Logo of the Palestinian struggle popular with social media activists

Israel Is Losing The Most Important War, And What Is To Be Done?

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Emanuel Engelmayer
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Israel along with pro-Zionist activists are facing a bigger threat than any weapon ever pointed toward them. This enemy is so powerful because, unlike an ordinary bullet, it has the power to make or break the entire Jewish state with nothing else but words. I am speaking of course about the media, and not of the BBC headlines or Fox News ones that simply slant the narrative in either direction, but about actual Israel-Palestine news outlets and 'Jewish-led' organizations funded in part, by people such as George Soros. 

The Palestinian cause might not be winning in the physical sense, there is no state despite numerous opportunities to start one, and no infrastructure as much of the money earmarked for schools, roads, and hospitals is used to pad the pockets of corrupt leadership and pay the families of terrorists. They are however winning in the public opinion sense; when it comes to complete “bullshit," they are astonishingly thriving.

This blunt assessment is not meant to compliment the dozens of pro-Palestine companies spreading falsehoods all over the internet, but to put Israeli media, PR firms and philanthropic organizations that support Israel to shame. Somehow during the 75 years since the founding of the State of Israel, the same people who used the media so effectively to lobby the world for the idea of a Jewish home have completely forgotten how to tell a good story. The worst part about this loss of intellectual creativity is that the “enemy” is not only simply lying about events that happen, but they are incredibly bad at it. In other words, Israel has the facts and truth on its side and yet somehow is constantly being 'out-pressed' by Palestinian reporting that is usually nothing more than staged photographs or videos accompanied by a slogan such as ‘Nablus Under Siege.'

In order to extensively exemplify this not-so-controversial opinion, I took the liberty of reading “+972”, a pro-Palestine magazine that currently has one of the largest subscription lists in the United States for an Israel-centric publication. The reason for their readership being so high is mainly because almost every anti-Zionist organization such as Jewish Voice For Peace and If-Not-Now distributes its content and in some cases, shares their own members' personal information with the publication. “+972” would prefer to be defined using their motto, “Independent Journalism from Israel-Palestine”. 

That hip and easy-going slogan have given them the power to right pieces like “Drones terrorized Gaza for years. Now they’ll do the same in the West Bank”, and “The Queen is dead, but her colonial legacy lives on in Israel-Palestine”. The Queen, may she rest in peace, had little to nothing to do with Israel’s establishment or colonialism and Israeli drones are far too busy to fly around Gaza for fun and terrorize its non-armed residents. 

The following title is quite entertaining for someone who has been to the West Bank, “The northern West Bank is taking up arms. Will the south join?”. It paints a picture of vast lands in “occupied Palestine” that together constitute a united resistance to Israeli forces. The title also mentions “taking up arms” as if guns are legal according to the Palestinian Authority and that self-defined “Jew killing” groups like the “Lion’s Den” are just ‘cool dudes’ walking around and protecting the streets. In reality, Arabs living in Judea and Samaria, the area that the magazine calls the West Bank are typically not united. That in itself is the problem with the Palestinian population, to begin with, they are tribal people, loyal to their families, their communities, and their villages. They often do not care about other villages, let alone their version of a central government. 

Any well-read, even not-so-well-read person could make the right assumption that the titles are complete click-bait and based on nothing but the imagination of the magazine’s writers. Somehow Israel’s billions invested into public relations and social media campaigns are being defeated by a fairy tale that a 10-year-old could easily disprove using their iPhone. 

On a quick side note regarding “+972” specifically, many of the writers are self-hating Jews and Israelis themselves who somehow feel the Jewish State harmed them, which is a whole other troubling subject for another time. 

Sites like this one (The Judean) and other Zionist media entities do a good job at countering fake news outlets like “+972” but lack the resources and backing of anti-Israel outlets which get massive funding from organizations such as the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) which is the lobbying arm for the repressive regime as well as George Soros' Open Society Foundation which also funds many Palestinian organizations with ties to terror organizations such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. In fact, in 2020, OSF has given $34 million to groups firmly in the anti-Israel camp.

Outlets like ours and specifically Honest Reporting are great for maintaining and growing the already strong-headed, intellectual Zionists who demand real stories based on daily developments, but could never attract the young Instagram and TikTok generation as it lacks the budget to fund digital content development, and in this day and age of limited attention spans, unfortunately, that is what really counts. 

The Palestinian recipe for PR victory is far more shameful for the Zionists. They rely heavily on short videos and photoshopped images on social media platforms, usually borrowing pictures from other conflicts and appropriating them for their own needs to deliver their narrative to the masses. In today's world, sadly, many people will see a short video of a crying baby with a shirt reading “Free Gaza” and take that for hard proof and evidence that there is a beautiful land called Gaza that needs to be liberated. 

What can pro-Israeli organizations do to counter the enemy’s use of social media to distribute their lies? Well, do the same but with the truth. Dumb down the long and complex truth-telling that has become common practice and start using TikTok and Instagram in the same exact way the Palestinians do. In Hebrew, the common term for public relations for Zionism is “Hasbara”, which directly translates into 'explaining' or 'an explanation.' This term is outdated because it suggests that Israel must explain itself and persuade others about its right to exist. The 21st century has given the Zionists an amazing tool that doesn't require explaining, social media. 

Palestinian activists have recognized the potential in no longer having to explain their false narrative and simply present it to the masses, perhaps it is Israel’s time to no longer explain their truthful narrative and just present it in the same fashion. If staged videos of stories from the Gaza residents are enough to persuade millions, no doubt real ones from the Judean people can do the same. Maybe, just this time, the answer is that simple.

It will take a concerted effort on the part of Jewish organizations to help support these efforts. In the battle for funding that almost every organization is waging, there is seemingly more money in the anti-Israel world than in the pro-Israel one.

In the near future, The Judean will bring exposé's on organizations like "+972" and the organizations that run highly popular social media accounts that appear to be individuals that support Palestine but in reality are literally works of fiction meant to feed a narrative that the cause is more popular globally than it actually is. Some of these schemes are elaborate and have millions of followers believing every word. This is the enemy Israel needs to be battling as this enemy fuels many charges levied in the United Nations and the governments of the world.

If Israel wants to compete against disinformation, it needs to become more organized and take the fight to the place where this war is being fought, college campuses and social media feeds. This is not about personalities, it is not about countering a false narrative, it is about education and exposing the actors behind the campaign to delegitimize Israel, and that takes time, money, talent and outreach. 

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The Judean is a weekly digital blog highlighting Israel's vibrant Democracy, rich culture, and complex history. Through compelling op-eds, and featured articles, The Judean brings the real Israel into focus. 'From The River To The Sea' Israel is truly free.
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