Caitlin Johnstone: Israel’s ‘Successful Method’

From what we know about Israeli society, it’s safe to assume the IDF is going to continue to constantly violate the ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon until it is stopped by force.

By Caitlin Johnstone
CaitlinJohnstone.com.au

Listen to Tim Foley reading this article

It’s interesting how much the IDF’s constant ceasefire violations in Gaza and Lebanon line up with the way people familiar with Israeli culture say Israelis like to test everyone’s boundaries to find out exactly how much they can get away with.

There are two terms, shitat matzliach and freier, which come up over and over again whenever you see people discussing the prevalence of this obnoxious behavior in Israeli society.

Shitat matzliach translates to “successful method,” and basically means trying to exploit people in the hope that they’re naive or not paying attention and then backing off if they call you out.

Frier roughly translates to “sucker,” i.e. the sort of person that shitat matzliach will work on.

I watched more of those “just Israeli things” videos where the lady explains Israeli cultural traditions and one of the examples she gave was a waiter adding random shit to a tab, getting caught, and then being like ah today I am the loser and you are the winner.

— jake rhodes (@jakebrodes) August 25, 2025

There’s a guy named Daniel Rosehill who’s written critically of these social dynamics as a Jew who was born in Ireland but moved to Israel in 2015.

It should be noted that Rosehill is a vitriolic Zionist whose most recent article for The Times of Israel is a hit piece attacking fellow Irishman Tadhg Hickey for defending Palestinian rights. But he’s still got some criticisms of Israeli culture.

A couple of Rosehill’s other articles in The Times of Israel complain about the way Israelis single out immigrants — including Jewish immigrants like himself — for exploitation.

In a 2020 piece titled “How To Work With Israelis —And Enjoy The Experience,” Rosehill writes the following:

“In my Ireland vs. Israel post I wrote about an aspect of Israeli culture that I’m not so keen on. It’s called shitat matzliach and essentially involves trying to force the weaker party into a bad deal because, well, you hope that they’re’ a freier (pronounced ‘fr-eye-er’; translation: sucker) or because they don’t know any better. It’s like freyerism’s lesser known but more malign sibling.

In Ireland, this would be called ‘chancing your arm.’

Living and working in Israel there is a strong chance that you will come across companies or individuals that are strong proponents of this methodology, particularly when they’re dealing with olim (recent Jewish immigrants) who mightn’t know their market value or rights.”

In another 2020 piece titled “10 Things I’d Like To Change About Life in Israel,” Rosehill lists as No. 3 “Less Shitat Matzliach (Taking Advantage),” writing:

“A working culture prevails in some quarters in Israel in which it is seen as smart and tactful to try out-negotiate the vulnerable —often new immigrants — into taking bad deals or accepting salaries that are not commensurate with their skills.

Too many immigrants end up getting repeatedly burned by unscrupulous employers. Again, immigrant exploitation is not a uniquely Israeli phenomenon. But, as the only Jewish country in the world, and one premised on Jews uprooting their lives in order to share in a collective form of national self-determination, I feel like we can and must do better than taking advantage of one another at every opportunity.”

Average Israeli ad: “Doing whatever we want until forcibly prevented, is actually part of our culture!”

If anyone else posted this it would be flagged for antisemitism. pic.twitter.com/07etDfPtVi

— Wyatt Reed (@wyattreed13) January 26, 2025

In January the Rosen School of Hebrew posted a video on its social media platforms discussing shitat matzliach as though acting like a sociopath is just some cute little eccentricity of Israeli culture.

Here’s a transcript from the video:

“So I realized something that I’ve been doing for a while now is this super Israeli behavior. Let’s find out what it is! So, I have a tiny dog named Lily and I like to take her on errands with me. When we went to my local Shufersal (grocery store), they told me that if I wanted to go in with her, I had to hold her. The next time I was at Shufersal, I looked for the person who told me this, and when I didn’t see them, I did what I wanted and kept her on the ground. So, what am I doing that’s just so Israeli? It’s called ‘shitat matzliach,’ which translates to ‘success method,’ meaning ‘trying to do what you want until someone tells you otherwise.’”

The speaker goes on to describe an Israeli joke about a waiter attempting to slyly charge a customer extra for something they didn’t order. This joke is repeated in a 2012 Haaretz article titled “Word of the Day, Shitat Matzliach”:

“There’s a joke in Israel that goes like this: A customer at a restaurant discovers a NIS 20 charge on his bill for something called the ‘works.’ He doesn’t recall ordering anything like that and beckons the waiter. ‘What’s that for?’ he asks. The waiter shrugs. ‘Nothing. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.’

