cross trucks. But by the end of it, with the release of Mia Schem and Amit Soussana, thousands lined the streets for one final act of terror. Mia later said her handover was one of the scariest moments of her life, alongside the Supernova festival massacre and her abduction.
Hamas are, for lack of better phrasing, drama queens. Telling civilians to join them in Palestine Square as they dust off their non-battle-worn uniforms to show that not only have they not been defeated by the IDF, but that they are thriving.
They’ve even had warnings to stop. The footage of a barely upright Arbel Yehoud being “protected” by PIJ terrorists from Gazans trying to lynch her was largely condemned around the world. Even Qatar was reportedly annoyed by Hamas’s performance in the release deal, saying it didn’t portray the image of a weak, destroyed Gaza that it was trying to show the world.
The following release was largely toned down, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Hamas and the PIJ try to push the limits of what is deemed acceptable to their monetary backers. Every aspect of the hostage releases is theater-playing to a captive audience of Israelis. In the midst of celebrating that the hostages are alive and healthy, there is an air of discomfort as the realization that Hamas’s psychological propaganda has worked once more.
But how can we stop them from winning?
THE ISRAELI media is censored by the IDF in certain areas. For example, if a hostage or soldier has been killed, their names cannot be reported until after their family has been made aware. When Hamas publicly declares who will get released, the international media reports on it first – Israelis wait until their families have been informed.
When Hamas releases a propaganda video of hostages in the tunnels criticizing the Benjamin Netanyahu government, the media will not share it until the family gives the go-ahead. This is done as a mark of respect to the loved ones who are undergoing impossible levels of stress and anxiety.
But why don’t we do this when they are being released? They are still in captivity. They don’t want to be displayed to thousands who want their blood. They don’t want their humiliation watched by their family and friends, who are blinded to the situation by their relief that their loved ones are still alive.
This isn’t the fault of Israeli news channels. They broadcast whatever is in the public interest – and this is very much in the public interest. But now it is also public footage. These videos are ingrained in people’s brains, and these hostages will start their recovery and live the rest of their lives knowing the whole world saw their humiliation.
Those who have been released so far are the lucky ones. They have returned back alive. Not everyone on the list of 33 hostages slated for release in phase one of the ceasefire deal will be so lucky.
With each round of hostage releases becoming more theatrical and exaggerated than the last, and with the same number of terrified Israeli eyes staring at their screens, it is only a matter of time before the elation of seeing returnees coming back alive is replaced with the despair of reality.
It is in the Israeli and Jewish DNA to look after our own. That’s why it is important for all of us to see these people walk out on their own two feet, victoriously emerging from the depths of hell.
But why are we watching what these terrorists want us to see? Why are we sharing their bravado online? Why are we playing into their hands? As long as we show them how much we care, we will continue losing the psychological war.
The writer is a senior producer and correspondent for i24NEWS English.