Why is the Israeli media telling a story of defeat?
My heart goes out to those who shape their perception of reality based on what is mediated to them by the mainstream of Israeli media. They must be deeply dispirited these days, at a time when winds of defeat are blowing toward them from the Israeli media.
The examples are countless; we will mention just a few: according to military analyst Alon Ben David in ‘Maariv’, “the war’s objectives have not been achieved; Iran is the stronger side and the winner.” Historian Shlomo Sand wrote in ‘Haaretz’ that “the war will ultimately strengthen national-Islamism, both in the Middle East and globally,” adding that “there is no doubt that the Land of Zion will become an even less secure space.” Another analyst, Ronen Bergman, dismissed Israel’s conduct in ‘Yedioth Ahronoth’, stating that “the promise to remove the nuclear and missile threat is a lie” and that it “has no chance” of being fulfilled. Meanwhile, Ravit Hecht concluded simply in ‘Haaretz’: “The war worsens Israel’s position and strengthens Iran. Israel has surrendered.”
But have we really failed, been defeated, and surrendered? Has Iran truly improved its position while Israel’s has deteriorated?
First, the rush to conclusions is unclear, as it is not yet time for final assessments. According to current statements from both the United States and Israel, the war is not over and will end only when Iran ceases to pose a nuclear threat. At this point, Israel, committed for 30 years to removing that threat, appears on a path to victory, while Iran appears headed toward defeat.
Second, even if we assume, illogically, that the U.S. suddenly abandons its demand that Iran hand over its enriched uranium, and the war freezes as is, how can one conclude that Israel surrendered and Iran won? Consider the facts:
Iran’s political and security leadership has been eliminated, leaving only figures with whom surrender could be negotiated.
For roughly six weeks, Israel and the U.S. maintained full air superiority over Iran. Tens of thousands of bombs destroyed about 80% of its military and civilian capabilities, including key industries like steel and petrochemicals.
Israel refrained from targeting oil, gas, and energy infrastructure—by choice. Nothing prevented it from crippling Iran entirely.
Iran is currently under a tight U.S. naval blockade; with over 80% of its consumption dependent on sea imports, continued blockade would likely lead to collapse within weeks or months.
Thus, over about two and a half years of war, first against Iran’s proxies and then Iran itself, Iran has been transformed: from a dominant regional power encircling Israel and nearing nuclear capability, into a weakened regime, stripped of its regional network, its nuclear and missile programs damaged, and struggling for survival.
Of course we won,” said Yuval Steinitz, chairman of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. “We won decisively, even more than in the Six-Day War.”
Declaring defeat because the enemy has not yet been fully subdued would also retroactively call into question past wars. If attacks continued after previous victories, does that mean Israel lost those wars too?
There is also a logical argument: Israel cannot afford defeat. If Israel loses a war, the implication is its destruction and mass slaughter of its citizens, an explicit goal of its enemies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.
Why, then, does the media rush to frame reality as defeat? In my view, it stems from an inability to reconcile with a public sense of victory. Acknowledging victory would imply that the right wing and the government were correct in insisting on defeating the enemy, and that the left and the media were wrong in calling for concessions. Therefore, even when victory is evident, the media is compelled to present it as defeat.
Because if Israel won the war, the conclusion is that the Israeli media lost.
