< Más Articulos : The Gaza Impact Effect (Times of Israel - 25 Sep 2025)
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The Gaza Impact Effect (Times of Israel - 25 Sep 2025)
I live in Guatemala. One afternoon, while having lunch in the kitchen, I was watching the news. The screen showed images of Gaza. Our cook looked up and asked, “Oh my God, where is that?” I answered, “It’s in Israel,” knowing she would recognize it more quickly if I said Israel instead of Gaza. She immediately replied, “Oh my God, that’s where you were?” She was referring to our recent trip to Israel, when the sudden outbreak of the Israel–Iran war stretched a planned seven-day stay into 25.
Her reaction stayed with me. Seeing those images through her eyes, I realized what she must have thought: total destruction. It struck me too.
The truth is, I don’t know what Gaza looks like today. I can only imagine it from the footage on television. But I understand that Hamas deliberately embedded its military and political infrastructure within civilian areas, turning the territory into a shield. Israel, however reluctant, argued that if they wanted to defeat Hamas, they had no alternative but to strike those targets. Today the war continues.
October 7, and October 8
What I cannot fully comprehend is what happened immediately after October 7. On that day, Israel was invaded, civilians massacred, and hundreds raped, tortured, and kidnapped. And yet, by October 8, massive demonstrations had erupted in major cities around the world. Crowds chanted: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” widely understood as a call for the elimination of Israel.
Within hours, corporations adopted BDS measures. Major media outlets turned their coverage against Israel. Universities and professors expressed sympathy not with the victims of the massacre, but with Hamas’s cause. In Russia, Greece, and elsewhere, pogrom-like incidents targeting Jews occurred almost overnight.
How could such a coordinated response appear within 24 hours? The explanation lies in preparation. Radical Islamist networks and far-left movements had spent years investing in propaganda, grassroots mobilization, and online campaigns. The October 7 attacks were not only a military assault; they were also the trigger for a global narrative war.
A Pending Media Moment
So far, Israel has restricted international journalists’ access to Gaza. At some point, however, it will have to open the territory. When that happens, the world will see raw images of destruction, images that will dominate headlines and social media.
Here lies my fear: if on October 8 much of the world already forgot the murders, rapes, and kidnappings of the day before, what will happen when Gaza’s ruins become the defining image?
I call this the “Gaza Impact Effect.”
The Gaza Impact Effect occurs when images of devastation overshadow the atrocities that triggered the war. Viewers will not see Hamas’s tunnels or rocket launchers hidden beneath schools and hospitals. They will only see rubble, grief, and displacement.
History Repeats
This pattern is familiar. In Vietnam, the Tet Offensive was a military defeat for the Viet Cong but a propaganda victory once U.S. television showed images of chaos. In Lebanon and later in Gaza, Hezbollah and Hamas relied on civilian areas to provoke Israeli strikes and then weaponized the resulting images. In Iraq and Afghanistan, insurgents turned civilian casualties into propaganda tools that eroded Western legitimacy.
Gaza fits this model. Hamas and its sponsors know they cannot win militarily. Its strategy is to win the narrative, ignite the world
The Global Consequences
The tragedy is that the Gaza Impact Effect will not stop at Israel’s borders. It will ripple outward, intensifying antisemitism worldwide. Already, synagogues have been attacked, Jewish students harassed on campuses, and communities intimidated by protests. If Gaza is portrayed solely as “Israel’s destruction of Palestine,” that wave will swell into something worse.
This is why Jewish communities and Israel’s allies must prepare. Antisemitism thrives on distorted perceptions, and the Gaza Impact Effect could supply the most powerful distortion yet.
What Must Be Done
Israel and Jewish communities cannot afford to be caught off guard.
Communicate proactively: Israel must release evidence, satellite images, intercepted communications, independent verification, showing Hamas’s use of civilian infrastructure.
Prepare the diaspora: Jewish communities worldwide must bolster security and be ready to explain Israel’s case with clarity and empathy.
Build alliances: Support must extend beyond Jewish circles. Christian, secular, and moderate Muslim groups must also understand what is at stake.
Maintain moral clarity: Acknowledging Palestinian suffering does not weaken Israel’s position; it strengthens it. Empathy does not belong exclusively to one side.A Warning and a Prayer
I pray I am wrong. I hope that when international media finally enters Gaza, coverage will be balanced, nuanced, and fair. But history suggests otherwise. The images of rubble and despair will dominate the global narrative, drowning out complexity.
That is why Israel and Jewish communities worldwide must be alert and prepared for the Gaza Impact Effect. It is not a question of if, but when.
And when it happens, the world must remember: The devastation in Gaza was not an isolated event. It was the consequence of a terrorist movement that chose to sacrifice the Palestinian people in a war against Israel’s existence.
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-gaza-impact-effect/
( Por: Yehudi Sabbagh , 22/09/2025 )
