By Mohammad MANSOUR
The video released by Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, showing international humanitarian flotilla activists kneeling, blindfolded and handcuffed in the Port of Ashdod, continues to cause great international debate and is considered by many experts to be one of the most serious blows to Israel’s public image in recent years.
The footage, shared by Ben-Gvir himself on the social network X, was not seen as an isolated incident, but as a direct exposure of the way the Israeli state treats pro-Palestinian activists and Palestinians in general. The “Global Sumud” flotilla, made up of hundreds of activists from around the world, aimed to defy the blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid. The Israeli navy intervened in international waters near Cyprus and forcibly stopped the ships, arresting around 430 people. After the stop, many of the activists reported humiliating treatment and psychological violence, while at least 87 of them began a hunger strike in solidarity with the thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The video footage caused immediate diplomatic reactions. Several European countries, including France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, summoned Israeli ambassadors for clarification and condemned the treatment of the activists as a violation of human dignity and international law. However, beyond the diplomatic reactions, the video’s greatest effect was the blow it dealt to the so-called “Hasbara,” Israel’s long-standing propaganda strategy to justify its policies and military operations against the Palestinians.
“Hasbara” is built on the idea that Israel is always the victim and that the international community simply “does not understand” the security realities facing the Israeli state. For decades, this strategy has operated through media, diplomacy, and huge financial investments in public relations. In recent years alone, the budget for this propaganda machine has grown drastically and is expected to reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
But Ben-Gvir’s video did what many reports and statements had failed to do: it broadcast in real time images that many people considered clear evidence of humiliation and abuse. Experts emphasize that the main problem for the Israeli government was not the treatment of the activists themselves, but the fact that this treatment was made public and seen by millions of people around the world. This is also why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response was interpreted by critics more as an attempt at damage control than a moral concern. According to them, the Israeli government was alarmed not by what happened to the activists, but by the damage that the footage caused on the international stage. Meanwhile, Ben-Gvir himself continued to defend his actions, presenting them as a show of force to the nationalist and right-wing electorate within Israel. The event also highlighted the contradictions of American policy. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, publicly criticized the release of the video, but his comments were seen as lukewarm, as the focus was on the damage to Israel’s image rather than human rights violations. At the same time, the US imposed sanctions on the flotilla’s organizers, accusing them of supporting Hamas, which provoked strong reactions from activists and international organizations.
For Palestinians, the images of foreign activists bound and humiliated are just a small reflection of what has been happening for years in Israeli prisons and the Palestinian territories. Politicians and human rights organizations have repeatedly reported cases of torture, isolation, starvation and lack of medical treatment of Palestinian prisoners, especially since the war in Gaza that began in October 2023.
Ben-Gvir’s video didn’t just become a diplomatic scandal. It became a symbol of the deep crisis of Israel’s international image and showed that in the age of social media, even propaganda funded by hundreds of millions of dollars can be destroyed in a matter of minutes by a video that broadcasts reality as it is, even beyond the cameras. (Al Jazeera)