Iconoclasm is the action of attacking or assertively rejecting cherished beliefs and institutions or established values and practices. Iconoclasm, in other words Antisemitism, is what Jews have been subjected to from time immemorial.
In Western countries, much of higher education has lost its purpose to indoctrination and propaganda.
In the United States the congregational rabbis, members of a national rabbinic organization related to their movement and also an association of local rabbis in their city, do not prepare Jewish kids who are entering college, or even high school, to confront today’s growing campus incomprehensible Antisemitism phenomenon.
The Hillel Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, also known as Hillel International or Hillel, is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally. Hillel and the Chabad Movement directors, present on most campuses, are appeasers, not fighters; they act timidly and do not teach Jewish students to proudly stand for who they are, JEWS.
Parents of Jewish kids have failed to do the job of teaching their kids the importance of Judaism and being a Jew. This is not a remedial method when Antisemitism has risen its ugly head again. Ask the souls of Jews who hid their Jewish identity in Spain-to-Nazi Germany what was the outcome.
Israel, the Jewish state, has been failing in this arena too. Hating Israel Arab students are allowed to wave the “Palestine” flag in every demonstration on campus, an act its interpretation is to get rid of Israel and kill every Jew living there and replace the Jewish state with an Arab state.
Of course, the mainstream media, all over the Western world, including Israel, is the megaphone for the political Left that is very rough on Jews and Israel. Surprisingly though, that very same media that is rough on Israel and Jews acts similarly in Israel, on its own people and country. That begs the question: why will Jewish media add poison to anti-Israel-Antisemitism complexity?
The people who bet on truth already figured out that the political and ideologically Left constantly lie.
In Israel, politicians, from Moshe Dayan to Yair Lapid and all in between them, lie overtly and cover the truth about Israel.
Antisemitism and the pummeling of the state of Israel problem is universal; the US is not alone in this social junk. Sad but a reality.
US Campuses Require About Face
Nowadays, on US campuses, Antisemitism dogma includes a litany of lies used to bully Jewish students. It is already given that when confronted with such hatred Jewish students are terrified and lack having defensible tools.
It is the responsibility of a consciously balanced and unbiased society, in general, and of Jewish parents (grandparents, aunts, uncles too) and Jewish leaders, in particular, to send Jewish students to study at a university armed with the truth and the truth only.
The material is free and easily accessible. One good source can be found on Students Supporting Israel (SSI) and “This land is my land: “Mandate for Palestine“: the legal aspects of Jewish rights, Author Eli E. Hertz and MythsandFacts website. ([email protected])
The Lies About Israel People Buy
The greatest lies told about Israel on campus, which translate to lies about Jews, which translates to Antisemitism are:
“Palestine” – “Palestinians”
That there are Palestinians is a lie installed into the public’s subconscious:
“Palestinians” and “Palestine” are used as a political tool and for political reasons. First and foremost to subvert, demonize and destroy the Jews’ image and their legal right to the land of Israel. In 1964 the Arabs assumed the name “Palestinians” but before that they were simply Arabs. Prior to 1964 no such “Palestinian nation” existed.
Who Are The Indigenous[1] People In The Land Of Israel?
Jews have established the land of Israel when they entered it after their exodus from Egypt. Israelites, who became known as Jews, have named the land Israel after their forefather Jacob who changed his name to Israel, meaning ‘a struggle with God.’ Jews also named the land Judea after one of the 12 Israelites’ tribes, the tribe of Judah (Yehuda). The land is also called Zion, the Biblical name for Jerusalem and as a reference to the land as a whole, a term from which Zionism was born.
Note: Zion appears in the Old Testament 152 times as a title of Jerusalem; over half of these occurrences appear in two books, the Book of Isaiah (46 times) and that of Psalms (38 times). It appears 7 times in the New Testament and 5 times in quotations from the Old Testament.
The best testimony as to whom the land of Israel belongs is “The Jewish People’s Rights to The Land of Israel,” a historical journey spanning over three millennia showing the connection of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.
