TOI Today, 2:38 pm
A ball of fire erupts from a building in Gaza City’s Rimal residential district on May 20, 2021, during Israeli strikes on the Hamas-controlled enclave in response to rocket fire (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)
A survey cited by Channel 12 news finds that the majority of Israelis do not believe Israel should negotiate a ceasefire now.
The poll finds that 72% say “the operation should continue,” with the number rising slightly in the south of the country to 73%.
Only 24% say “we should agree” to a ceasefire, with the figure dropping to 22% in the south.
When asked whether Israel has made greater achievements in this round [of fighting Hamas] than previous rounds, 66% say yes, with the figure dropping to 30% of those who live in the south, while 30% say no (28% among southern residents).
The survey was conducted today by Direct Polls, and questioned 684 Israelis, with a 4.3% margin of error.
Nevertheless, no Israeli PM can refuse a direct order from his superior officer, the President of the United States. Biden has ordered Netanyahu to cease the fire, so Netanyahu will cease the fire. What Israelis think about it is immaterial.
Wow, 72% of Israelis. That is a very great majority , but then it occurred to me that the math might be a bit more complicated than just a simple 72% of all Israelis. I presume that this figure would include the ravaging numbers of Arab Israelis who are just too beset with the terrible hardship of having to live inside the boundaries of the Jewish State. But if we were to assume that none of the Arab Israelis were in support of the Israeli response in Gaza, this 72% would be out of a possible 80%. This is easy math with a resulting 90% should this assumption be accurate. At first consideration, I found the prospect of all Arabs being opposed to the State’s response to be remote, after all, these rockets could potentially kill anyone. But I have not seen anything from the Israeli Arab community to support such a belief. Yes, there was an Imam who stated that he would have stopped the burning of a synagogue and of course everyone’s favorite Muslim Brotherhood member stopped by and said burning down the synagogue was wrong and he opposed such actions. Such statements of decency are being celebrated as great moments of unity in the face of unprovoked violence, but there is of course a greater context to consider. We are at war. We are being attacked by terrorists launching missiles and non-state supporters roving the streets performing a pogrom within the Jewish State, no less. Where is the commentary from Abbas and his Imam colleague about this forest that surrounds the tree. Where are the calls for a lack of civil violence in the midst of this attack on the civilian populace of this nation. I am, as I believe many are, aghast at the actions of these marauding mobs that Abbas has described as being a “small minority”, but if they are just a “small minority”, where are the majority to face them down. Where are the cries of the masses decrying any of these actions. Where is the token measures of decency as was displayed by Abbas among this majority of Arab Israelis that he references? I hear silence. And silence carries the quieted voices of all, not a majority and certainly not a small minority. So I believe the 72% figure referenced in this article may reflect a greater number closer to the 90% among state-supporters. Has there ever been any such solidarity for any single issue which was as unifying as this since the creation of the state? If so, I am unaware of it.