By Marziyeh Amirizadeh
Recently, Hamas released horrific videos depicting two Israeli hostages, Evytar David and Rom Braslavski,who have now been held in captivity in inhuman conditions for 670 days. One particularly harrowing video shows David, visibly emaciated, being forced to dig what appears to be his own grave in a Hamas tunnel beneath Gaza. These images evoke painful historical parallels of the Holocaust and the brutal conditions of Nazi concentration camps. Jews were rounded up throughout Europe and forced to dig their own graves before they were executed along with their family, neighbors, and entire communities. Jewish concentration camp survivors were so emaciated that they were little more than skin and bones, and some left for dead who were actually still alive. On my first trip to Israel, I had the privilege to meet a woman who was the daughter of one of those who was left for dead.
The release of these videos followed controversial announcements by world leaders including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, declaring their intention to recognize a Palestinian state. Many critics argue that this political move only emboldens Hamas and other terrorist organizations, offering them a dangerous form of legitimacy and encouragement to continue their atrocities. Certainly it does not give them reason to moderate, or release the 50 hostages still held in the hell of Gaza’s tunnels.
What’s particularly troubling is the moral inconsistency demonstrated by these purported global leaders. True leaders should act with wisdom, resolve and moral clarity. These “leaders” have instead displayed naivety that even an ordinary parent would avoid, rewarding bad behavior, thereby reinforcing it. Releasing these gruesome videos is a result of Hamas not only feeling emboldened, but no shame for their crimes.
Since the Hamas attacks of October 7,2023, numerous graphic images and videos have surfaced: mass murders of Israeli civilians, women raped, burning and beheading of people while alive, and the abduction of women, children, and Holocaust survivors. Just weeks ago, jihadists affiliated with the Syrian extremist leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani targeted the Druze community in Syria, killing and torturing thousands, and forcing victims from balconies while shooting them. One particularly horrific incident involved the massacre of an entire Christian family in Sweida, including Pastor Khalid Mezher of the Good Shepherd Evangelical Church and several of his relatives. Church officials described it as a deliberate, targeted slaughter, with an entire family of as many as 20 people butchered.
What’s alarming is how shamelessly such evidence of brutality is circulated by terrorist groups, confident that the global media—largely fixated on a one-sided narrative of Palestinian victimhood—will look the other way. Hamas, like the Nazi regime, relies heavily on propaganda to distort reality and rally support. Hitler’s appointment of Joseph Goebbels as Minister of Propaganda laid the foundation for manipulating public opinion through antisemitism, attacks on Christian values, and the reshaping of societal morals.
Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran, which I have repeatedly warned about in my writings and speeches, has adopted a disturbingly similar approach. The ayatollahs continue to export not only weapons and militias, but also a network of trained propagandists. These agents, often embedded in Western institutions, work to spread disinformation, justify antisemitism, and vilify Israel. Their purpose is to undermine the West, rooted in Judeo-Christian values. In essence, the regime has deployed dozens of modern-day Goebbels figures to wage psychological warfare around the globe.
Many prominent Western media platforms—including The New York Times, BBC, and The Guardian—have been accused of biased coverage that aligns with the narratives of the terrorists. Whether due to political alignment, ideological bias, or financial ties to nations like Qatar, these outlets fail to report on the full scope of terrorism against Jews and other minority groups in the Middle East.
Terrorist groups like Hamas do not view civilian deaths as defeats. In their warped ideology, suffering becomes a tool—something to exploit for international sympathy while continuing their broader campaign of destruction. Their goal is not peace but dominance, and they are willing to sacrifice countless lives to achieve it.
Western societies must wake up. If people truly care about the well-being of Palestinians, they must address the root cause of their suffering: the Islamic regime in Iran. It is the regime’s financing, indoctrination, and exporting radical Islam that fuel movements like Hamas and perpetuates conflict in the region. Supporting the Iranian people in their fight to topple this tyrannical regime would be a meaningful step toward peace and stability—not just for Iran, but for the Middle East and beyond.
