Anyone who has debated the Israel-Arab conflict on social media knows that there is never a lack of anti-Israel voices, but their weakness is that they fear facts. They react to them by compounding the lies, engaging in personal attacks, and allowing their antisemitism to come into the light, all of which discredits them in the eyes of fair observers.
When you debate them, follow these rules consistently:
State your case clearly and concisely. Long or confusing comments are rarely read in full.
State the facts as they are. The facts are almost always on Israel’s side, and on the rare occasion when they are not, it is better to be honest and to maintain your credibility.
Do not confuse facts with hyperbole or rhetoric. Hyperbole and rhetoric may sound good to your friends, but they do not convince sceptics. For example, if a politician funds the UNRWA and you believe it is unwise, say so; do not jump to the conclusion that the politician supports terrorism.
Avoid personal attacks, even when extremely tempting. Personal attacks do not convince anyone. If others engage in personal attacks against you, comment on the inappropriateness of the attack then move on.
Avoid comments that could be interpreted as anti-Muslim or bigoted in any way. Such comments divert from the pro-Israel message and do not help your argument.
If you use sarcasm, do it carefully because sarcasm is often misunderstood on social media.
Do not mix partisanship and support for Israel. Israel is not a right-wing or left-wing issue. There are people who support Israel everywhere on the political spectrum except on the extremes, and it is essential to maintain that support. Making Israel a partisan issue alienates partisans of the other side.
Use rational arguments based on evidence and reason, not based on religion. Religious arguments do not convince people who do not share your beliefs.
Avoid getting bogged down in long discussions with people who debate in bad faith and who are wasting your time. Simply leave the discussion.
Always remember that you are seen as the voice of Israel. That voice must be intelligent, confident, honest, and well-mannered. If at any moment, you do not feel up to maintaining that standard, do not debate the Israel-Arab conflict.
I started Hebrew, which is why I’ve been dead on this blog, but I don’t think I can ever properly convey to you guys the sheer cultural whiplash of spending years learning Japanese from Japanese teachers and then trying to learn Hebrew from an Israeli
Japanese: you walk into class already apologizing for being alive Hebrew: you walk into class, the teacher insults you and you are expected to insult her back
Japanese: conjugates every single verb based on degree of intended politeness, nevermind keigo and honorifics Hebrew: Someone asked my teacher how to say “excuse me” and she laughed for several seconds before saying we shouldn’t worry about remembering that since we’ll never need to say it
Japanese: if you get one stroke wrong the entire kanji is incomprehensible Hebrew: cursive? script? fuck it do whatever you want, you don’t even have to write the vowels out unless you feel like it
Japanese: the closest thing there is to ‘bastard’ is an excessively direct ‘you’ pronoun Hebrew: ‘bitch’ translates directly
Fun fact: Israel has possibly the lowest power-distance metric of any culture in the world, while Japan has one of the highest. I didn’t realize that the CTO of my company was the CTO until somebody else told me, because everybody called him by his first name and engaged in mutual shit-talking/playful insults with him.
In Japan, even calling your boss by the wrong honorific is liable to get you in trouble.
And apparently there’s some sciencey cooperative venture going on between Israel and Japan in an official diplomatic capacity. I want to be a fly on the wall when Japanese and Israeli scientists work together.
The IDF on Sunday issued a new report featuring updated data on terror attacks in 2017.
According to the report, last year there were 99 terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria or terrorist attacks carried out by terrorists from Palestinian Authority (PA)-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria. In 2016, there were 269 such terror attacks.
At the same time, while there was a decrease in the number of attacks, the number of Israeli victims has increased: In 2017, 20 Israelis were murdered in terror attacks and 169 were injured. In 2016, in comparison, 17 Israelis were murdered and 263 were injured.
The report also noted that 10,061,120 shekels of “terror money” were captured during IDF operational activity in Judea and Samaria in 2017. The money that was seized was meant to fund terrorist attacks or to reward terrorists who carried out an attack against Jews.
In 2017, security forces shut down 42 shops in PA-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria that were used to manufacture weapons. 455 illegal weapons were seized.
According to the figures released by the IDF Spokesperson, 3,617 terrorists were arrested in 2017, compared to 3,143 terrorists who were arrested in 2016.
On the Gaza front, the IDF data indicate an increase in the number of rockets fired by terrorists towards Israel: 35 rockets were fired in 2017, compared to only 15 rockets fired in 2016.
In retaliation for these attacks, the IDF attacked 59 targets in Gaza. Among the targets attacked were launchers, outposts and training camps, weapons production sites, observation posts and more. Zero infiltrators entered Israel from the Egyptian border in 2017.
For more than four years, the IDF has been assisting the residents of the Syrian Golan Heights in surviving the difficult civil war that is taking place in their country.
In 2017, according to Sunday’s report, 917 Syrian victims were treated by Israeli doctors, 542,880 liters of fuel were provided to victims of the Syrian civil war and 694 tons of food was transferred to them. Israel donated 6,351 baby diapers to Syria and 14,138 boxes of prenatal multivitamin to the victims of the Syrian civil war.
