How to Respond to Lies and Misinformation About Israel: A New Series

Part 1: "Denying genocide"

Full series here

The following is Part 1 of a new series that I am launching, “How to Respond to Lies and Misinformation About Israel.” All installments of the series will be free, open to anyone for comment, and not behind any paywalls. I just ask that you forward them to people who you think may benefit from what I’m offering.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War, the amount of lies and half-truths that we have seen about Israel and Jews permeating the airwaves has become truly next-level. None of it is new—it’s rooted in centuries-old patterns—but it’s everywhere. What’s novel about it now is the ease at which the tainted content gets consumed by so many all over the world, all at once, from devices that we all check constantly. The battle against misinformation will continue long after the Israel-Hamas War ends. So, we must develop a collective language to respond to it.

The good news is, none of the points made by anti-Zionists are hard to refute—because they have very few good arguments. They’re just a very loud and devoted following convinced of their own righteousness. If we can build a strong coalition to uphold truth about our people and about the Jewish state, which includes acknowledging that state’s flaws in context and proportion, we can easily defeat them.

Here’s how it’s going to work: I will select a particular piece of anti-Israel content for each installment, and provide an in-depth counter to it. You are free to use any of what I’ve written in your own content.¹ Some may think that I’m wasting my time picking apart such nonsense—but they’re wrong. The language that these content creators are using—language about us, might I add—goes out to millions of people every day. Some people get all of their information about Israel (and about Jews by proxy) through this type of content. I am certain that there are many on the receiving end of the tripe who know it’s wrong, but just don’t know how to respond. That is where I wish to do my part.

So let’s get started! Here is the inaugural video for this series, by Jonathan Randall:

@jonathanrandallZionists weaponization of antisemitism has rendered the word meaningless. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ #freepalestine #endtheoccupation #ceasefirenow #doctorswithoutborders #humanrightswatch #amnestyinternational #palestine

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

Jonathan is Jewish, which means that when anti-Zionist goyim post his content, they have the smug satisfaction of declaring that he is “one of the good ones.” That’s why it’s so important to call out creators like him. Let’s break down this video bit by bit:

The description in the video is now basically a cliche: “Zionists (sic) weaponization of antisemitism has rendered the word meaningless.” As I state in an article where I also ponder if the term has become meaningless, antisemitism by itself is a weapon. The intended victims can’t weaponize something designed specifically to cause them harm. You will come to find that everything that Jonathan states in this video is a reinforcement of how pure, unadulterated antisemitism fuels the rhetoric he’s spewing.

“If you want to argue that Israel isn’t committing genocide than wanting (sic) to stop genocide, not only have you lost touch with the values of Judaism, but with (sic) your humanity.” This is a rhetorical trick: declare that the party you have already identified as the only one in the wrong is committing one of the worst sins known to mankind. Even if it has no basis in fact, you can then accuse the person who knows it’s not factual of lacking “humanity” (sometimes they’ll use the term “morality” instead). We are all against genocide. The values of Judaism have nothing to do with it, because Jews aren’t committing one.

“Zionists take legitimate claims of genocide and twist them into illegitimate accusations of antisemitism.” No, we Zionists take legitimate claims of genocide seriously—for example, the genocides against the Uyghurs of China, the Kurds of the Middle East, and the indigenous Maya of Guatemala. Those groups’ legitimate claims of genocide are not accusations of antisemitism. What’s antisemitic is accusing “Zionists”—that would be Jews—of committing genocide when they’re not.

Jonathan then presents what he believes to be evidence of Zionists’ support for genocide by rattling off a list of human rights organizations and non-profits that say Israel is guilty of it. He then repeats “Zionists cry antisemitism” after each one. That list along with the repetition of “Zionists cry antisemitism” takes up the bulk of the video; it’s basically just him repeating the same thing over and over. It’s a logical fallacy known as “appeal to authority.” When you can’t really come up with the “why” behind your stance, it’s easier to rely on the words of those you deem as authorities on the issue—in this case, international organizations. It doesn’t matter if anything they say is grounded in fact, only that they are the ones saying them.

The fact is that Israel is at war—a war that Hamas started. If what they’re doing in Gaza is “genocide,” what does that say about the other countries listed below?

Here is the best line from the video: “is there anyone who is critical of Israel that (sic) hasn’t been labeled either antisemitic or self-hating? Hashem could descend from the heavens to say Israel is committing genocide, and Zionists would say he’s an antisemitic, self-hating God.” Well yes, there are in fact people critical of Israel who are not labeled as self-hating—I happen to be one of them. And since I don’t really believe in God and don’t give a damn about what He has to say about anything, the imaginary declaration from Hashem that Jonathan envisions wouldn’t impress me all that much.

“If you wanna combat antisemitism, don’t deny genocide. Stop it. End Israel’s crimes against humanity, and free the people of Palestine.” This is a master class on how to string buzz words together without actually saying anything. How does he suggest that we all “stop” what he believes to be a genocide? Should we each make a TikTok video politely asking for the late Sinwar (who would need to take a break from his 72 virgins to view it from hell) and Bibi to agree jointly to lay down their arms? Does he think Hamas, who initiated this war on October 7th, needs to do anything? I don’t hear them mentioned once in this video. What would a “free Palestine” even look like, and how would its creation “combat antisemitism”? I don’t think Jonathan knows.

Our man Jonathan, who is a comedian by trade, later posted a follow-up video with the following “joke”: “PM Benjamin Netanyahu had his prostate removed. I guess when you’re one of the biggest assholes on the planet, it’s a lot easier for cancer to get to your prostate.” Errr, anyone laughing at that? He may want to work on his material, especially considering Bibi is one of the easiest public figures to satirize in a way that’s actually funny.

---

There are a few people I would like to acknowledge as I get underway with this project. Since my teenage years, I have always been a proud Zionist. When I entered college, where anti-Israel rhetoric was plentiful (but not as virulent as it is today), I realized that while I had learned the relevant history of Israel, I lacked the language to combat that copious hate against it. Israeli-Canadian writer

Matti Friedman

’s books and articles were my first primer on what to say and how to say it in my own voice. There are also two writers in particular,

Hanan Kevich

and

Sally Prag

, who have acted as patient sounding boards as I tried to work through—or rather, we collectively worked through—what I’m responding to in this series.

You can also feel free to suggest content like what I responded to above for future installments.

---

Thanks for reading! If you made it this far, I have a small ask. The work of exposing lies and misinformation takes a lot of time and effort. I make all content of this series free so that as many people as possible can have access during these tough times in our war for truth. If you find my work informative and wish to support me, please consider either a paid subscription or a one-time donation (link below).

1. There is no need to credit me unless you are reproducing entire portions of my articles, in which case I would ask that you link it either to the original article or to my Substack profile.