Jews, uninterruptedly have been living in the land of Israel close to 4000 years, though for 2000 years without being a sovereign ruling entity. Since the Arabs invaded and occupied the land of Israel for 451 years, from 638 AD until 1099 AD, but never formed any legally ruling entity in the land, one can be honest and accept the fact that Jews are the indigenous people in the land of Israel.
Ethnic Cleansing[2]
That the modern state of Israel was founded by Jews who “ethnically cleansed” local Arabs, is simply a blood libel in many permutations.
Here are some facts to be noted:
Anti-Israel narrative ignores, or entirely downplays, the irregular forces’ invasion from Arab countries, from January 1948 onward. Throughout early 1948, these armed forces entered Arab towns spreading even more deadly violence throughout the conflict areas.
In early 1948, Jews in the land of Israel were suffering enormous losses from clashes with the Arabs with the help of the British mandate’s military members. With Arab irregular forces entering the fray and the impending threat of full invasion, Jewish forces lost control of the roads when Arab forces had cut off Jewish communities by attacking the convoys that set out to bring supplies.
That Arab were forced expulsion has been the most devious lie anti-Israel activists spread. It suggests that in this deadly environment when all what was on Jews’ minds was to try to survive they were busy expelling Arabs. The blame is an utter lie that Jews, who could hardly defend their own supply trucks, intended to bring supply to feed their own communities, were an all-powerful entity engaged in a secret plan to expel all the Arabs. It is nothing but more ahistorical absurdity.
It is much simpler; for the most part, Arab communities did what families often do in a civil war, they run away. So did the Arabs in the land of Israel. Before the 5-Arab countries invasion into Israel, what turned out to be Israel’s war for its independence in May 1948, many reports of that time recorded local Arab population running from the fighting – some from as early as December 1947.
The British, who had a clear pro-Arab sentiment in British Mandate in the land of Israel, sometimes actually helped the Arab in their aggression against the Jews. While all this was going on, the British were still manning the coastline, disgracefully deporting 100s of young Jews, many of fighting age, from the British Mandate of ‘Palestine’ – rounding them up, and sending them to a concentration camp in Cyprus. Those British concentration camps in Cyprus, and the far larger DP camps in Europe, holding centers of Holocaust surviving Jews, destroy another anti-Israel myth. The anti-Zionists say Israel had to expel the Arabs in order to have demographic superiority in the land. The 100,000s of Jews who were waiting for Israel to open the door to them tell another fact.
Israel Commits Genocide[3] on Arabs
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.
According to the study, 156,000 Arabs lived in Israel in 1948. They comprised approximately 19% of the population. In 2001, 1.2 million Arabic people populated the area. Because of increased Jewish immigration to Israel, the proportion of Arab residents remained at 19% in 2001. Researchers see the proportion of the Arab population increases by 3.4% each year.
Ethnic cleansing is depopulation not an increase in population number. Therefore, one who believes in this “genocide” lie should ask where have my thinking gone wrong?
Accusing Israel of committing “genocide, ethnic cleansing, extermination, slaughter” of Arabs in a Nazi type state of mind. It is a dangerous blood libel that ignores the right use of terminology and of course requires taking legal steps against the slanderers.
Israel Occupies[4] Arab Lands
Much has been written about the Biblical, historical and jurisprudence rights of Jews to the land to which they simply have territorial integrity claim. All these facts are ignored with the allegation that Israel occupies Arab land.
The land Israel LIBERATED during the 1967 Six-Day War is now referred to by Israel’s detractors as an Arab occupied territory.
Prior to Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War, governance of the liberated territories, i.e. “West Bank” and Gaza Strip, was split between Egypt OCCUPYING the Gaza Strip and Jordan OCCUPYING the “West Bank.” After the Six-Day War, when the United Nations had to work on the achieved ceasefire terms, it arrived at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 242 in which Israel shot itself in the foot when it agreed that the “West Bank” and Gaza are “disputed territories.”
Israel is not occupying any “disputed” land it has conquered from any sovereign country. Israel has territorial integrity claims to the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. The rather hostile Arab population it has gained with the liberation of Judea and Samaria from Jordan’s 19-year illegal occupation are illegally living on Israeli land along with huge concessions Israel has made to them. The general claim of occupation goes hand in hand with the Arab claim that the city of Tel Aviv also sits on land that is occupied by the state of Israel.
