In response to Operation Protective Edge, Israel’s defensive operation against Hamas in Gaza which has fired hundreds of rockets in the past week into Israeli civilian areas, several new social media campaigns and pages have been created. Among them are #KidsAreNotTargets, Israel Under Fire, and Israel Facing Terror. All three different sites accomplish the same task of showcasing the conflict though they focus on different aspects of it.
Israel Under Fire shares articles about the conflict and also has graphics showing the conflict in a larger context of rockets being rained down on cities. This page also shares quotes, such as one from Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, shown below. Israel Under Fire is, on July 14, the most popular of the three with over 60,000 likes.
Israel Facing Terror showcases Israeli civilians affected by the rockets being shot from Gaza. It also promotes the hashtag #WeAreNotTargets when it shows examples of Israelis affected by the rocket attacks, showing pictures of Israeli civilians taking cover from rocket attacks. In addition, this page shares televised interviews of Israeli government members, such as Naftali Bennett.
#KidsAreNotTargets is similar to Israel Facing Terror, however, it focuses on how the conflict has affected kids, by showing kids in bomb shelters or being sheltered by their parents. It has also shown pictures of people holding up handmade signs which say, “Children are not weapons.”
Overall, social media is being used in an effective manner to showcase the conflict and show the facts on the ground as well as the broader view of the conflict. Showing pictures and graphics that showcase the the conflict help people to understand and internalize what’s going on in Israel right now, especially if they are not in Israel themselves.
Contributed by CAMERA intern Eli Cohn
