The Blogs: 10 Critical Q&A’s on Israel—to share with your loved ones

Knowledge is Power; Ignorance is Outright Dangerous

Ignorance is at all time highs. Willful distortion of the truth about Israel is rampant at the highest echelons of power, exposing Jews everywhere to danger.

In response to the brazen arson of a Shul in Melbourne recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly criticized the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over his retreating support for Israel and the promotion of a Palestinian state as a reward for the terror of October 7th.

In a detailed exposé published by the American media company Pirate Wires in October, investigative journalist Ashley Rindsberg exposed a coalition of approximately 40 Wikipedia editors that has systematically altered thousands of articles to tilt public opinion against Israel. These individuals, acting in concert, have executed around 850,000 edits on nearly 10,000 articles on the conflict, Rindsberg said, subtly shifting the ideological foundation of content related to Israel, the Palestinians, and even broader Middle Eastern geopolitics.

The edits in question range from minor tweaks — removing ties between Jewish history and the land of Israel — to major alterations, such as the omission of references to the atrocities committed during the Hamas-led attack across southern Israel last Oct. 7, including, most egregiously, references of rape and other acts of sexual violence.

James Madison said that “knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” The only thing more dangerous than ignorance is arrogance. It’s critical for us Jews to arm ourselves with the answers we need to stand up for ourselves and our People in this historic turning point in our nation’s history.

I have prepared these Israel FAQ’s to help you control the conversation to set the record straight. I’d love to hear your feedback.

10 Q&As on Israel

Is Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza?

If you ask someone accusing Israel of genocide how they feel about rockets being indiscriminately fired into Israeli population centers, they will likely justify them as legitimate acts of “resistance.” Despite tens of thousands of deadly rockets being launched at Israeli civilians from Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, these critics self-righteously claim that only Israel has no right to defend itself. Meanwhile, those attacking Israeli civilians are hailed as brave freedom fighters.

Hamas, the elected leaders of Gaza, explicitly call for genocide—the murder of all Jews—in their official charter, and Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, famously denied the Holocaust in his doctoral dissertations!

The hypocrisy is deafening—make sure that you’re not that Jew who’s drinking the Kool-Aid!

Could the UN be wrong about genocide?

Sadly, the UN has been hijacked by antisemitic nations that have banded together to bully Israel. Hence, Kenyan judge Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide since Nov. 10, 2020, was fired last month for her refusal to define Israel’s war against Hamas as genocide.

If you want to see what a genocide looks like, see this graph that depicts the dramatic decline of the Jewish population in Europe during World War II.

According to the CIA World Fact Book, the population in Gaza has increased by 2.02% (43,000 people) since Oct 7, 2023! All historical genocides had population decreases of 25% or more!

It is abundantly clear that there is no genocide in Gaza. There is no intent nor actions by Israel to conduct a genocide. Actually the opposite is true, Israel has done more to protect civilians and care for civilians in Gaza while Hamas does everything to get civilians killed and to prevent Israel’s humanitarian aid from reaching them.

Organizations like the United Nations who carry systemic anti-Israel and anti-Jewish biases have exhibited desperate attempts to prove genocide perpetrated by Israel in Gaza. Their pathetic claims range from sounding the alarm on impending health epidemics or mass famine. Realizing that the facts prove otherwise, Amnesty International this week actually attempted to redefine genocide in order to force-place their newly invented definition upon Israel and the IDF—the world’s most humane army.

Is Israel starving Gaza?

Though the UN sounded the alarm that 93% of Gazans are facing crisis levels of hunger due to Israel’s war on Hamas, this is nothing more than a malicious lie intended to condemn Israel in the court of public opinion. These reports have turned out to be entirely false, with no famine in Gaza.

Israel has provided Gaza with more food than any nation in history has provided their enemy during war. Over 625,000 tons of food have been provided to Gaza as of July 2024. All agree that the main problem is not Israel withholding the food, but rather Hamas hijacking it as soon as it enters Gaza.

Does Israel occupy Palestinian Land?

The word “Palestine” means “invaders” in Hebrew. It was first introduced to the area in 136CE when the Romans invaded the land of Israel and renamed it Syria Palestina (Palestine), from which all Jews are banned.

There has never been a country or state called Palestine. Never have the borders of a Palestinian land been defined. Anyone suggesting otherwise is simply distorting the truth. Discussions of illegal annexations are similarly pure propaganda.

From 1948 until 1967, Gaza was under the jurisdiction of Egypt and the West Bank was governed by Jordan, both Arab nations. If they care so much about the plight of the Palestinians, then why didn’t they give them their independence then? The answer is clear—because the Palestinians weren’t invented yet!