Recently, I found myself in a heated conversation with an American who accused me of lacking moral clarity for supporting Israel. He shockingly equated President Trump with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Displaying his own lack of moral clarity and ignorance of Iran and the Middle East, many Iranians refer to Khamenei as “Zahhak,” a mythical tyrant from a well-known Persian poet, Ferdowsi’s “Shahnameh,” a demon depicted with serpents growing from his shoulders who feeds on the brains of the innocent. That this man, who had never lived under the oppressive rule of Islamists, presumed to lecture me on “true Islam,” someone who suffered personally, arrested and sentenced to death because of my faith, and witnessed the torture and execution of many of my cellmates, was not only absurd—it was deeply offensive.
When I asked him why Hamas refuses to release hostages if peace is truly their goal, his answer was chilling: “The hostages are their leverage; it makes sense to keep them.” That conversation left me disillusioned. I was stunned by how successful propaganda has been in distorting the perspectives of people who have never experienced the brutality of regimes like the Islamic Republic.
Even more disturbing is the increasing visibility of Khamenei’s image—the demon Zahhak himself—at pro-Palestinian protests around the world. His presence in these demonstrations is a stark reminder of who is orchestrating the hatred and antisemitism that is rising globally.
As someone who has experienced imprisonment, trauma, and life under a theocratic Islamist dictatorship, I understand how hard it is to maintain a sense of normalcy. Joy, meaning, and peace change shape after trauma. For survivors, the only way forward is to speak the truth—to be a voice for the voiceless and to resist the lies.
I pray that America, Israel, and all free nations awaken to the threat posed by the propaganda of Islamist regimes. I pray that, before it’s too late, world leaders recognize the urgency of confronting and dismantling the regime of Zahhak in Iran. Each day we hesitate and delay is another step deeper into the grip of darkness.
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Marziyeh Amirizadeh is an Iranian American who immigrated to the US after being sentenced to death in Iran for the crime of converting to Christianity. She endured months of mental and physical hardships and intense interrogation. She is author of two books (the latest, A Love Journey with God), public speaker, and columnist. She has shared her inspiring story throughout the United States and around the world, to bring awareness about the ongoing human rights violations and persecution of women and religious minorities in Iran, www.MarzisJourney.com.
Marzi also is the founder and president of NEW PERSIA whose mission is to be the voice of persecuted Christians and oppressed women under Islam, expose the lies of the Iranian Islamic regime, and restore the relationships between Persians, Jews, and Christians. www.NewPersia.org.
And so for the Druze and indeed all religious minorities in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) over the last 100 years.
traveling Israel talks about the Procrustean media narrative and contrasts the manufactured stories of Israel starving Pals with the under-reported real stories of Jihadis kidnapping Druze women and girls and shows a clip of a Jihadi talking to the camera from the car, bragging about it.
“The problem isn’t colonization – it’s islamicization”
https://youtu.be/0H3kiLn4eFk?si=y5qrEwk13RgPBj72
I’m reminded of:
“Telling it like it wasn’t” about the Crown Heights pogrom of ’91 by Ari L. Goldman, the NYT reporter on the scene whose editors changed the story he had phoned in to fit the narrative “frame” 20 years later.
https://www.jta.org/2011/08/09/ny/telling-it-like-it-wasnt
and
“Sadat’s Strategy by Paul Eidelberg”
discussion of strategy of dictators using the language of democracy against democracy which Sadat – who, ironically, was later assassinated by fellow islamona is who didn’t get what he was doing – learned from studying Hitler’s writings in German when he was imprisoned in a British jail during WWII.
https://afsi.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SadatsStrategy_Eidelberg1.pdf
“Procrustean Narrative” : A term I just this minute coined from an existing but underused word.
