American journalist Thomas Friedman affirmed that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is making the country globally ostracized. In a lengthy article in The New York Times, Friedman said he would leave it to historians to debate whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, but he is clear that the Israeli government is committing killings, destroying Israel’s global standing, killing civilians without regard for innocent lives, and tearing apart Israeli society and Jews worldwide between those still supporting Tel Aviv no matter what and others who can no longer bear or justify the government’s path and want to distance themselves from it.

He pointed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rare apology after Israeli strikes on the Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza, calling it a “tragic incident.” Friedman explained that this “tragic incident” is the inevitable result of Netanyahu’s policy to prolong the Gaza war to stay in power, avoid criminal trials, and evade Israeli investigations into his failure to prevent Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7, 2023.

To remain in power, Netanyahu needs support from far-right ministers like Bezalel Smotrich, who seeks to cover the West Bank with as many Jewish settlements as possible to prevent any Palestinian state there. Smotrich also encourages expelling Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza to pave the way for Israel to annex both areas.

Friedman highlighted Israel’s use of military force to forcibly relocate hundreds of thousands of Gazan civilians under the pretext of evacuating combat zones, then deliberately demolishing their homes without any real military reason, aiming to make their lives miserable enough to force them to leave permanently.

He described Israel’s halt of humanitarian aid to Gaza as shameful, hoping hunger will eventually drive Palestinians away. Friedman sees this not only as deliberate killing but also as suicide and a crime against Israeli society itself.

Israel is rapidly becoming so ostracized that Israelis may soon think twice before speaking Hebrew abroad. Friedman asked why the world now attacks Israel alone and answered that the world distinguishes between a war Israel fights to survive and a war fought to keep its prime minister politically alive.

The world can no longer ignore the massive civilian Palestinian casualties in Gaza as an inevitable war consequence. Many see the war as an expansion of Israeli occupation from the West Bank to Gaza, part of clear efforts to prevent any Palestinian partner in the Strip.

Friedman warned that if the war continues this way, it will tear apart many Jewish temples worldwide during this year’s Jewish holidays between those who feel compelled to stand with Israel, right or wrong, and those who can no longer tolerate the Israeli government’s behavior in Gaza, especially as hundreds of thousands of Israelis protest against this government.

It will also split the U.S. Democratic Party between those afraid to challenge the powerful Israeli lobby AIPAC for fear of losing campaign funding to Republican rivals and those who can no longer remain silent.

Friedman believes only one person can stop all this now: U.S. President Donald Trump. He fears Trump may have been deceived by Netanyahu into abandoning a ceasefire in Gaza in pursuit of the illusion of a “complete victory” chased by the Israeli prime minister.