Israel just wants to live in peace with its neighbors, “but what we won’t do is commit suicide so you can make your snarky comedy bits.”
Yamina leader Naftali Bennett addressed criticism against Israel from iconic pop culture figures Bella Hadid, Trevor Noah and John Oliver in a YouTube video Thursday.
Oliver, Noah and Hadid had been among many celebrities in recent days to heavily criticize Israel for its conduct in Gaza during Operation Guardian of the Walls. Many of these criticisms stemmed from the idea that there is a significant disparity in casualties, with Hamas suffering far more casualties than Israel, due in part to the Iron Dome defense system.
This was criticized by National Jewish Advocacy Center Mark Goldfeder as being “logically flawed and incredibly dangerous.”
Writing in an op-ed in The Jerusalem Post, Goldfeder explained that it is unfair to fault Israel for technological advantage or disparity in casualties due to Hamas’s use of human shields, with this type of methodology essentially rewarding Hamas for doing so. And regardless, Goldfeder explains,” as Noah ironically notes, Israel has the ability to completely destroy the other side, but they have shown great restraint in not doing so.
Hannah Brown contributed to this report.