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The official IDF Twitter account @IDF posted something rather distasteful about the attack: “CLEARED FOR RELEASE: We thwarted an attempted Hamas cyber offensiv

The official IDF Twitter account @IDF posted something rather distasteful about the attack: “CLEARED FOR RELEASE: We thwarted an attempted Hamas cyber offensive against Israeli targets. Following our successful cyber defensive operation, we targeted a building where the Hamas cyber operatives work. HamasCyberHQ.exe has been removed.” Counterproductive and narrative losing if you ask me.

yostrovs 7y ago
This is distasteful only if you think of Hamas as worthy of receiving sympathy. They cut the throats of eight year old children. They fire hundreds of rockets at civilian areas. They keep their own population in dire poverty. They choose extreme religious goals over a better life for their people. I celebrate their destruction. The world is a better place without them.
- bsaul 7y ago
  I completely agree with your point, but OP has also a valid point. The brutality of the situation on the terrain (for the last one hundred year) makes people living there be extremely blunt and down-to-earth. And so saying like "target eliminated, good riddance" when the target in question has tried to kill you numerous times feels completely natural. However, IDF (and israel public relation in general) is also trying to win the public opinion's hearth. And then it's a completely different audience. Most people in the west haven't experienced violence in any kind of direct way. They generally despise violence and killing above everything (which is a good thing). So whenever Israel (or israelis) speaks publicaly, they should never forget that people on the receiving end aren't as hardened and "pragmatic" as they are. Note that this is becoming less and less true as the west is also becoming a target or radical islam terrorists. But the order of magnitude remains completely different.
  - yostrovs 7y ago
    I see your point. On the other hand Jews are sick of having to be constantly judged by others, others who are no better than them, and usually ones that are extremely ignorant. For centuries Jews have tried to keep quiet, keep their happiness/sadness to themselves, stay out of the way of the gentiles. That didn't work. The Israeli Jew is a different Jew, who is proud and will fight when necessary. That's just how it is now and the new Jew won't be constantly succumbing to the desires of ignorant antisemites.
    - bsaul 7y ago
      I know that's how many israeli feel, however you should note that everybody's judging everybody those days, not just Israel (although Israel most certainly has a special treatment at the UN, but that's another story). International relationships now has become a game of trying to look as peaceful as possible, even when you're waging war in some remote locations, or strong-arming entire regions. That fact that Israel choose to say "f*ck off, we know we're doing this for a good reason", and be blunt, is absolutely entirely against the general etiquette. I really think Israel should be more careful with that.
      - yostrovs 7y ago
        I'd agree with you if the "everybody's judging everybody" would be an accurate way of putting it. There's a lot more judging done of Israel than of other countries. If the judging would be comparable between cases, then yes, but regardless of what Israel does it will be judged poorly. So the hell with them in that Hamas office that is no more.
- chriselles 7y ago
  Make no mistake, I ave zero sympathy for Hamas. Absolutely zero. But the dark humour of the IDF’s tweet that I understand as a soldier, I find distasteful as a citizen as well as counterproductive in terms of influencing the unaligned bearing witness to it.

yostrovs 7y ago

This is distasteful only if you think of Hamas as worthy of receiving sympathy. They cut the throats of eight year old children. They fire hundreds of rockets at civilian areas. They keep their own population in dire poverty. They choose extreme religious goals over a better life for their people. I celebrate their destruction. The world is a better place without them.

bsaul 7y ago
I completely agree with your point, but OP has also a valid point. The brutality of the situation on the terrain (for the last one hundred year) makes people living there be extremely blunt and down-to-earth. And so saying like "target eliminated, good riddance" when the target in question has tried to kill you numerous times feels completely natural. However, IDF (and israel public relation in general) is also trying to win the public opinion's hearth. And then it's a completely different audience. Most people in the west haven't experienced violence in any kind of direct way. They generally despise violence and killing above everything (which is a good thing). So whenever Israel (or israelis) speaks publicaly, they should never forget that people on the receiving end aren't as hardened and "pragmatic" as they are. Note that this is becoming less and less true as the west is also becoming a target or radical islam terrorists. But the order of magnitude remains completely different.
- yostrovs 7y ago
  I see your point. On the other hand Jews are sick of having to be constantly judged by others, others who are no better than them, and usually ones that are extremely ignorant. For centuries Jews have tried to keep quiet, keep their happiness/sadness to themselves, stay out of the way of the gentiles. That didn't work. The Israeli Jew is a different Jew, who is proud and will fight when necessary. That's just how it is now and the new Jew won't be constantly succumbing to the desires of ignorant antisemites.
  - bsaul 7y ago
    I know that's how many israeli feel, however you should note that everybody's judging everybody those days, not just Israel (although Israel most certainly has a special treatment at the UN, but that's another story). International relationships now has become a game of trying to look as peaceful as possible, even when you're waging war in some remote locations, or strong-arming entire regions. That fact that Israel choose to say "f*ck off, we know we're doing this for a good reason", and be blunt, is absolutely entirely against the general etiquette. I really think Israel should be more careful with that.
    - yostrovs 7y ago
      I'd agree with you if the "everybody's judging everybody" would be an accurate way of putting it. There's a lot more judging done of Israel than of other countries. If the judging would be comparable between cases, then yes, but regardless of what Israel does it will be judged poorly. So the hell with them in that Hamas office that is no more.
chriselles 7y ago
Make no mistake, I ave zero sympathy for Hamas. Absolutely zero. But the dark humour of the IDF’s tweet that I understand as a soldier, I find distasteful as a citizen as well as counterproductive in terms of influencing the unaligned bearing witness to it.