New Media in Israel

The current publication covers the period between 1.11.17 - 4.11.17, as developments in the Arab world dominated the attention of the Israeli virtual world, recently preoccupied with commemorating the 22nd anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The Israeli virtual world demonstrated special attention towards topical developments concerning the Syrian and Lebanese arena, especially given the latters’ direct connection to Israeli interests.

The Israelis celebrated the 22nd anniversary of Rabin's assassination dating this past Saturday. The anniversary preoccupied the virtual world up to high levels, with this year’s organizers taking a number of steps leaving the leftists within extreme states of discomfort.

Among the steps followed was the banning of kiosks within the Rabin Square on the central anniversary, an issue which was subsequently revisited by the organisers. The latter further published announcements calling for the participation in the ceremony while refraining from referrals to terminologies like ‘’assassination’’ or ‘’peace’’. Such a step was interpreted as a gesture to sway the rightists towards a highly welcomed participation. Numerous figures from the right wing were invited to speak on the central platform, whereas several leftists, including any Arab voices, were purportedly rendered absent.

Furthermore, the border area between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights recently witnessed recurrent tensions based on the backdrop of Jihadi groups’ and Syrian opposition attacks over the city of ‘’Hader’’, a predominantly Druze town currently under the control of the Syrian army. Such tensions raised out particular concerns over the Israeli virtual world.

Within an unusual statement, the Israeli army announced with alacrity on Friday to provide assistance to the village of Hader and promised to fight against its falling into the hands of the factions fighting against Syrian forces. The unfamiliar gesture served to spark the curiosity of the virtual world between supporters and opponents of this position.

The Israeli virtual world was preoccupied with developments in Lebanon this past Saturday night, which came in subsequence to Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri’s resignation submission.

The Lebanese Prime Minister declared his presidential resignation from the Lebanese government this past Saturday for reasons pertaining to his fear of being assassinated, and said: ‘’I touched on secretly woven plots to target my life’’, pointing to Iran's ascendancy over Lebanon and its dominance over the latter’s internal affairs.

The Israeli virtual world viewed Hariri's remarks as proof of the fears to which Israel has been alluding over the years with respect to Iran's growing strength in the region.