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Basic facts you need to know to combat the disinformation and outright lies about the situation in Israel.
The disinformation, confusion, and outright lies about the situation in Israel is pervasive. I worked with students for 17 years on university campuses helping them educate and advocate for Israel, and the accusations and claims we are hearing today on campus, on social media, and beyond, is nothing new. The specific circumstances might be current, but the claims against Israel are not.
Here are 10 facts that every college student (and others) should know.
1. Hamas is a terrorist organization. Israel is fighting against Hamas, a terrorist organization with a similar Islamist worldview as Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Hezbollah. Their charter1 calls for the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews. They believe that the Land of Israel is Muslim land that only Muslims can control. They have no interest in negotiations, compromise or peace settlements.
2. Israel is not “occupying” Gaza. Israel fully left the Gaza Strip, which Hamas controls, in 2005. Israel removed 8,000 civilians and all military presence there. Immediately after Israel left Gaza, Hamas and other terrorist organizations began shooting rockets at Israel. If the reason for this conflict is Israel’s “occupation” of Gaza, why has Hamas continued to attack since Israel left?
3. Israel’s blockade is to prevent terrorism. Many people cite Israel’s blockade of Gaza since 2005 as causing the conflict. Israel has only blockaded Gaza to prevent materials that could be used for terrorism from entering. Israel has continued to provide electricity, water, fuel, and other necessities, even while being attacked repeatedly by Hamas rockets. Additionally, approximately 15,000 Palestinians from Gaza were permitted to enter and work in Israel in 2022. Israel has intensified their blockade since the Hamas terror attack on October 7th to prevent any materials from reaching Hamas. On October 21st, Israel agreed to allow humanitarian aid to enter through Egypt.
4. Israel is attacking terrorists, not civilians. The accusation that Israel is “indiscriminately” targeting Palestinian civilians is a lie. Israel has urged Palestinian civilians to leave the conflict zone. Sadly, Hamas has told Palestinians not to leave and the terrorists hide behind and literally under civilian locations. Israel is allowed under international law to attack military targets even if civilians will be hurt or killed, as long as there is a legitimate and necessary military objective. Destroying Hamas terrorists and strongholds is legitimate and necessary. It is horrific and disturbing that Hamas hides behind their civilians. Their death is the fault and intention of Hamas, not Israel.
5. There is a clear moral difference between Israel and Hamas. Israel is protecting Israeli civilians and doing all they can to avoid harm to Palestinian civilians. Hamas targets Israeli civilians and hides behind their own civilians, causing their death and harm.
6. Jews are the indigenous people in this land. Many claim the root of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is that Israel is a foreign, colonialist power that has come and taken the land from the indigenous Palestinian population. In fact, the Jews are the indigenous population. There has been a continued presence of Jews in the Land of Israel for over 3800 years. Even when the vast majority of Jews were exiled from their homeland by the Romans, there still remained a population of Jews in the Land of Israel. This doesn’t mean that Arabs or others can’t also live in the Land of Israel or don’t have a history there. But it does mean that Jews have just as much, if not more of a connection and right to the Land of Israel.
7. Israel has made many attempts at peace. Anyone who tries to justify Hamas terrorism by claiming they are "fighting Israeli oppression" is ignoring Israel's multiple attempts to give the Palestinians independence. In addition to the previously mentioned complete Israeli evacuation of Gaza, Israel has had many other attempts at reconciliation. In 1947, the United Nations created a partition plan to divide the Land of Israel into two countries – one Jewish and one Arab. The Jews accepted and the Arabs rejected the compromise.
If Israel put down their arms tomorrow, there would be no Israel; if the Palestinians put down their arms, there would be peace.
In the 1990's Israel engaged in the Oslo Accords to create Palestinian independence but continuous terrorist attacks by Hamas derailed the process. In 2000 at the Camp David talks, Israel agreed to give the Palestinians 97% of the land they desired, and the Palestinians rejected it. The bottom line – if Israel put down their arms tomorrow, there would be no Israel; if the Palestinians put down their arms, there would be peace.
8. This has nothing to do with race. Many claim Israel is a "racist" or "apartheid" country. Israel's population is 20% non-Jewish, the majority of which are Arab Muslims. These Arabs have Israeli citizenship and full access to and participation in Israel's democracy, as well as full freedom to practice their religion. Palestinians don't have the same rights as Israelis – not because they are Arabs or Muslims – as the fact that Israeli Arabs do have these rights. The reason they don't have the same rights is that they are not Israeli citizens. Just as a Canadian doesn't have the same rights as an American citizen when visiting the USA, so too the Palestinians don't have the same rights as Israelis. The conflict has nothing to do with race or religion – it's about Hamas' desire to destroy Israel.