The term “occupation” can be easily explained by the Arabs’ slogan – “from the River to the Sea Palestine will be freed” – that Jews must leave the land of Israel where they are unwanted illegal occupiers.
Israel Is An “Apartheid”[5] State
Apartheid is a governance system created in South Africa. It is a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race only. There are only four races that distinctively describe humanity: white race, black race, yellow race and red race. In Israel one can find people who belong to the white and black races. However, all people in Israel live under the same human rights and there is no such policy or law that legally imposes segregation and/or discrimination of any human being living there. This is one other hogwash Israel’s decriers use to demonize the Jewish state.
Finally “West Bank”
So long as Israelis, Jews and Israel’s supporters and misguided politicians and media use the term “West Bank” instead of Judea and Samaria; so long they use “Palestinians” and “Palestine” instead of Arabs and Arabs live in Israel on Israel’s land to which it has territorial integrity, and often refer to the old part of Jerusalem as “East Jerusalem” while there is only the city of Jerusalem, in and any and all of its parts, there will never be peace in the region. By the systemic subversion of Israel as a legal sovereign state, as explained above, the attacks on Israel and Jews will continue and become more and more poisonous, producing an ongoing worldwide tidal wave of anti-Israel bashing and anti-Semitic behavioral patterns.
In Summation
All the lies about Israel can be easily refuted. Students have to learn and know the undeniable facts so they can confront and combat those liars who attack them.
What anti-Israel propagandists do is cherry pick, and piece together an ahistorical narrative that demonizes the Jews and Israel. They hold up exceptions, produce films about them, and wipe the truth from history.
They even do this with the help of foolish Jewish people on the political Left spectrum, who want to accommodate “the opinion of others” and need to feel “loved and accepted” by those who hate them or want them dead.
Media and many politicians have also bought into the false narratives, lies and deception and Israel does little to cure it all but apologizes, appeases and makes concessions.
Everyone should be reminded that the truth is not half-way between a historical fact and a lie. This is our, the Jews, history – if we do not defend it – it will be stolen away from us, as it is now being de-facto stolen already.
Jewish students, already attending college, who have not yet had the benefit of any good material to help them in this plight should approach the mentioned above sources. Being a victim of Antisemitism, which is bullying, harassment and slander of Jews bears legal action.
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[1] “Indigenous” people @ https://www.ssimovement.org/uploads/2/3/8/3/23838525/debunking_the_indigenous_people_claim.pdf Page 1 AND https://www.ssimovement.org/uploads/2/3/8/3/23838525/debunking_the_indigenous_people_claim_page_2.pdf Page 2
[2]”ethnic cleansing” in Israel’s founding @ https://www.ssimovement.org/uploads/2/3/8/3/23838525/debunking_the_ethnic_cleansing_claim.pdf Page 1 AND https://www.ssimovement.org/uploads/2/3/8/3/23838525/debunking_the_ethnic_cleansing_claim_page_2.pdf Page 2
[3]Israel commits “genocide,” etc. The blood libel in many permutations. @ https://www.ssimovement.org/uploads/2/3/8/3/23838525/debunking_the_genocide_claim.pdf Page 1 AND https://www.ssimovement.org/uploads/2/3/8/3/23838525/debunking_the_genocide_claim_page_2.pdf page 2
[4]“occupation” @ https://www.ssimovement.org/uploads/2/3/8/3/23838525/debunking_the_illegal_occupation_claim.pdf Page 1 AND https://www.ssimovement.org/uploads/2/3/8/3/23838525/debunking_the_illegal_occupation_claim_page_2.pdf Page 2
[5]“Apartheid” @ https://www.ssimovement.org/uploads/2/3/8/3/23838525/debunking_the_apartheid_claim.pdf page 1 AND https://www.ssimovement.org/uploads/2/3/8/3/23838525/debunking_the_apartheid_claim_page_2.pd page 2
