ISRAËL PERSPECTIVE

The Israeli media coverage reveals a perspective deeply aligned with Israel's strategic interests, constructing a narrative of self-defense against existential threats. The media heavily emphasizes Israeli military successes, particularly Netanyahu’s triumphant declarations that after 20 days of war, 'Iran no longer has the capacity to enrich uranium or produce ballistic missiles.' This emphasis on the effectiveness of operations 'Epic Fury' and 'Roaring Lion' serves to justify military intervention as a necessary preventive measure against a 'nuclear holocaust.'

The dominant tone oscillates between strategic alarmism and military triumphalism. On one hand, the media amplifies Iranian threats using apocalyptic vocabulary ('death cult', 'barbarians', 'axis of evil'), while on the other hand, it celebrates Israeli technological and strategic superiority. This dual narrative maintains a sense of security urgency while projecting an image of strength and determination. Anti-Semitism in the United States is also instrumentalized to reinforce a feeling of siege and justify American-Israeli solidarity.

Silences are revealing: little attention is given to Iranian civilian casualties, the humanitarian consequences of the war, or dissenting voices within Israel. The role of Hamas in Gaza is presented as peripheral, an opportunism profiting from the distraction caused by the Iranian conflict. This minimization of Palestinian issues reveals a clear hierarchy of Israeli geopolitical priorities, where the Iranian threat completely eclipses the Palestinian question.

The narrative framing positions Israel and the United States as defenders of Western civilization against the 'regime of ayatollahs.' Netanyahu is portrayed as a visionary leader who has anticipated the Iranian threat for 40 years, while Trump appears as a strategic partner sharing this vision. This alliance is sublimated into cooperation between democracies facing a common enemy, obscuring the specific geopolitical interests of each party.

Structural biases reflect a media largely aligned with Israeli security doctrine, where national survival justifies all preventive actions. The technical coverage of strikes ('12,000 bombs, 5,700 sorties') transforms war into a demonstration of technological power, partially depoliticizing the conflict to present it as a necessary surgical operation against an objective threat.