The Power of Propaganda and the Silence of the West
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 who were left for dead 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.
World Leaders Face Backlash for Recognizing Palestinian State
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 these purported global leaders demonstrate. 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 and thereby reinforcing it. Releasing these gruesome videos is a result of Hamas not only feeling emboldened but also having 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.
Modern Propaganda Mirrors Nazi Tactics
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 of radical Islam that fuel movements like Hamas and perpetuate 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.
Iran’s Global Influence and the Cost of Moral Blindness
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.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/SOPA Images/Contributor
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
Originally published August 06, 2025.
