The Anthropologist Deconstructing Antizionism
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Zach Sage Fox risked his life taking a film crew into Ramallah to ask Palestinians about Israel.
Zach Sage Fox stood on a main street in Ramallah in Palestinian territory, with his Muslim cameraperson and translator. The 30-year-old comedian, social media influencer, and former actor on the Disney channel asked random people there what they thought about Israel and the Jews.
“Britain brought all the criminal Jews since 1948,” a lady wearing a backpack says. “Jews have not been killed or exposed to any struggle or any violence.”
“They can go back. Poland, Iraq…” another woman says.
“Nothing is named Israel,” says one man in a yellow shirt.
Zach presses all of them, telling them the facts, like that Jews were kicked out of Poland and Iraq, and that Israel existed before 1948 – and is even mentioned in the Quran multiple times. Other Palestinians in the video deny that rape occurred on Oct. 7, even though Zach shows them the evidence, and they say the “resistance” is justified, because according to them, Gaza is “under occupation” – despite the fact that Israel left in 2005.
The influencer published this eye-opening video to his Instagram page, calling it “Wild West Bank.” It’s received 159,000 likes and over 11,000 comments and earned Zach mainstream media recognition. But the lengths he went through to get that content, to show the truth about the West Bank, could have cost him his life.
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“After less than an hour of being there, a bunch of thugs made us delete a lot of our footage,” Zach said. “We lost one main interview, which really upset me. We were there for 30 minutes before things started getting tense. I knew I was risking my life.”
One man came up to a woman Zach was speaking to and told her she “wasn’t being modest,” and he guilted her into wanting to erase the footage, Zach said.
“I realized in that moment that I was in danger. I was going to say, ‘I’m on public property, on the street, and I have the right to interview anyone I want.’ Then I thought, ‘Wait a minute. I’m in the West Bank. There are no rules like that here.’”
In the short time Zach and his crew were there, they got what they needed to show the truth: that the population is radicalized to hate Jews. Some said they want a one-state solution and to wipe Israel off the map, while others believed the Nazi lies that were perpetrated decades ago.
“The level of brainwashing was clear right off the bat,” Zach said. “The guy I interviewed in the coffee shop has a master’s degree. My producer arranged it. I thought he’d have a nuanced perspective. Hearing how he supported Hamas right off the bat was shocking.”
In the video, the professor says, “Israeli prisoners, when they were released from Gaza, they were smiling.”
“You think that these people are genuinely smiling after being held hostage?” Zach pushes back. “They’re scared for their life.”
Zach’s conclusion, after talking with all these people?
“Everyone supports Hamas there,” he said.
It was in stark contrast to a follow-up video Zach posted later, where he interviewed Israelis.
“Do you think that a two-state solution could work?” Zach asks one woman.
“If they wanted peace, a two-state solution could work,” she says.
“Are you able to find love in your heart for the Palestinians, in spite of everything that’s happening?” Zach asks a young woman.
“Of course,” she says.
One man says, “As long as they’re cool with me, I’m cool with them.”
Zach said, “It’s crazy hearing how much these Palestinians hate my people, when I don’t hate any of them. They’re born into this system where they are indoctrinated to hate Jews.”
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He was already familiar with what indoctrination looked like, having filmed people at pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses leading up to these newest videos.
“I am so appalled by the anti-Israel and anti-America rhetoric and sentiment on the ground,” he said. “When these college students are burning American flags, I’m thinking, they are the freest generation in the freest place on earth. They don’t realize they are so privileged. Their privilege has turned into poison.”
Zach, who was born and raised in the Philadelphia area, went to Jewish day school and got his start in showbusiness as a kid. His mom was doing funny skits on the radio, and Zach would go with her to the recording studio when he was a toddler. After putting up videos on YouTube in 2008, he landed a development deal with Disney and then opened his own production company, Fat Camp Films, with his partner, Omri Dorani. The two have worked with Hulu, Coca-Cola, Pioneer and other huge brands, making content for them.
Zach already had a large following before Oct. 7, so when that day hit, he was determined to speak out. He also knew he had to because of the lack of support for Israel and the Jewish people coming out of Hollywood.
“We have this laundry list of amazing Jews in Hollywood who could use their voices against the rapid rise in antisemitism,” he said. “But Oct. 8 came, and it was near silence. Then Oct. 9, and still silence. The more silence I saw in Hollywood, the louder I felt I needed to be.”
