Palestinian Arabs as the underdog in the media or, identifying the real villains

In 1948, all Arab neighbors of the young Jewish State invaded the new country to finish Hitler’s work. They did not succeed. But, many years, Israel found the world’s sympathy by stressing its underdog position.

Israel has a superior military might and mighty friends (the US) but is still a tiny country in a Muslim ocean where until recently, no one wanted to take a stand against classical Muslim Antisemitism.

Yet, very quickly, the Arab-Palestinian leadership (all terrorists, until now) copied and perfected the underdog propaganda. They were the ones to be pitied. They were the powerless and the hopeless. It worked.

Now, what can people who love the truth say against this powerful lie?

It doesn’t work to say that the underdog is still the Jewish State. Look at how the vast majority of the UN, time and again, singles out Israel for unreasonable, disproportionate, and untruthful criticism. What then?

Workable Truthful Alternatives

I would suggest to stop competing for who is world champion pathetics.

Rather, let us base our hasbara on who is the villain really. As follows.

1. Yes, Palestinian Arabs suffer a lot of violence. Mainly by other Arabs. They lack all civil rights in the Arab Diaspora and are locked up in camps.

Instead of harping about the plight of Arab Palestinians on Israel’s West Bank, demand full rights and citizenship for them in all Arab countries.

2. Yes, Palestinian Arabs on the West Bank are under occupation, but the occupiers are Muslim extremists. They lack democracy, human rights, a free press, only have mock elections if ever, and lots of poverty for those who are not close to the terrorists who pretend to be their leaders.

Instead of harping about Israel’s occupation, demand that there will be democracy and an end to terrorist hatred-based rule over them.

3. Yes, Palestinian Arabs often cannot help hating Jews but that’s (as with all Antisemitism) not the result of what Jews do or don’t do, but of a centuries-old hatred spoon-fed to them from the cradle.

Instead of harping about how bad Jews must be for Arab Palestinians that they hate them so much, demand that they stop poisoning the minds of their babies, children, and young adults. And stop glorifying murder, martyrdom, and victimhood. And instead, begin to take responsibility for building successful lives, and communities.

4. Yes, we see and read in the news how bad Israel behaves but the anti-Zionist (and often openly antisemitic) media bias is as widespread as the anti-Israel bias in the United Nations.

Instead of harping about those evil Israelis, demand that the media (including the large international press agencies) purge their tops from anti-Zionists/anti-Semites. When you read or see how Israelis are worse than anyone else, you can safely assume it’s untrue. Especially when Jews are portrayed as killers, mass-murderers, baby-killers, power-hungry — the old stereotypes that make the Holocaust seem not so bad.

5. Yes, there’s a lot wrong in Israel, but that’s everywhere. Israel has the world’s best laws against sexual violence, but it still exists. As in every place on the globe. Tel Aviv has the world’s highest percentage of vegans (and homosexuals). Still, meat is over-consumed in Israel (and Gay bashing still happens, blatantly and subtly). As in every place else. Yes, Israel has completely outlawed any form of racism. But, it still exists. As almost everywhere else. Yes, the Israeli worker suffers from capitalist autocratic semi-democracy (the rich almost always win), but that’s everywhere, in and outside the free world. But one thing is for sure. Whatever the wrong, a record number of Israelis will demonstrate against it and put pressure on the authorities to intervene. Just like we do not need to protest Antisemitism and Neo-Nazi activity in Germany. No matter the number of bigots there, the allies will outnumber them in count and volume and will block the racists actively and with gusto.

Instead of harping about everything really wrong in Israel, demand that non-Israelis tackle the same (but often worse) injustices in their own countries (splinter/beam). Singling out Israel is a form of Jew-hatred.

(Note how White USrs may label Israel as imperialist, colonialist, and racist, while their US lands were stolen from the Natives whom they mass murdered, built by Black slave labor, is the most capitalist, imperialist, and selfish State on earth, with rampant racism. While Jews just returned to their Native Lands, but were feasted on Antisemitism.)

6. Yes, Jews and Black, and Jews and Palestinians are played against each other as if they would have long-term opposite interests. This is a form of divide and conquer. And is mainly played to isolate and hurt the Jews.

Instead of portraying Jews as oppressors, demand that Jews are seen as one of the world’s oppressed groups and demand that opponents let go of their Jew-hatred because hatred of Jews can’t match with liberation of any oppressed group. You hurt the Jews, you hurt everyone’s liberty.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1