Why People Villainize Israel

Why do so many people want to villainize Israel?

I’m talking about those who try to make Israel look as bad as possible, whatever the facts might be. Those who paint all Palestinian suffering as Israel’s fault, with the blame never shared by Palestinian leaders or other countries. Those who paint every Palestinian death as murder, never a legitimate target or an unfortunate accident of war. Those who say Israel targets civilians, ignoring what Israel does to move civilians out of harm’s way. And those who say Israel has the worst possible motive: genocide.

And, I’m talking about those who villainize Israel’s founding. Those who say Israel was a colonial project, ignoring the historical Jewish connection to the land. Those who say Israel stole the Palestinians’ land, ignoring that the land was bought, recognized internationally, and won in defensive wars. Those who say Israel forcibly expelled all the Palestinians, ignoring the many who were given Israeli citizenship or who fled for other reasons. These Israel critics aren’t the fair, fact-based ones. They’re the ones who just want to make Israel look as bad as possible.

What motivates them? Why do they want to villainize Israel?

To start, I think they want to call Israel hypocrites. Israel would be hypocrites because it was founded on the idea of human rights. It was created to give Jews a safe harbour after the Holocaust and centuries of persecution. And it was created to restore the Jewish people to their rightful, ancestral homeland. Human rights are core to Israel’s national identity, so if they violate human rights, they’re hypocrites. If Israel committed genocide, they don’t really believe in “Never Again.” If Israel stole the Palestinians’ land, they don’t really believe in rights to an ancestral homeland. The same goes for any crime Israel is accused of – it would show Israel doesn’t really believe in the human rights they claim to believe in.

And if even Israel doesn’t believe in human rights, why should the rest of us? That’s the point Israel critics are trying to make. It’s like any argument where you try to win by calling your opponent a hypocrite, saying, “You want me to do X, yet you even won’t do X. So how can you ask me to do X?” In this case, Israel is asking the world to believe in the human rights it was founded on. People respond, “But even you don’t believe in those rights, so why should we?” They’re using Israel’s alleged hypocrisy to convince people to not believe in human rights.

They want to stop people from believing in human rights because they themselves are oppressive or unfair people. The less people that believe in rights, the less people that will try to stop their oppressive or unfair practices. As an example, a dictator wants less people to believe in human rights so that less people will try to stop his human rights abuses. Or, someone who cheats others doesn’t want people to care about the rights of those he’s cheating.

That’s my theory: oppressive or unfair people try to stop others from believing in human rights, so that less people will get in their way. They do this by saying even Israel, a country founded on human rights, doesn’t really believe in them. And if even Israel doesn’t believe in rights, why should anyone else?

I think this theory is true because it would explain a few trends. First, it would explain why the term “genocide” is used so much against Israel: if Israel did what the Nazis did, they’d be the ultimate hypocrites. Second, it would explain why autocratic countries like Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela would condemn Israel for human rights violations despite being human rights abusers themselves. Third, it would explain why anti-Israel protests attract so many who don’t believe in human rights, as shown by their celebrations of the Oct. 7 massacre, chants to “globalize the intifada”, and praise of terror groups. Fourth, it would explain why Israel critics also tend to villainize America and its history, because America was also founded on the idea of human rights. Fifth, it would explain why Israel is villainized so much more than other countries, because other countries (besides America) weren’t founded on human rights. Lastly, this theory would explain why villainization of Israel is everywhere, because there are oppressive and unfair people everywhere.

I believe this theory explains what motivates people to villainize Israel. I hope that by addressing this motivation, we can get those who villainize Israel to treat Israel fairly.