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After putting out videos where he showed the protestors and went undercover at their rallies, he gained a larger following – and was motivated to speak out even more.
“Overtime, I became more loud, and more proud,” he said. “I feel like I’m speaking up for Jews all around the world.”
Though Zach witnessed antisemitism firsthand in Ramallah and he sees the hate happening on college campuses and beyond, he still has hope. He’s going to hold onto it, while producing more uplifting content that will hopefully encourage others to speak up, too.
“I got a message from a Christian in Sweden who was inspired by my videos to make a difference,” he said. “As scary as social media is, I want to use it as a platform for good. I’m going to be bold so I can continue to make a big impact.”
WOW, you risked your life to see how pro-Palestine people think about Israel. First i want to say thats impressive and the second thing is I want to know dont you guys not know that a igh percentage of people hate us so much why would you ahve to prove it. We live with it all night all day. The way they treat us, teh way they talk about us, the way they hate us. Dont we already know, cant we already see it in our daily lives?
Zach, you were brilliant to do this and it needs to be shown to leftists in Israel.
We are in trouble here in Israel since we have been sold that if we gave them land, $ , etc , they will let go of their dream to rid the Jews of Israel. Denial
הכיבוש הוא סתם תירוץ לשנאה. לא באמת אכפת להם מההתנחלויות. שמעתי את זה ממוסלמי לשעבר, ערבי ישראלי שהתגייר (ירון אברהם) שבתור ילד (גילאים 9-13) נשלח על ידי הוריו למסגד קיצוני מאד בעזה והוא אומר שהאימאמים והמורים שם בחיים לא הזכירו התנחלויות, מה שכן מפריע להם זו כל ישראל, כולל תל אביב, חיפה וכמובן ירושלים - כולה, לא רק המזרחית. הם לא מאמינים שליהודים יש זכות למדינה משלהם, זה סותר את האמונה שלהם. בעיניהם, התחלפנו בתפקידים - הם צריכים להיות הכובשים, הם צריכים להיות השולטים ואנחנו אזרחים סוג ב' ומטה. אני מדגישה, בעיניהם היהודים צריכים להיות אזרחים סוג ב'! אמנם לא יצאנו מרמאללה כמו שיצאנו מעזה, ואין להם חופש תנועה שם כמו שלנו היהודים יש, אבל זה די מתבקש כשאתה יודע שאם היה להם חופש תנועה הם היו רוצחים אותנו יותר בקלות. האם באמת חופש התנועה של מוסלמי יותר חשוב מהזכות חיים של יהודי?
What you say is true. What has to be understood is what part of it can never be changed and if it can't be changed, how do we live with what we cannot change. Likewise, the Muslims need to learn what it is that they cannot change and to adjust their teaching accordingly.
We all need to recognize those things that we CAN change and be open to making those changes.
We need to learn to live in reality, not according to some conception of how the world "should" be, especially when those conceptions are derived from religious preconceptions.
הי, אני שמחה שהבנת שהתגובה שלי הייתה מיועדת אליך. לחצתי על הכפתור הלא נכון של התגובה. למען האמת, לא ממש הבנתי מה אתה רוצה להגיד. מה אתה בדיוק מציע שנשנה? אנחנו לא אלה שחונכנו לשנוא מהעריסה. אני יכולה להגיד לך בתור אחת שגדלה במערכת החינוך החילונית וגם בתור אמא לילדים שלומדים בבתי ספר חרדיים ותלמודי תורה. מי בכלל דיבר איתי או מדבר עם הילדים שלי על לשנוא? בהסכמי אוסלו למדנו לכתוב "שלום" בערבית ומילאנו את קירות בית הספר בכרזות מלאות תקווה. האמנתי בשלום ואפילו הצבעתי ל"מרצ" בתמימותי בגיל 18. אבל ה"שלום" המדומה התפוצץ לנו בפנים, באופן מילולי. ערפאת אמר בגלוי שהוא עושה איתנו הסכם חודייבייה ואנחנו סירבנו להאמין לו. היינו תמימים מדי, לא הבנו שיש שם עם שלם שמחוייב בכל מהותו להשמיד אותנו. ניסינו לחיות לצידם ולהכיל אותם וקיבלנו את ה-7 באוקטובר. אסור לנו לחזור על הטעות הזו.
