Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
3 November 2024 | 10:00 CAT
2 min read

Dr James M. Dorsey raised concerns about Israel’s current wartime conduct in Gaza and Lebanon, describing it as a reflection of a deeper moral crisis. He suggested that this loss of moral direction is not only evident in Israel’s foreign conflicts but is increasingly impacting its domestic institutions and society.

Dorsey noted two incidents that highlight growing concerns over journalistic integrity within Israel’s media landscape.

In one instance, Israel’s most popular television journalist, who anchors on the nation’s top commercial channel, accompanied the Israeli military to southern Lebanon. There, he was offered an explosive device with the chance to press a button to blow up a building in a village just north of Israel’s border—a place another reporter described as “in the same status as cities and towns in Gaza are.”

“This made the Journalist obviously a participant, no longer an independent or neutral observer. There was almost nobody in the Israeli media who protested against this, who noted that he was breaking journalistic professionalism and ethics that should not be tolerated,” Dorsey remarked.

In the second incident, the funeral of a vigilante settler soldier who had been killed in Gaza, where his friends and family openly celebrated his actions, expressing pride that he had gone to Gaza to “kill everybody”.

“Again, the media didn’t report this, which it should have and this should have raised alarm bells within the Israeli military which it obviously didn’t. This breakdown of morals and standards in insraeli institutions is happening at a moment that the US and the Europeans are increasingly critical over Israeli throttling of humanitarian aid into Gaza and its targeting of intuitions like hospitals. It means that what Israel needs to be pulled back from the brink isn’t the external pressure, it may no longer be capable of doing it itself,” he said.

Recent Israeli-Iran escalations highlight United States (U.S) leverage over Israel

According to Dorsey, Israel was resolute in its decision to retaliate against Iran following an Iranian missile barrage on Tel Aviv on October 1st.

“US as a matter of principle, the Biden administration agreed with the principle of retaliation, but it did, not like Mr Netanyahu would have favoured Israel to hit either Iranian nuclear facilities or oil facilities, it wanted Israel to limit itself to Iranian military targets, and that’s what Israel did, despite Prime Minister Netanyahu’s instincts to hit much harder,” he said.

Hamas and Hezbollah set to reject Israeli Ceasefire demands despite setbacks

As the U.S. elections approach, a surge of ceasefire discussions is taking place. However, Dorsey suggests that Israel is unlikely to take significant action until it has clarity on who the next U.S. president will be following next week’s elections.

“It is putting up demands that even if Hamas and Hezbollah have suffered severe body blows, inflicted by Israel, those are demands it won’t accept in the case of Lebanon for example, who demand to intervene in southern Lebanon whenever Israel deems it necessary rather than leave the policing of Southern Lebanon to the Lebanese army and the international UN Peacekeeping corps,” he explained.

Upcoming U.S. Elections could determine the future of the Middle East

Both Israel and Iran are closely monitoring the upcoming U.S. elections. Dorsey believes that while former President Donald Trump is Prime Minister Netanyahu’s preferred candidate, his potential return to office could be even more unpredictable than Netanyahu has anticipated.

“As a result, if Israel is going to strike at Iranian nuclear facilities, we most probably will see that happen in the period between November 5, the US Election and the inauguration of the next president, assuming it is Trump in Mr Netanyahu’s view, on January 20^th next year,” he said.

According to Dorsey, Trump has clearly declared a strong desire not to be drawn into a Middle Eastern war, clearly advising Netanyahu to either achieve his goals or take decisive action before he potentially assumes the presidency again if elected.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat and Dr James M. Dorsey, an Award-winning scholar & journalist, here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. James M. Dorsey is an award-winning journalist, scholar, and Senior Fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute. He is the author of ‘The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer’.