The Jewish People is the only nation on Earth that speaks the same language, worships the same faith and lives on the same land—in the same country, as they did 3000 years ago. Let this fact sink in.

Is Israel An Apartheid State?

Israel is indeed an apartheid state but not the way that they want you to think.

Whilst there is no law prohibiting the sale of Jewish land to Arabs, the Palestinian Authority has forbidden the sale of land by Arabs to Jews—as a crime punishable by death! Whilst Arabs may pray wherever they wish in Israel, the Palestinian Authority prohibits Jews from even visiting Jewish holy sites!

Whilst Arabs may live anywhere in the land of Israel, Israeli law prevents Jews from living in certain Arab areas. Anyone visiting Israel will see the integration of Arabs into Israeli society in every coffee shop and on every street sign.

If you do the math, only 13.24% of Israel is inhabited. Since Arabs make up 16% of the population, Arabs should take up 2.12% of Israel’s land. Yet they have 3% of the land (in addition to their ability to move freely throughout the country), which effectively means that Arabs have more land, per capita, than Jews do!

Does Israel Give Arabs Equal Rights?

Israeli law guarantees the equal rights of all of its citizens, regardless of their religion or race. Any argument stating otherwise is simply false. If you hear someone making this claim, ask them to prove it and watch the blank stare on their face.

In reality, there is actually anti-Jewish racism in Israel, as Arabs are allowed to live wherever they wish but Jews are forbidden from living in certain Arab areas in Israel.

Arabs are allowed to vote and hold public office in Israel with the same rights as Jews. The only exclusion from serving on the Supreme Court of Israel is if a person believes in the “negation of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.” This exclusion applies to Jews and Arabs alike in exactly the same way that the President of the USA must solemnly swear that they will “support and defend the Constitution of the US against all enemies.” In England, the head of State is the official defender of the Church of England!

The Right of Return

Many use this term as some sort of hallowed reference to the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland, when in fact it’s a total bubbemaaseh. The term “right of return” was coined in UN Resolution 194 as a mere recommendation that was never legally binding. in fact, it was rejected by the Arabs themselves since the recommendation called on them to recognize the State of Israel and to “live at peace with their neighbors,” which they refused to do!

The Arabs want Anything but Peace

The Arabs have repeatedly called for the destruction of the State of Israel, as evidenced by the events of October 7th. In a March 2024 poll, seventy-one percent of Gazans felt that the decision to launch the October 7th attack was correct. The Palestinian Authority continues to pay salaries to families of terrorists who attack Israel (known as the “pay for slay” fund), including terrorists who participated in the October 7th massacre.

What about the 6 million Palestinian Refugees?

This is one of the greatest ironies of the Middle East conflict. Whilst every other conflict on earth has requirements that define refugee status, the UN has decided that Palestinians are exempt from all those rules! According to the UN, anyone who descends from a Palestinian father is considered a refugee, regardless of where they live or whether they have ever set foot in Israel.

Hence, multi-millionaire Mohammed Hadid and his famous daughters, Gigi and Bella, consider themselves to be Palestinian refugees while living their entire lives in the USA!

The actual number of Palestinian refugees, according to former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, is less than 200,000!

On the flip side, there is never any mention of the millions of Jews who were banished from Arab lands such as Iraq, Egypt, and Syria during the War of Israel’s Independence!

Free Gaza

Pro-Hamas protestors claim that Israel has destroyed 80% of homes in Gaza, though there is no source to confirm this as fact. What is indeed a fact is that Gazans elected Hamas and then allowed them to create terror tunnels in a vast majority of homes and public centers in Gaza with a special emphasis on humanitarian places such as schools, hospitals, and mosques. When the tooth is rotten at its core, there is no choice but to do a root canal, before the infection spreads even more.

The leadership in Gaza has inflicted immense harm on its own people. Gaza’s population deserves liberation from corrupt and oppressive leaders, such as those in Hamas, who openly advocate for the destruction of Israel and perpetuate violence. These leaders exploit the suffering of their own citizens, using their deaths as a means to garner international sympathy and pressure Israel.

Anyone who values freedom, democracy, and human rights should support efforts to free Gaza from its oppressive leadership. Aligning with Hamas—a group widely condemned for its brutality—risks being remembered in history as complicit in perpetuating suffering and conflict.

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We hope that you find this helpful and that you use these points in conversations about Israel. Jews have always had to find the strength to stand up to popular opinion—today is no different. Our unshakable faith coupled with courage and confidence, makes for an unstoppable nation!

Rabbi Dovid Vigler
Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens
6100 PGA Blvd, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418
JewishGardens.com | 561.624.2223

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