The Hebrew newspaper Haaretz criticized the practices of Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, as the latter raised a banner bearing Yahya Sinwar's phone number, accompanied by the phrase, "If you want a ceasefire, call him."

 The newspaper considered that this “brings shame to Israel and portrays it in a ridiculous position,” adding, “It is unfortunate that at such a critical time, there was no thought of sending this childish ambassador home and replacing him with someone of stature to represent us in a more dignified manner.”

 The article by political analyst Carolina Lindsman stated: “During a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to discuss the call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Erdan raised a banner bearing the phone number of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza. “If you want a ceasefire, call him,” she said. (By the way, the number was the number of the Hamas media office.)

  She continued: “It was a childish gesture redolent of an attempt at creativity, taken from the high-tech playbook in which young entrepreneurs are taught that they only have a few seconds to sell an idea.” This trick sent the message that Israel is trying to mobilize support just as one mobilizes capital, which means that diplomacy for Israel is a branch of marketing.”

  She emphasized: “In all fairness, one must admit that Erdan’s style is not merely an expression of his mental maturity. His constant choice of tricks (let's not forget the yellow Star of David he wore as a sign of protest, which led to the state of Israel being reduced to death camp status) is indicative of a broader issue, which is that Israeli intelligence is trapped within a hasbara (propaganda) mentality that “explains” Israel. It seems that Israel really believes that it can eliminate the problems through one “genius” show or another. After all, we live in the era of Netanyahu, the maestro of shows.”

  She added: “One might have expected that the wave of violence that swept Israel in October would have shattered the Hasbara bubble. In fact, that's what seemed to happen at first. The government remained silent, while the media and public tried to understand what was happening. The Cabinet members, who had not stopped talking until then, seemed to have swallowed their tongues, hiding away from public view.”

  She confirmed that “they felt guilty and ashamed.” This was before the ground operation began, when fear and terror were in the air. Maybe military intelligence didn't know what was going on? Maybe we are less powerful than we thought? Less intelligent? Maybe there's a chance we'll lose?

  The writer said: “Israel is no longer at that stage. Something changed the moment the Israeli army invaded the Gaza Strip and Israel crossed the barrier of fear. Thinking subsided and intelligence returned to Hasbara's comfort zone. Any gnawing doubts disappeared. “There is really no discussion between people who think differently, no one seems to think, and the desire to understand what happened has been silenced by pre-made explanations, by propaganda.”

  She explained: “Israel is not really ready to sit with the doubts that erupted on October 7, or to ask the big questions. This partly explains the refusal to discuss any context, along with a widespread collective disdain for the word “context” itself. As if what Israel is doing in Gaza now is unjustified in its view because of the context of October 7. Are the Israeli reactions alone present in a context that justifies them?

  She stressed that “Israel prefers public diplomacy over real debate, because it is not ready for a real debate.” “Israel has no idea who it is, where it is going, and what vision it has for the future in its relations with the Palestinians living under its military rule.”

  She concluded: “Israel is unwilling to talk about the context because it refuses to share responsibility for what happened to it, preferring to see itself as a Jewish victim facing a spontaneous wave of anti-Semitism, as if the group attacking it could just as easily be a fanatical group from Belgium, instead of bearing the heavy burden of responsibility. Without it, it would be impossible to change reality. So maybe, just leave Erdan where he is after all.”