9. All loss of innocent life is horrible, but there is no genocide happening in Gaza. Israel haters claim Israel is committing a "genocide". Since the Hamas terrorist attack killed over 1,400 Israelis, over 4,000 Palestinians have been killed (as of Oct 21). Again, the loss of any innocent life is terrible, but genocide is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group. Israel is trying to destroy Hamas – not Palestinians. That distinction must be made clear.
10. Now is not the time for a cease-fire. Some well-meaning voices are calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. While no one wants to see innocent people killed, a cease fire would leave Hamas in power and a threat to continue their deadly attacks against Israel. Israel must be given the ability to destroy Hamas to ensure it can no longer attack Israeli civilians. This ultimately will save the most innocent lives in the long run.
No. In 2005, Israel fully left the Gaza Strip, including all civilians and military, leaving it under full control of the Palestinians. Hamas was elected and has been governing the area since.
Yes. Jews have been living in the land of Israel for centuries. The Jewish people have a deep-rooted connection to the land of Israel, dating back thousands of years. The Jewish people have a long history in the region, including the establishment of ancient Jewish kingdoms, such as the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. The Jewish religion, culture, and identity have been closely tied to the land of Israel for millennia. The Jewish Torah references the land of Israel throughout, as Israel is central to the Jewish religion.
Read more about the 5 Biggest Lies about Israel’s War with Hamas.
Read about 5 More Myths About Israel’s War with Hamas.
Sorry, but some of things in this article are right, but some others are not, and the narrative presented here amounts to simple and plain brainwashing. If you want to understand the whole story, you will need to do many hours of research yourself. Never believe what any one person, or source, or publication tells you, because they all are pretty much biased. You need a multitude of sources to begin to understand, and try to somehow make sense of the problem.
Why don't you point out what you think is not right, and why, before calling it brainwashing?
Why don't people explain that there already is a two state solution - Israel and Jordan. Transjordan was originally supposed to be for the Jewish nation. It is up to Jordan to accept their own people - after all the concept of self-determination of the P people was started around 1964 by the KGB to appear as the victims. It was lie that has perpetuated over the decades and now we see the millions protesting around the world calling 'from river to the sea' against the people in this tiny slither of land.
When Hamas puts a command center under a hospital it is not only a war crime but that place is no longer a hospital. This is what terrorists do to make the enemy (Israel) look bad. They stash rockets and weapons in civilian areas. They do the same around mosques and other public places and even build terror tunnels beneath schools. One terror tunnel beneath an UNWRA school is a shining example. Why can't people get used to what terrorists do? Just look at Lebanon, they are bankrupt and a failed state. Hezbollah (another terrorist proxy of Iran) has bled that country dry, so much that they can't join Hamas because they will lose their base to attack Israel. How long is it going to take for these fools to see they are being used by Iran?
Israel has been rational and civil since Churchill hived off the East Bank to be Jordan in 1921 and only gotten brickbats for it. Israel accepted the Peel 1937 and UN181 - 1947 partition plans and lived with the two state solution of the 1949 Armistices: Israel and Jordan.
The Arabs thought they would get a better deal by war and lost; and have never had the moral fibre to cut losses and get on with the rest of their lives. There were at least four other partition proposals since 1967 which Israel accepted and the Arab side rejected.
Nobody gets everything. Much life is doing the best one can with what one has. The Palestine Arab "leadership" has refused to make anything of what it had and has. That is their problem. If Gazans can not leave it is because Arab states refuse them!
Yes, well-said. Hamas and the PLO groups reject peace and prefer war. The conflict will continue until Hamas et all value the lives of their children more than they value killing Israelis. Very sad but very true.
" There is a clear moral difference between Israel and Hamas"
Yes! One is a country and one is a terrorist organization. It's not fair to try to compare a country with a terrorist organization. Shame on you. This purposely dehumanizes the Palestinian people. The actions of both governments are causing hurt to the people of both countries. Yes, Hamas is in control. Do you see who is in charge of Saudi Arabia, or who previously led USA, even? Country leadership does not mean approval, acceptance, or agreement by the people themselves. Hamas does not equal Palestine. Apples to apples or not at all. Either way, the people are the ones suffering for the actions of the country.
Are you an apologist for Hamas?
Not only is Josie an apologist for Hamas, but he conveniently ignores the fact that the Palestinian people voted Hamas into power in the first place
Well, we know how to deal with him and them.