Since the beginning of 2017, 2,679 patients have been treated at the American Mazor Ladach Hospital, which was established near the Israel-Syria border.
i’m sad to hear about the terror attack in istanbul but if we’re already on that subject.. can we pls talk about how since september 2015 there have been
206 stabbing attacks, 83 shootings, and 42 vehicular in my country??
34 people have been killed in terrorist attacks and 404 people injured.
im literally scared to get out of my house. yesterday i heared a noise and literally started imagining a scenario of a terrorist breaking into my house and stabbing me to death. (which is a thing that actually happened a few times these last couple of months)
i know people have their different opinions on things regarding israel, but please, we are going through a very rough time, and people get murdered every day.
Violence between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem has pushed students to express their solidarity | MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty
As Israeli civilians are butchered by Palestinian terrorists, the truth about theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict is also being butchered by a campaign of vicious lies. Here are ten of the most pernicious myths about the current attacks:
First: Israel is trying to change the status quo on the Temple Mount.
False. Israel stringently maintains the status quo on the Temple Mount. Last year some 3.5 million Muslims visited the Temple Mount alongside some 200,000 Christians and 12,000 Jews. Only Muslims are allowed to pray on the Mount, and non-Muslims may visit only at specified times, which have not changed. Though the Temple Mount is Judaism’s holiest site—where Solomon built his Temple some 3,000 years ago—Israel will not allow a change in the status quo. The ones trying to change the status quo are Palestinians, who are violently trying to prevent Jews and Christians from even visiting a site holy to all three faiths.
Second: Israel seeks to destroy al-Aqsa mosque.
False. Since reuniting Jerusalem in 1967 Israel has vigorously protected the holy sites of all faiths, including al-Aqsa. In the Middle East, where militant Islamists desecrate and destroy churches, synagogues, world heritage sites, as well as each other’s mosques, Israel is the only guarantor of Jerusalem’s holy places. Palestinians have been propagating the “al-Aqsa is in danger” myth since at least 1929, when the Palestinian icon, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, used it to inspire the massacre of Jews in Hebron and elsewhere. Nearly a century later, the mosque remains unharmed, but the lie persists.
Third: A recent surge in settlement construction has caused the current wave of violence.
False. Annual construction in the settlements has substantially decreased over the last 15 years. Under Prime Minister Ehud Barak (2000), 5,000 new units were built in the settlements; under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (2001-2005) an average of 1,881; under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (2005-2008) 1,774. All three were hailed as peacemakers. What about under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2009-2015)? Just 1,554. Some surge.
Fourth: President Abbas says that Israel “executed” the innocent Palestinian Ahmed Manasra.
False. Manasra is neither innocent nor dead. He stabbed a 13 year-old Jewish boy who was riding his bicycle. Manasra has been discharged from the same hospital where his victim continues to fight for his life.
Fifth: Israel uses excessive force in dealing with terrorist attacks.
False. Using force to stop an attack by a gun, knife, cleaver or axe-wielding terrorist is legitimate self-defense. Israeli police officers are subject to strict rules that govern the use of deadly force, which is permitted only in life threatening situations. How would the American public expect its police to respond to terrorists stabbing passersby as well as police officers?
Sixth: The current violence is the result of stagnation in the peace process.
False. Israel experienced some of the worst terrorism in its history when the peace process was at its peak. The reason for Palestinian terrorism is neither progress nor stagnation in the peace process, but the desire of the terrorists to destroy Israel.
Seventh: President Abbas is a voice of moderation.
False. President Abbas said on September 16 that he welcomes “every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem….” President Abbas has not condemned a single one of the 30 terror attacks on Israelis over the last month. He and his Fatah movement continue to use the Web and the airwaves to incite the Palestinians to even more violence.
Eighth: International action is required to enforce the status quo on the Temple Mount.
False. Israel enforces the status quo. The international community can help most effectively by telling the truth and affirming Israel’s proven commitment to maintaining the status quo. It can also help by holding President Abbas accountable for his mendacious rhetoric regarding the Temple Mount.
Ninth: The reason the conflict and the violence persist is because the Palestinians don’t have a state.
False. The Palestinians have repeatedly refused to accept a nation-state for themselves if it means accepting a nation-state for the Jewish people alongside it. In 1937, the Palestinians rejected the Peel Commission report that called for two states for two peoples; in 1947, they rejected the UN partition plan that did the same. In 2000 at Camp David and again in 2008 the Palestinians rejected new proposals that would have created a Palestinian state. The Palestinians rejected peace both before and after the creation of Israel, before Israel gained control of the territories in 1967 and after Israel vacated Gaza in 2005. The Palestinians have always been more concerned with destroying the Jewish state than with creating a state of their own. The core of the conflict remains the persistent refusal of the Palestinians to recognize the nation-state of the Jewish people in any borders.
Tenth: Palestinian terrorism is the consequence of Palestinian frustration.
False. Palestinian terrorism is the product of incitement, which inculcates a culture of hatred and violence in successive generations. The biggest frustration of the terrorists is that they have failed to destroy Israel. They will continue to be frustrated.
Ron Dermer is Israel’s ambassador to the United States.
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