Again, what you say is true. My point is about what we CANNOT change.
We cannot change Islam and what it says about non-Muslims generally and Jews specifically. You mention the Treaty of Hudaybiyah and I presume you know what happened in Khaybar shortly after that. This provides the exemplar for future Muslims. There are centuries of Jewish communities which lived under Islamic Law. Muslims are taught this history. This is their framework. This we cannot change.
This was also true in the 1940s when the UN decided to partition Palestine. Did the UN understand this truth? Would the UN make the same decision knowing that the Israelis would be continually attacked and Muslims would have basic freedoms taken away to ensure Israeli security? What were they thinking? ...
Ok, I made a special effort to write in English this time, with the help of google translate.
Only an atheist could say that religious Jews (or religious Muslims/Christians) are in no position to say that their religion is God given. Because to you, all religions are nonsense so why even argue, right?
There's a very big difference between the story of Muhammed and the "story" of the Jews, consistency has nothing to do with it. Any person, including yourself, could just come and say that God or an angel has revealed himself to him, but why would we believe him or you? Every self respecting psychiatric hospital has at least one or two people saying just that.
On the other hand, Judaism is claiming that all Jews together, millions of us, men, women and children have seen God on mount Sinai. When you think about it logically, this is something that cannot be inserted just like that to a people's public memory. This is something supernatural, but not illogical. Judaism is actually very consistent, so we have so many holidays and mitzvot to remember all the things that happened to us when we were formed as a people: how WE suffered, what WE ate, where and when WE accepted the Torah, even where WE slept. Notice that we don't have a holiday of "Moses did this" or "Abraham did that".Our holidays are about each and every one of us.
Inconsistency would be to say that neither of that has ever happened, after thousands of years of guarding these memories.
BTW, I have no problem with Muslims or Christians saying that they are the chosen people. They can think what they want, as long as they don't kill Jews.
And may I just add, that it's kind of strange that an atheist is coming to a religious website and trying to persuade people not to believe in God or in Judaism. Are you on some kind of atheistic mission?
What is strange is that you say that I am Jewish, because of who my mother (of blessed memory) was, but you will not accept that my connection to Judaism is very different from yours. In the wake of what is happening, we have been called to support Israel but that might be hard for us to do when confronted with the attitude of ultra-Orthodox Jews.
The real problem, though, is Islam and how to confront it. You have demonstrated the futility of suggesting to people that they think about the implications of some of their religious preconceptions.
Do you really think that one-sided articles like this help the situation? Behind the lies and hate, are there underlying truths that need to be acknowledged? Have you considered how you would feel if you lived in Ramallah?
You say: "according to them, Gaza is under occupation – despite the fact that Israel left in 2005", but you are in Ramallah which is under occupation. Does it matter to those residents that Israel left Gaza in 2005? If you lived under decades of occupation, wouldn't it be easy to hate the occupiers? Would a "two-state solution" seem possible? Seeing the Israeli settlements, what would it even look like?
Yes, there is an indoctrination of hate, but doesn't "the truth" start by understanding all sides?
Are you suggesting that all Jews move out of Yehuda and Shomron, so the Arabs there can have their apartheid? Also, you might have noticed that they were offered a state multiple times, stormed away, and reacted with severe violence. Why? Because they want ALL of the Land of Israel for themselves.
En toda la población musulmana el 95% repudia y no acepta al pueblo de Di-s. Gasa en su totalidad es una comunidad de soldados ya que gozaba de una opulencia económica y su población apenas trabajaba y los que entraban a trabajar a Israel eran y serán siempre informantes. En mi poco entendimiento Israel sera atacado dentro de estos 4 días, de hoy 09/08/2024 al 13/08/2024, perdón es un sentimiento. Am Israel Hai.
One of the things to remember - & consider is - like so many dictatorships - EG: China - some Muslim countries - North Korea - Russia & others. Many people are afraid that - their lives will be in extreme danger - from the governmental spies - who monitor what's being said - if they speak to outsiders - other than - the approved government rhetoric. They must also - out of fear for their lives - join the call to action - against their governments enemies. Hopefully - & soon - G-D - will provide them enlightenment - and a release from their imprisonment - & bring PEACE to ALL MANKIND!
The people in the Ramallah video were not speaking out of fear of their government. They were voicing their convictions. Learn to recognize hate when you hear it.