Know one thing, Josie, the days when anti-semites like you kicked the Jews are long gone.
And don't lie, don't say "I'm a Jew".
Josie - I don't understand why comparing Hamas and Israel dehumanizes the Palestinian people. There are people marching in the streets and on social media defending Hamas' actions. My point is to clarify that while the killing of innocent civilians in Gaza is horrific, it is not immoral the way Hamas targets innocent civilians.
Israel's war is against Hamas, not against the Palestinian people of Gaza or Palestinians generally. That is why the moral comparison is stated as Israel versus Hamas. Those Palestinians who continue to support Hamas, as are all others who support Hamas' terrorism, are also immoral in their own way, but this article is only speaking to the immorality of Hamas.
Only Militancy will save Israel and Judaism.
The post-war Israel that will emerge from this war will be stronger and tougher.
Wear your Judaism with pride!
And I most certainly do wear it with pride!!
I understand your points. However the fact remains that thousands of innocent people are being killed by Israel and probably thousands more will be. Thousands of children. They were told to leave. How and go where to live? They are very poor. And some have been killed in the south as well. Now they have little food or clean water. Hospitals are at the breaking point. Two million people. So we tell them that we are doing it to save lives in the long run? I am Jewish and I understand the centuries of suffering and persecution and the horrors of October 7. But many Jews are also calling for a cease fire.
You may be Jewish, but you are coming off more like an apologist for the "Palestinians" and Hamas.
All that a "cease fire" does is allow the enemy time to regroup and re-arm.
Agreed.
This is WAR.
Do you know how war works?
Would you make the same argument against bombing Hitler's Germany, because some German civilians may be killed?
I mean, all right, the Nazis are gassing Jews, but what if a stray rocket hits a German baby? Doesn't the free world have a responsibility towards the German babies?
Ridiculous.
You hit the nail right on its head. I could not agree with you more
hits a german baby..named adolf.... then injured baby is taken to Tel Hashomer, life saved, grows up a terrorist, gets captured in Israeli prison, gets treated for brain tumor by Israelis, released as part of 100-1 exchange, becomes head of hamas and kills 1500 Israelis,(with promise of "again and again and again"- retaliation is branded genocide, UK taxpayer funded BBC is Hamas de-facto spokesman, protected by pro-Israel Lord Wolfson on grounds of free speech.
There is only one word to describe you and that word is "traitor".
You would have made excuses for the Nazis too.
And now you're going to lie and say "I'm the descendent of Holocaust victims. My parents/grandparents/family died in the concentration camps".
Let's see your lies.
I understand your points, and they are a fair concern, but nonetheless misinformed - Israel doesn't just give general advice to evacuate, but it gives localized danger-areas a specific times and even escape routes and does as much as it can to facilitate it. Hamas, on the other hand, encourages their own citizens to ignore Israel's warnings, and when that fails they block the roads and even kill their own as a warning to others to not try to evacuate. (This is all well documented with video proof.) If I were an 'innocent' Palestinian citizen, I would be very upset with Hamas, not Israel.
Aside, what others are commenting is also true - if Hamas is regrettably firing from someone's backyard, it is not Israel's fault for shooting back at the launch-site.
Yep: Hamas are terrorists who prefer to kill, even their own people. They deserve no quarter.
I actually think that Israel is giving our enemies too much warning. Some warning is the humane thing to do, but there is a point at which they and not us are responsible for their fate
I do not see even one word from JBD showing even the least bit concern for all of the Jewish children being systematically slaughtered by Hamas and Hezbollah
My 4 Israeli grandchildren, who live in the center of Israel, have had to endure many rocket bombardments since October 7 and many times before that. They have had to go to their safe rooms at home or at school many times just in the last 2 weeks. My 10 year old grandson called me up for some comfort, but was too traumatized to talk about his experiences when I asked him questions. He told me to talk to his older sisters because he can't talk about it. Yes, they are not being killed, but that's only because they live in Central Israel, rather than the South. Israel is fighting for its life so more of its own children do not get brutalized and killed. What about the Israeli children??!
Should Hamas have considered these facts before attacking Israel? Perhaps Hamas should retract "killing Jews and destroying Israel" as their purpose?
I am quite certain that Hamas would go nutz if a group were organized for the sole purpose of killing Muslims.
Now that is a thought. Have protest groups on Ivy League college campuses ready to march etc while screaming "gas the Muslims."
This is a war, what did you expect?
Yeah. Little tired of American "Jews" not getting that Israel Jews are humans.
