Jonathan Conricus on How Israeli Aid to Gaza Works

The Tikvah Podcast

Tikvah

Judaism, Politics, Religion & Spirituality, News

4.6 • 620 Ratings

🗓️ 8 March 2024

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

During Israel's war against Hamas, it has provided direct aid to Gazans, and it has allowed for the distribution of foreign aid. Hamas has accused Israeli soldiers of intentionally targeting Palestinians as they gather to receive food, most recently on February 29. The Israeli military released video evidence to the contrary, but by the time they did so, international impressions were already set, and Israelis now wonder why they’re volunteering the wellbeing of their own soldiers, and their own resources, only to be met with international condemnation.

To explain the historical and strategic context of the aid to Gaza that Israel gives and facilitates, Jonathan Conricus joins Mosaic editor and podcast host Jonathan Silver. Conricus served in the Givati Brigade of the IDF when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. Since then, he's served as a combat commander, military diplomat, and IDF international spokesman, and has been acting as a spokesman in the months since October 7.

Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.

Transcript

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0:00.0	On February 29th, following accusations by Hamas and then wide dissemination in social media,
0:11.6	legacy and traditional media outlets reported that Israeli troops had opened fire on Palestinians in Gaza,
0:17.9	who gathered to receive aid from delivery trucks.
0:21.0	The Israeli military has opened an inquiry into the events that took place that day in northern
0:25.2	Gaza.
0:26.0	Accounts of what happened are in conflict with one another.
0:28.9	The IDF has said that it did not target civilians waiting to collect aid, and in fact it has
0:33.3	released aerial footage that seems to corroborate their claim that Palestinian crowd surrounded
0:38.3	the convoy and that death and injury did in fact occur when looting and mass trampling began.
0:43.8	Israeli soldiers then did open fire at Gazans who approached a tank and IDF checkpoint and who
0:49.6	did not respond to warning shots. But the whole episode epitomizes something. Hamas and its sympathizers and
0:56.6	supporters believe that Israeli military personnel are intentionally targeting civilians waiting for
1:02.0	aid, aid which, in their mind, they only need because of Israel's ongoing occupation. And
1:07.6	Israel, and its supporters, release video evidence to to the contrary and wonder why they're
1:12.7	sacrificing so many resources and so much prestige only to be rewarded with international condemnation.
1:19.5	It epitomizes the media and perception campaign that Israel faces in its battle with
1:24.1	Hamas. It's worth asking and really trying to understand how aid to Gaza works. Welcome to the Tikva podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan Silver. My guest today served in the Givati Brigade of the IDF when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, and has, since, served as a combat commander, military diplomat, and IDF international spokesman. At the end of his quarter-century of active service, he retired as a combat commander, military diplomat, and IDF international spokesman.
1:44.8	At the end of his quarter century of active service, he retired as a lieutenant colonel.
1:49.7	In the hours and days after the October 7th attacks, all of us got to see Jonathan Konrikas in action,
1:55.4	as an authoritative, sober, serious spokesman, dispassionately explaining what was then happening in the Western
2:01.5	Negev, throughout the Gaza envelope, and in time, inside Gaza itself. This week, to explain the
2:07.5	historical and strategic context of the aid to Gaza that Israel facilitates, Jonathan Konrikas is our guest.
	...

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