“Procrustean”
“In Greek mythology, Procrustes was a rogue smith who had a cruel method of dealing with travelers. He would force them to fit his iron bed by either stretching them or cutting off their limbs. This has led to the term “Procrustean” being used to describe situations where something is forced to fit an arbitrary standard or pattern, often with negative consequences. ”
“AI Overview
The adjective “procrustean” was first used in the mid-1600s, with the earliest known use being in 1647. The term comes from the Greek mythological figure Procrustes, who forced travelers to fit his iron bed by stretching or amputating their limbs. The figurative sense, meaning “violently making conformable to a standard,” appeared in 1822. The phrase “Procrustean bed” was first used in 1789. ”
Hmmm. Gives a whole new meaning to:
“AI Overview
+3
To “bring a story to bed” is a journalism idiom that means to finalize the work on a news report, preparing it for publication or broadcast.
Essentially, it’s the final stage of the news reporting process before the story is presented to the public. This includes things like:
Final Editing: Polishing the writing, ensuring accuracy, checking facts, correcting grammar and punctuation, and making sure the story adheres to the publication’s style guide.
Layout and Design: In print journalism, this involves arranging the text, photos, and other visuals on the page.
Review and Approval: Getting the final sign-off from editors before sending it off to be printed or aired.
Sending to Press/Broadcast: Actually initiating the printing process or sending the story to be broadcast.
This idiom highlights the demanding and often deadline-driven nature of journalism, where a story is worked on diligently until it’s “put to rest” in its final form. ”
Yes, as in “rest in peace” or pieces, more like.
This never made sense to me before:
“AI Overview
+7
The eye-slashing scene you’re referring to is from the iconic short film Un Chien Andalou (An Andalusian Dog).
Un Chien Andalou
A surrealist masterpiece: This silent film, made in 1929 by Spanish filmmakers Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, is a seminal work of surrealist cinema. It rejects traditional narrative and relies on dream logic and jarring imagery to evoke a sense of the uncanny and challenge viewers’ perceptions.
The shocking opening: The film’s most infamous scene involves a man slicing a woman’s eye with a straight razor. This scene is visually striking and designed to provoke a strong, visceral reaction from the audience. The eyeball shown is actually that of a calf, not a human, and its inclusion serves both to create a shocking image and to allude to the act of film editing, or “cutting”.
Beyond the eye: The film is filled with a series of equally strange and unsettling images, including a man dragging two pianos containing dead donkeys and priests, and ants crawling out of a hole in a man’s hand. These scenes are meant to explore themes of sexuality, violence, and the subconscious, reflecting the influence of Freudian psychoanalysis and Surrealism on the filmmakers.
An enduring legacy: Despite its controversial nature, Un Chien Andalou has significantly influenced cinema and art, becoming a touchstone for surrealist and avant-garde filmmaking. Its impact is still felt today, having been referenced in other art forms and consistently appearing on lists of the most shocking moments in film history. ”
Linguist Noam Chomsky manufactured the pro-pal consensus in colleges in the ’70s and 80s.. He and his books were ubiquitous.
“Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media is a 1988 book by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky. It argues that the mass communication media of the U.S. “are effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market forces, internalized assumptions, and self-censorship, and without overt coercion”, by means of the propaganda model of communication.[1] The title refers to consent of the governed, and derives from the phrase “the manufacture of consent” used by Walter Lippmann in Public Opinion (1922).[2] Manufacturing Consent was honored with the Orwell Award for “outstanding contributions to the critical analysis of public discourse” in 1989.
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
Cover of the first edition
Authors
Edward S. Herman
Noam Chomsky
Language
English
Subject
Media of the United States
Publisher
Pantheon Books
Publication date
1988
Publication place
United States
Media type
Print (Hardcover, Paperback)
ISBN
0-375-71449-9
OCLC
47971712
Dewey Decimal
381/.4530223 21
LC Class
P96.E25 H47 2002
Preceded by
The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians
Followed by
Necessary Illusions
A 2002 revision takes account of developments such as the fall of the Soviet Union. A 2009 interview with the authors notes the effects of the internet on the propaganda model”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent
Sure, Iran is the front guy for a lot of the terrorism we see currently, but don’t forget the support of other gulf nations, not to speak of the Russians, the Chinese, the South Africans and so on.
Perhaps the “Global Media” should be dealt with appropriately, since they are essentially the fuel driving the fetid jihadists.