Tuesday, May 17, 2016

On the appropriate response to antisemitic lies and blood-libels directed at Israel


Following my report on  Sunday's counter-demo against an antisemitic 'pro-Palestinian' attempt to spew lies and hatred in London and close down a Jewish-Israeli store a commentator expressed concern at the (well-meaning) banner here held up by one of the pro-Israel demonstrators, feeling it was far too defensive.

Indeed this is a subject I've addressed before - notably here - but it seems few people understand it so I will attempt to make this very simple using the following hypothetical analogy:
Jackie White looks after her 80 year old mother Iris who has been house bound in London with dementia for 10 years. One day a man Patrick Bates with a history of psychopathic violence and delusions, tells the local media that Iris has been murdering street children in Brazil every day for the last 10 years and that he plans to kill her to stop this. 

What should Jackie's reaction be? Should she:

a) Attempt to counter the accusations of Patrick Bates by providing proof of Iris's long-term disabilities and explaining what a caring woman she has always been.

or

b) Expose Patrick Bates as the liar and dangerously insane psychopath that he clearly is.

If she chooses a) she has already entered into a narrative in which 'both sides' are talking about whether or not Iris is a child killer. A reasonable 'headline' for the media would be:
"Jackie White denies her mother is a child killer"
If she chooses b) she has put the focus solely on the dangerous Patrick Bates. A reasonable headline would be:
"Lying madman threatens to kill 80-year-old housebound woman with dementia"
Given the obvious preference for b) can anybody explain to me why, in response to the obvious lies and blood libels about Israel originating from psychopathic killers like Hamas, Israel supporters choose the equivalent of option a) above and hence ensure that:
  1. The lies and blood libels ("Israel massacres children", "Israel is an Apartheid state" etc) become the focus of the discussion
  2. The lies and blood libels get repeated ad nausea and hence become intrinsically associated with Israel
  3. The systematic lying and psychopathic behaviour of the Palestinians and their supporters is totally ignored.
So, in future, Israel supporters must avoid saying what Israel 'is not' and focus on exposing the lies and psychopathic behaviour of the Palestinians and their supporters. Since almost all of the lies against Israel are simply a reflection of what her accusers really do, the accusations should be turned back against them; for example, here are the kind of things that the banners should say:
"There are 58 apartheid countries in the world: they are the 58 Islamic countries."
"Palestinians glory in the murder of Jewish children"
"The greatest honour in Palestinian society is to kill a Jew in cold blood"
"Believing Palestinian lies inhibits peace"
"Accepting Palestinian lies encourages them to kill"
"Arabs ethnically cleansed Jews from every one of their countries"
etc
We should also be telling the stories and showing the faces of the many Israelis murdered by Palestinians including the hundreds of children.

See also:
All these progressive thinkers, intellectuals and peacemakers cannot be wrong

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:45 am

    "can anybody explain to me why, in response to the obvious lies and blood libels about Israel originating from psychopathic killers like Hamas, Israel supporters choose the equivalent of option a..."

    You are right, yet, option b is an ad hominem it doesn't address any of the points raised but attacks the person. You may argue that in this case attacking the person is justified, after all it's a murderous psychopath that doesn't deserve any better. I will still argue that by stooping to his level we loose by muddying the discourse with harmful debate practices and society at large looses, in fact we already have, the average students today don't understand the basics of critical thinking, entire generation of emotionally driven rabble.

    Ignorance should be combated with wisdom, if not for the win than for the conservation of of our way of reason/life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. www.jns.org/latest-articles/2016/5/22/christian-organizations-gambling-with-jewish-safety-in-secret

    Israel is being buried-alive under an
    avalanche of media bias and false accusations.

    These web sites can help refute those biases
    and false accusations:


    ************************************************
    PLEASE HELP DEFEND ISRAEL FROM UNFAIR MEDIA:
    ************************************************


    http://advocacy.ou.org/
    www.camera.org

    www.DanielPipes.org
    www.FactsAndLogic.org

    www.HonestReporting.com
    www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

    www.memri.org
    www.memriTV.org

    www.MideastReporter.com
    www.MythsAndFacts.org

    www.TheIsraelProject.org
    www.BBCwatch.org

    www.jhrw.com
    www.PalWatch.org

    www.UKMediaWatch.org
    www.UNwatch.org
    www.aish.com/jw/mo/4-Reasons-Why-the-Media-is-Biased-against-Israel.html

    ************************************************
    PLEASE HELP SUE THE TERRORISTS IN COURT:
    ************************************************


    www.IsraelLawCenter.org

    www.TheLawFareProject.org

    ************************************************
    PLEASE HELP FIGHT ISRAEL-BASHING ON-CAMPUS:
    ************************************************


    www.AcademicEngagement.org
    www.CameraOnCampus.org

    www.CampusFairness.org
    www.CanaryMission.org

    www.DavidProject.org
    www.Israel-Academia-Monitor.com

    www.IsraCampus.org.il
    www.JewHatredOnCampus.org

    www.SSImovement.org
    www.StandWithUs.com

    www.TheIsraelGroup.org
    https://twitter.com/cmaccabees

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous seems like a decent and sincere person, and he is the reason we are all going to die.

    The Muslims have been demonizing Jews, for decades. It's working.
    We have been combating ignorance with wisdom, for decades. It's not working.

    Combating ignorance with wisdom is what you do in a classroom, or in a courtroom, or in a church. In a life and death Propaganda War, demonizing the enemy is the only tactic that works.

    A Propaganda War is just like a shooting war: you have to shoot back (if you want to win). Speaking truth to power comes later.

    ReplyDelete