In early May, Beck posted pictures on Instagram of children who died in the war in Gaza. One of her friends saw the pictures and suggested that they print them out and take the pictures out onto the street in a silent manifestation.
We were prepared to receive very harsh criticism. To talk about Palestinians' rights, or to say that we are witnessing a genocide, is perceived as a betrayal by many. And it can trigger very aggressive reactions.
”People have sobered up”
Beck herself has been threatened for her commitment to Palestinians' rights, which began several years ago. When she posts pictures of dead children in Gaza, several of her friends write that "she is brave" and that "they would never have dared" out of fear of losing friends.
But the movement is growing slowly. The first time, there were 20 activists holding up the pictures, and now there are 800.
Some may come forward and say that it is tragic, but that it is the price one has to pay in a war. Immediately after October 7, people were angry, sad, and vengeful. But now I think people have started to sober up, she reasons.
It is difficult to look away from hundreds of children. It awakens something in almost everyone. Empathy.
In May, 20 percent of the Jewish population in Israel believed that the country should "to a great extent" take into account the suffering of civilians in Gaza. The corresponding proportion was 13 percent in the aftermath of Hamas' extensive terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, according to a opinion poll from the Israeli Institute for Democracy.
”Kills infants as a hobby”
About 1,200 people were killed in the brutal Hamas attacks, and the terrorist-stamped movement took about 250 people hostage. Since then, over 57,000 people in Gaza have been killed in the Israeli warfare, according to Hamas-controlled health authorities.
Lately, more opinion leaders in Israel have begun to raise their voices against the war. In an interview at the end of May, opposition leader Yair Golan said that a "healthy country does not kill infants as a hobby". Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has also criticized the government for "starving the population in Gaza" and accused Israel of committing war crimes.
Beck does not think that the criticism comes a day too early.
This is what we have done, referring to self-defense and Jewish survival. It is completely crazy. Most people still cannot see that we have gone from being "victims" to "perpetrators". I think many are in denial, she says.
In an opinion poll from Israel's Democratic Institute, the question was asked: "To what extent should Israel take into account the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza?"
A clear majority of the country's Jewish inhabitants (76.5 percent) believe that Israel should not take any consideration at all, or only very little consideration. Among the country's Arab population, a majority (67 percent) answered that Israel should take great or very great consideration.
Since Israel's Demographic Institute asked the question for the first time at the end of 2023, the proportion of Jewish Israelis who believe that Israel should take great or very great consideration has increased - from 13 percent in October 2023 to 20 percent in May 2025.
At the same time, the proportion of those who believe that Israel should not take any consideration at all, or only very little, has decreased from 83.5 percent to 76.5 percent.
Source: The Israeli Institute for Democracy