Sara - Are there people who express their hatred of JEWS - OR (X) - from a deep seated belief - OF COURSE. OPEN YOUR MIND - TO WHAT ELSE IS POSSIBLE! There is a huge list of studies & media interviews - from people who've "ESCAPED" FROM VARIOUS DICTATORSHIPS - & are now FREE - who've REPORTED & EXPOSED - this kind of FEAR! So - like I've learned - until it's proven otherwise - don't be too quick to judge others - with a pre-conceived bias. Though - until proven otherwise - It's also OK - to also be skeptical & not trust people.
This guy is doing the right thing to film the truth, but I remember Rabbi Meir Kahane(obm) wrote a book 'They Must Go" and other books, how to handle the situation in Israel, and in the exile, but nobody paid attention to his(obm) visionary of the future, and now what Kahane(obm) predicted a while back, came true now, now Jews in Israel and around the world are in trouble because did not listen to Kahane's(obm), before the Holocaust Zev Jabitinsky warned the Jews to get out of Europe before the inferno known as the Holocaust, now around 80 years later there is hate against Jews around the world, and in Israel too, because thet didn't listen to "They Must Go", the enemies want do us harm in our home called the land Israel, we live in a topsy turvy world, we need mosiach now
We Jews need more people like him! How brave he was to go into Ramallah. Josh Shapiro at a Democratic rally said he was proud of his faith. We all have to proudly stand up. How sad that people in the West Bank are so full of hatred. When you are indoctrinated young, I don’t know how we can fight that.
I absolutely loved his videos, what a brave young man I’m very proud of you. It’s sickening worldwide. This is getting worse and worse and worse even in Canada I am beyond disgusted . As Jewish people we have to fight back we have to stand up. I am a proud, tough Jew. I always will be. I participate when I can in many different ways especially on social media and recently I was on a Car rally with hundreds of other Jews and we drove around Toronto. It was wonderful. Thank you for doing what you do. Keep up the great work.
I'm not sure brave is the word, if he would have been lynched which certainly could have happened I think we would have been whistling a different tune - definitely glad he got out and I hope that this sheds some light onto the world but I don't think we need to applause such dangerous and reckless behavior.
Optimism is a beautiful trait in Jewish culture, but it can sometimes slip into naivete. History shows us that as Hitler rose to power, many intelligent Jews mistakenly thought he was just exaggerating for political gain and wouldn't actually follow through on his horrific threats. Unfortunately, history proved otherwise. Similarly, some might read this article and assume that these West Bank Palestinians are just venting, and deep down, they feel about Jews the way we feel about them—with a grudging tolerance. But if there's one thing the long, painful history of antisemitism teaches us, it's to take people at their word when they say they hate you and would act on it if given the chance.
The problem was nobody read the book "mein Kampf" a book by Hitler(may his name be erased) and now, this hate filled menifesto is translated in Arabic, so arab enemies have the Nazi(may their name be erased) play book and now 80 years since the Holocaust the hate against Jews/Israel is like the 1930s/1940s in Europe, at least my mother(obm) a Holocaust Survivor is not a live to see this, I am sad to say
What sometimes escapes people is the fact that Jews who immigrated to Israel ( British mandated Palestine if you will) after the war didn't have to wait long to see their lives imperiled in '48. Thank G-d they could protect themselves unlike in Europe. The Arabs didn't HAVE to invade so as to conquer a tiny sliver of land. No, they wanted subservient if not dead Jews as was their practice in their countries. Since ghey couldn't vanquish Israel via military means, they resorted to terrorism. October 7th was the result of perpetuating the myth of a Pali state, which the leftist intellegencia within Israel and without ( the ever-obliging U.S. couldn't resist sticking their nose in where it didn't belong, as per usual) felt was the ONLY solution to peace. When all else fails, the Jews...
Well said. The so-called 2 state solution smelled like a scam as we watched Arafat and Abbas in action. Since the Arab armies couldn't defeat (wipe out) Israel, they resorted to terrorism disguised for those naive enough to believe it, Palestinian "resistance". Anti-Semitism on a personal level is one thing, but when it's government sanctioned then we have Nazi Germany in Islamofascist form.
Every action and deed that a Jew does,holds as a merit for this precarious situation.We all can help ourselves by being better people.Hashem is stornger than all our enemies and when we do good we give that power that protects us and benefits the whole world.