Sabine Sterk: Under Scrutiny, One Slip Matters
Trust takes years to be built and seconds to be destroyed. It is a simple truth, but one that shapes how people, countries, and narratives are judged. It also explains why those who oppose Israel are often so effective. You can do something right a hundred times and no one notices. People take it for granted. But make one mistake, even a small one, and suddenly everything changes. You are judged, accused, and sometimes even canceled.
I can speak about this from experience. For more than twelve years, nonstop, I have been posting on social media. During the day, I also monitor and remove comments from people spreading hatred toward Israel. My view is straightforward. There are already enough places on the World Wide Web where that kind of hatred spreads like an infectious disease. On my company pages, I will not tolerate poisoned content. So I delete it.
Over the years, I have shared thousands of posts. Yet the reality remains harsh. If just one post is not correct, if one mistake slips through, you can be thrown to the wolves. It is infuriating. It is unfair. But it reflects the world we live in. Israel exists under a moral microscope, and every mistake made by an Israeli, especially a soldier, carries a weight far beyond what is reasonable.
Take what happened in Lebanon. A soldier, whether out of poor judgment or an inability to handle pressure, destroyed a statue of Jesus. The act was shocking. The world reacted immediately. Fingers were pointed, outrage spread rapidly, and the story became fuel for those eager to condemn Israel. The reaction was almost celebratory in some circles, as if people were waiting for a moment like this to confirm their beliefs.
What is often left out of that narrative is equally important. Israel did not ignore the incident. The soldier will face criminal charges. The statue will be restored. These facts rarely receive the same attention. The correction, the accountability, and the effort to make things right are overshadowed by the initial mistake.
There are moments when it becomes exhausting. Sometimes it makes you want to give up, because ignorance can be persistent and widespread. Over twelve years of pro-Israel advocacy, I have tried to warn about seemingly small things that can be misused. For example, photos of children visiting a military base during an open day. These are innocent moments, children visiting a parent or sibling. Yet such images can be taken out of context and used to push a false narrative, suggesting that Israeli children are raised in the same way as those exposed to constant indoctrination and violence elsewhere, thus raised as the most people in Gaza. The nuance disappears, and the world always believes the simplified, Anti Israel version.
I felt the same concern during the protests against Benjamin Netanyahu. Yes, protest is part of democracy. It is a right and a strength. But from the beginning, I warned that the internal unrest could weaken the country at a critical time. Israel is constantly being judged, and its enemies watch closely. When attention shifts inward, vulnerabilities can emerge. What followed on October 7 showed how dangerous that can be. Focus was divided, and the consequences were devastating. In hindsight, phrases like you reap what you sow or trust takes years to build and seconds to destroy take on an even heavier meaning.
This is not about pointing the finger at anyone. It is not about blame. It comes from a genuine place, from speaking honestly and from the heart. It is a call for awareness and responsibility.
Israelis must think carefully before acting in ways that could harm the nation as a whole. Every action, no matter how small it may seem, can be amplified on the global stage. That is the reality of living in a country that is constantly scrutinized.
Trust takes years to build and one second to disappear. That is the price that comes with the privilege of living in such a remarkable country. And in the end, it is not an unreasonable price to pay.