Hamas sent people into civilian areas and deliberately murdered 1400 civilians and kept going. Women. Children. Innocents
Let's put that into perspective. On Dec 7, 1941 the us lost 2100 soldiers and sailors out of a population of 143 million and joined a world war. On 9/11 the us lost 3500 people of a population of 330 million and started the two longest wars in is history
On oct 7 a tiny country lost 1500+ innocent civilians and is now pursuing the terrorist organization that claimed responsibility. Sorry if the people who not only permit that terrorist organization to rule them but give them aid and comfort get caught up in this mess.
But Israeli Jews are just as human as Americans.
As Hillary Clinton said, there was a cease fire on October 6.
The IDF must try to defend against Hamas by attacking Hamas. I would be very surprised if IDF has any intent to cause unnecessary casualties for the majority of the Palestinians, who you, I, and Israel all agree are innocent and just caught in the middle and who are not fighting for Hamas. Higher Palestinian casualties just work against Israel in eroding its international support. So if you have ideas on how Israel's IDF can fight for its justified military objective of ending Hamas's ability to attack Israel, but with fewer Gaza casualties, feel free to tell Israel and us.
Since 1948 this has been the unvarying pattern of Arab behaviour: attack Israel, get trounced, shout for a ceasefire.
It’s analogous to the schoolyard bully who starts up with some kid and unexpectedly gets punched in the face, so runs blubbering to the teacher.
Fact 11 - We have our own nuclear weapons.
Absolutely no reason why this World needs to continue to exist if our very existence is threatened.
Israel has the right to defend itself ,understand the situation ,in my country Ireland 🇮🇪 has its troubles.
Thanks!
I'd like to ask the author to please define terrorist/terrorism. Thank you.
I would define it as "targeted violence against civilians for political or religious reasons". how would you define it? thank you
Violence toward defined groups of people in order to drive them away from certain lands, depriving them of personal autonomy, possessions, stealing their real property, destroying cultures and religions and then murdering the people in order to enjoy the stolen property. See for example the Office of Inquisitions of the Roman Catholic Church, first demanding conversions then exiling converted people from the Iberian Peninsula and finally murdering those who would not leave quickly enough to suit the wretched conquerors. The history of the world is replete with examples of religions demanding others to give up their religion and to convert to the powerful new religion. Then when conversion is not enough, murder begins.
Thank you for writing this informative essay.
This is a great article! Everyone needs to read it and get educated.
Great article! How can you get this out to the mainstream media ?
We get this information out by posting on social media night and day and in every newspaper and magazine comment section. Even a 60 year old lady can be a warrior.
What Palestine State? Who are the so-called Palestinians? Some history?
-Before Israel, there was a British mandate, not a Palestinian state.
-Before the British Mandate, the Ottoman Empire existed, not the Palestinian State.
-Before the Ottoman Empire, there was the Islamic State of Mamlyuk of Egypt, not the Palestinian State.
-Before the Islamic State of Mamlyuk of Egypt, the Empire of Ayubid existed, not the Palestinian State. Goffrey IV of Bulonsky, known as Godfrey de Bouillon, conquered Jerusalem in 1099
-Before the Empire of Ayubid, there existed the French and Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem, not the Palestinian State.
-Before the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the empires of Omeyad and Fatimid existed…. I guess I ran out of room.
All what you say here may be true, but then again, why confuse the antisemites of this world with the facts?
Very nice timeline
Thank you for this article. The American main stream media and public schools do not provide this information. American Jews should listen to the conservative networks and talk radio, if they want to find out the truth about Israel. They need to stop voting for Democrats who won’t speak out against Hamas and those who support it.
Biden is appeasing Iran, the source of the terrorist’s money and intelligence.
They should be shown what Mosab Hassan Yousef says.
He is the son of one of the founders of Hamas who after being released from Meggido prison for crimes against Israel converted toChristianity and defected to the U.S.
He used to be a spy for Israel.
He knows and tells the real truth as he was born and raised in Hamas.
Also Yoseph(Yousef) Haddad ,an Israeli Arab that served as a commander in the Israeli army, spreads reveals the lies and untruths spread by the media worldwide.
That guy is amazing
Israel es pueblo elegido, su tierra fue prometida hace miles de años y nadie puede quitársela, el Gran Creador del universo hizo un pacto eterno y ahora está trayendo a su pueblo de los 4 puntos cardinales y nadie podrá sacarlos de su tierra y su gloriosa Jerusalén en su monte santo.
Isaias 66:22
Bien Dicho!
