Time Is On Israel’s Side

Mick Jagger had the Rolling Stones insisting in 1964 that “Time is on my side.” Yet in the song, Jagger never explains how or why this is true. In most cases, time is a contra. Athletes are constantly reminded that Father Time is undefeated. Time is the most precious commodity, yet the least merciful. When time is gone, it leaves forever. Even Cher can’t turn back time. 

So it is delightfully ironic that only four months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, time is on Israel’s side. 

At first blush, this defies logic. The initial pro-Israel sentiment of the Biden White House evaporated under heavy pressure from Democrats representing the party’s anti-Israel wing. Leftist rage on college campuses exploded into demands for a permanent ceasefire. 

Yet cutting through the fog like the Israeli Defense Forces cuts through Gaza, there is a very different picture. Far from being forced to cease operations, the IDF is expanding its offensive. Time is on Israel’s side. 

Counterintuitively, the nonstop news cycle turned into a net positive. The longer the war lasts, the better the long-term picture is for Israel. 

Credit media fatigue. Russia’s war on Ukraine once dominated nightly news coverage. Within months, Ukraine barely mustered mentions.

Now Israel fatigue is setting in. This gives the IDF a free hand. Time is a precious resource, but so is money. Media outlets cannot spend millions of dollars discussing Israel when there are so many other stories to cover. Every moment the media focuses on nonsense is a moment they ignore Israel. 

Now Israel fatigue is setting in. This gives the IDF a free hand. Time is a precious resource, but so is money. Media outlets cannot spend millions of dollars discussing Israel when there are so many other stories to cover. Every moment the media focuses on nonsense is a moment they ignore Israel. 

The Super Bowl normally dominates all coverage, but this year’s football circus was even bigger. Taylor Swift is dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. When Swift says something, does something, or is rumored to have thought something, all other news stops. Look at newspaper front pages. Who receives more coverage, the IDF or Swift? You know the answer. 

Well over 100 million Americans watched the Super Bowl. While Swift brings in new fans, a thrilling football game decided on the final play was what kept fans glued to their seats and the media laser focused on football. There was virtually zero Sunday media coverage of a daring Israeli raid that killed several Hamas terrorists and rescued two Israeli hostages alive. With Israel’s enemies screaming bloody rage, the media obsessed over whether Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid would retire and if Kelce would propose to Swift. The Israelis waged war in plain sight and America yawned. 

Even on days when we are spared hearing what Swift had for breakfast, 2024 remains an election year. Iowa and New Hampshire were less exciting than ever, yet they still sucked up weeks of media oxygen. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are the heavy favorites to face off for the White House. 

The moment the general election starts, every utterance of these two men will justifiably dominate the news. The two people vying to be the leader of the free world are by their very existence newsworthy. A Trump win gives the IDF significant latitude to wage war. Yet Biden would be committing political suicide if he caved to his left flank in an election year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows this. The Biden campaign is not going to let Trump outflank them on Israel. When the anti-Israel left labels Biden “Genocide Joe,” that helps him in November. 

Beyond politics, major sports events abound. With the Super Bowl over, next comes NASCAR’s Daytona 500 followed by college basketball’s March Madness. April starts the NBA and NHL playoffs. That takes us into June. Americans tend to tune out politics during summer. 

Even passionate anti-Israel protesters are facing Father Time’s brutal wife. Mother Nature unleashed a harsh winter including paralyzing ice storms across America. Protesters drop in numbers when the price of protesting is hypothermia. As March transitions from lion to lamb, precious time for anti-Israel activity will have evaporated. 

Even when the anti-political climate of summer barbecues ends after Labor Day, good luck trying to track down politicians or government officials. They will be in November campaign mode. After the elections come Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah. America shuts down as exhausted Americans want political junkies to silence themselves and pass the stuffing.

Anti-Israel zealots face defeat not from pro-Israel crowds, but by the indifferent silent majority.

Anti-Israel zealots face defeat not from pro-Israel crowds, but by the indifferent silent majority. Like it or not, many Americans care more about Kim Kardashian’s fashion choices than Middle East occurrences. The Emmys and Grammys having concluded, Hollywood is preparing for the Academy Awards. 

War fatigue has landed. Ratings from war coverage have ebbed. The war and the screams of Israel’s Gaza enemies have become boring. Once a story peters out, good luck trying to gin up a sequel. Even COVID seems like the distant past as networks desperately seek something to fill our airwaves. 

The IDF has a window to do whatever it wants, whenever. Does anyone think Americans would have cared if Israel eliminated every remaining senior Hamas commander the day after the Super Bowl? This was especially unlikely given Mardi Gras Tuesday and Valentine’s Day Wednesday. Throw in a booming stock market and corporate CEOs desperate to help teenage clients build Swift-friendly investment portfolios. 

Let nonsense distract the media. Down the rabbit hole of pop culture may they go. 

Time is on Israel’s side.

Eric Golub is a retired stockbrokerage and oil professional living in Los Angeles.