Simon O’Connor
Husband, step-father, and longtime student of philosophy and history. Also happen to be a former politician, including chairing New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Committee.
Grotesque. It’s the word that keeps coming to mind when I reflect on what is happening around the Israeli hostage return. From how Hamas are hideously choreographing the handovers to how New Zealand legacy media are reporting things, the whole situation is grotesque yet telling.
We also have the equally grotesque actions of John Minto and his local pro-Hamas supporters effectively calling for the hunting of Israelis in New Zealand and a Stuff columnist praising the humanity of Islamic terrorists.
As we know, a ceasefire of sorts is in effect. I don’t intend to go into the in and outs of this agreement, but I do want to reflect on how things are already being manipulated. As I say, I find the way Hamas are acting grotesque, although it does confirm how corrupt and deceitful they are – but hey, what do you expect of a terrorist organisation!
It begins with Hamas slowly releasing information of who will be released. This is psychological torture on all involved. Then parading the hostages in front of Gazan locals, many still screaming obscenities at them or threatening to kill them. The ridiculous placing of hostages on stage, making the previously absent Red Cross sign handover forms, and having loads of gunmen and ‘media’ present (the irony of Hamas gunmen and ‘journalists’ working so interchangeably is not lost on me) is in stark contrast to the Israelis who are simply and quietly bussing its now ex-prisoners to the West Bank. No great fanfare or media circus, no grotesque final abuse of those being released.
Added to this gross spectacle is the inane commentary of the likes of Donna Miles here in New Zealand, a Stuff columnist. She writes on X – “wonderful to see Israeli hostages unharmed and well-looked after” – implying that Hamas are humanitarians. For someone likely to get offended by the use of a wrong pronoun, Miles appears to think that spending over 470 days in tunnels at the hands of abusers will have no impact psychologically or otherwise. She also seems to willfully ignore (and in some cases deny) the horrific and well-documented violence on October 7th where hostages such as these were beaten, bloodied, raped, and dragged away into underground tunnels. Miles, inexplicably, also sees the hostage spectacle as a sign that Israel and Hamas can work together:
Again, these are simply grotesque statements being added to an already grotesque spectacle.
We can then note the lines of Hamas’ clean undamaged utes, fresh uniforms and weapons, and terrorists looking rather well fed. As some other commentators have noted, for a supposed genocide and area lacking food, it’s a miracle how everyone there has fared so well including the celebrating citizens. But this display is galling for at least two other reasons. Firstly, it shows Hamas’ reprehensible attitude towards the Palestinian people and secondly it implicitly confirms they were hiding in tunnels, schools, UNWRA facilities, and hospitals. These terrorists could only behave as they are now by hiding away and allowing innocent civilians to die so that they might survive the conflict they started.
This said, Hamas does public relations well or, at the very least, PR that is well received by its many progressive supporters in the West. The hostage handover dynamics are meant to send a signal they are still a fighting force. After months of conflict, I doubt this but they are doing their very best to project an image of strength.
Back here in New Zealand, the reporting by legacy media has been predictable and disappointing. The key issue is the false moral equivalents being used when referencing the Israeli hostages and the various Palestinians being released. Media here (and overseas) appears to suggest that it’s an equal trade. Of course, it’s not equal either in terms of ‘who’ or the numbers involved. The Israelis are hostages, taken on October 7th and brutally beaten, tortured, raped and so forth. The Palestinians being released are mostly prisoners having murdered, bombed, attacked, or behaved in other terroristic or criminal fashion. Not that you would know, because media assiduously avoid sharing these details. Instead, they just say Palestinians are being released. Nor are the numbers being released equivalent. It is hundreds of Palestinians for each Israeli, yet this is often conveniently overlooked too.
We also have a legacy media apparently unable to make any comment on the now-obvious lies of Hamas. Over the months, media have dutifully shared the Hamas reports of casualties and so forth. Yet when such numbers or statements are categorically false, there is no comment. One example is rather contemporary – late last year Hamas said one of its Israeli hostages was killed in an airstrike. Her name was Daniella Gilboa. Remarkably, she was also one of the four hostages released alive in recent days.
Last but not least, we have the grotesque behaviour of John Minto and other pro-Hamas supporters here in New Zealand. They have been publicising a call for New Zealanders to identify Israelis in New Zealand and to phone call in their names and locations to them. To what purpose one can only speculate, but we can safely assume it is not to say ‘kia ora’.
Minto and friends are particularly focused on Israelis in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) yet seem ignorant of the fact that all Israelis serve due to compulsory military service and that the IDF is comprised of Jews, Christians, Muslims, and atheists. So there you have it – Minto and friends are effectively on a hunt as part of their warped vigilante justice. Rightly, complaints have been put into the likes of the Human Rights Commission but I would suggest there is also scope within the Harmful Digital Communications Act.
While we can be grateful that hostages are being released, the way it is being done is just grotesque. But what more should we expect from supporters of a death cult?
This article was originally published by On Point.