Whatever you think of the joke, it is said to have spawned the popular Hebrew slang expression ‘shitat matzliach,’ literally ‘successful method’, or as the British say, ‘trying it on.’

Generally used in a pejorative sense, shitat matzliach describes a deliberate attempt to exploit another person’s inattentiveness, assuming there will be little, if any, penalty for getting caught.”

“Critics were wrong when they said that Hitler’s 1933-1941 actions constituted genocide—but they are right in 1942” pic.twitter.com/Lvj77Z3Cfu

— David Klion (@DavidKlion) May 13, 2025

In May of this year a rabbi named Jay Michaelson wrote a piece for the Jewish outlet Forward titled “I supported Israel’s actions in Gaza in October 2023 — not anymore,” saying that “The Netanyahu regime has made me, and liberal Zionists like me, look like the worst thing any Israeli can call another: a freier. A sucker. A fool.”

Being a freier is seen as extremely negative in Israeli society, in the same way that being able to pull one over on somebody is seen as a virtue.

In a 1997 Los Angeles Times article titled “It’s a Sin to Be a Sucker in Israel,” Marjorie Miller writes:

“If Israelis could agree on anything — a highly unlikely prospect, but if they could — it just might be that the cardinal sin is to be a freier.

‘It’s a national characteristic,’ said author Zeev Chafets, who included a chapter on the subject in his book about Israelis, ‘Heroes and Hustlers, Hard Hats and Holy Men.’ The topic ‘is something we talk about all the time.’

A freier, in Israeli eyes, is a shopper who waits in line to pay retail. It is a driver who searches for legal parking rather than pulling onto the sidewalk with the other cars. And if he does this in a rush to file a tax return, he is the consummate freier.

In short, a freier is anyone who cedes ground, plays completely by the rules or allows someone to get the better of him. The ideal Israeli is clever and tough, and a freier is the opposite. A pushover — in the way that Israelis often perceive Americans to be.

Of course, no one likes to be a sucker. The weakling who gets sand kicked in his face is universally scorned. Men and women all over the world lift weights to avoid this fate. But even muscle-bound Israelis dread a face full of sand on a daily basis, and the fear of being a freier plays into every aspect of life, from the most mundane task to the peace process with Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.”

Indeed, you can see this dynamic playing out in negotiations with the Palestinians throughout the history of the Israeli state. Always trying to pull one over. Always trying to take a bit more. And always stretching the limits of every agreement to the furthest extent possible.

Israel has reportedly killed 241 Palestinians in Gaza since the so-called ceasefire with Hamas went into effect last month. If Hamas had killed 241 Israelis in that same time, we all know Israel would be turning Gaza into a lake of fire right now.

“This barely makes international headlines, but since the Lebanon ceasefire a year ago, Israel has struck south Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley more than 500 times” https://t.co/3bl7aQDglw

— Curt Mills (@CurtMills) November 8, 2025

In a recent article for the Financial Times, Kim Ghattas writes,

“This barely makes international headlines, but since the Lebanon ceasefire a year ago, Israel has struck south Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley more than 500 times, killing over 300 people who Israel says were Hizbollah operatives. The UN confirmed at least 103 of those killed were civilians.”

Again, if Hezbollah had attacked Israel 500 times and killed hundreds of Israelis during this same period, nobody would be claiming a “ceasefire” is in effect. Israel would be going scorched earth on Lebanon with the full backing of the western empire.

Any deal that gets struck is always wildly disadvantageous to the other side and lets Israel keep killing and abusing with impunity. Because of what we know about Israeli society, it’s safe to assume this is going to keep happening until Israel is stopped by force.

Caitlin Johnstone’s work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, following her on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, YouTube, or throwing some money into her tip jar on Ko-fi, Patreon or Paypal. If you want to read more you can buy her books. The best way to make sure you see the stuff she publishes is to subscribe to the mailing list at her website or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything she publishes.  For more info on who she is, where she stands and what she’s trying to do with her platform, click here. All works are co-authored with her American husband Tim Foley.

This article is from Caitlin’s Newsletter and re-published with permission.

The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.

Please Donate to CN’s 30th Anniversary Fall Fund Drive