You might want to add a cautionary note re Palestinian "reports" of casualties and etc....The recent hospital bomb hoax (a bombed parking lot = hospital and 500 patients destroyed, let alone that it was a Palestinian failed rocket strike) is evidence that Palestinian "News" is "fake news"
Yes, they had an article on it: https://aish.com/israel-did-not-bomb-a-hospital-in-gaza/?src=ac
Are all Palestinians Muslims? Are Palestinians a defined racial group?
Not really. The “Palestinian People” (PP) are a mixture of Arabs from all over the Middle East, most notably Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, who flooded what was then called Palestine following the Second Jewish Alyiah because of job opportunities created by Jewish development of the region. Most are Muslims but (originally) some were Christian - I think the Christian Arabs are now mostly Israeli citizens.
The PP as a “nation” is the invention of the Arab League in conjunction with the PLO via the Palestinian Covenant of 1964 - which calls for the destruction of Israel as a prerequisite for “Palestinian self-determination”.
A useful. concise and accurate summary.
Agreed, EXCEPT for the fact that the most salient point for Israel's right to the land is missing from this article: the land is ours because Hashem promised it to our forefathers as an eternal inheritance for Am Yisrael, not merely because of any fickle man-made declarations pre- or post-Holocaust.
Monotheistic religions, including Muslims, have always accepted this as fact, and now it's time to admit that those referred to as Palestinians are actually Arabs from neighboring countries who resided in our land before the mass immigration of Jewish refugees from antisemitic Europe made the desert bloom again, with Hashem's help!
All of Israel's efforts towards peace are well-documented, as are Arab terrorists' despicable reactions; only those consumed by hatred will deny this!
While this may be true, it’s also the weakest argument to make in a liberal society which is basically godless. Arguing biblical facts to people who believe church and state should remain separate (if they even believe in church at all, at this point) and who are secular isn’t the way to get them onto “our” side. In fact, it’s the most straightforward and sure fire way to turn people off from the entire cause.
It may unfortunately indeed be the weakest argument in an essentially atheistic society but its nonetheless true, and it should be said, PC or not!
BTW, I wouldn't waste my time arguing with godless people but it's ironic that it's precisely these who are fulfilling the biblical prophecy about antisemites.
The real political reason to establish Israel as a state (country) was to take in the survivors of Hitler's pogram in Europe.
You cannot win an argument with Hashem or Allah! You don’t knos what Hashem promised. Everything else you said, is true.
Read Bereishis , parshas Lech Lecha, verse 18 (Genesis 45:18)!!
And one more thing: Don't confuse our Hashem, who gave us the Torah in full view of the entire nation, with their man-made Koran -- l'havdil ben havdalot -- the supposed teachings and prophecy of an illiterate man, whose words were (presumably) transcribed by someone else!
Yes we do. It is recorded in the Torah and Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Even Muslims accept the Old Testament and refuse to eat pork.
These recent events have exposed the sheer anti-semitism in left wing politics, BLM, Wokery, etc.
I hope from now on Jews, outside of Israel, avoid left wing politics in America and Europe and indeed campaign against it.
There were many many Palestinians that eagerly cooperated with the Hamas.
Those "innocent" civilians are potential murderers.
Their religion promises all their murderers a heaven with 72 virgins, abundance of meat and wine...
They are in for a hot surprise...
The Arabic word for virgins is almost identical with the word for raisins. Jihadists will get 72 virgins who are all 72 years old and each one has 72 cats, for a total of 5184 cat litter boxes which the jihadist must clean daily for all of eternity, as well as mow all their lawns and reach things on high shelves.
Nope. Absolutely a dumb idea
"dumb" is putting it lightly..
The civilians of Gaza had elections..the majority voted for these Hamas terrorists.
So I need to mention something about BLM. I read that in fact it was only a LOCAL chapter of BLM that sided with HAMAS, and not a national viewpoint. I'm not excusing them at all. Hopefully my source was accurate. And no, I do NOT think there should be a cease fire!
I believe in a ceasefire, but only once Hamas and Hezbollah are completely obliterated off our planet, with the Shah being put back in power over Iran
interesting concept
Check out the video of the Palistinian people trying to evacuate from the hospital where they were seeking refuge to go down south and HAMAS shot at them to prevent them. NO WORDS.
I am a registered Democrat. However, this does NOT mean I fall into lockstep with every single member of the Democratic party. We need to listen to what ALL of our politicians on both sides of the aisle have to say about Israel. Btw--Not that this is news, but all of the anti Semitism has been around for decades. It has merely been more genteel. People have made very casual anti Semitic comments to me without committing one single act of violence. Yes, I digress.