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Top 7 Dumbest Things Said About Israel Lately

The team at HonestReporting has scoured the Internet to bring you some of the dumbest things people have said about...

The post Top 7 Dumbest Things Said About Israel Lately first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to the media following a meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, US, July 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The team at HonestReporting has scoured the Internet to bring you some of the dumbest things people have said about Israel in the last two months. From sheer malice to total ignorance, it’s incredible just how far some people are prepared to go when it comes to criticizing Israel. Here’s just seven examples:

1. HAMAS WANTS A PEACEFUL ONE-STATE SOLUTION, AND IT WILL BE LIKE THE UNITED STATES

Briahna Joy Gray, podcaster, host, and former Bernie Sanders National Press Secretary, confidently made this statement recently: that when Hamas talks about eliminating Israel, “it’s not talking about killing all of the Jews.”

According to her, Hamas really means eliminating the idea of a “Jewish state” and replacing it with something more akin to the United States of America.

Guess we misinterpreted Article 7 of the official Hamas charter — “The Day of Judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them” — and Article 13, “Palestine is an Islamic land… Since this is the case, the Liberation of Palestine is an individual duty for every Muslim.”

Briahna, if Hamas was nearly as wholesome as you say, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would have been resolved decades ago. This naïveté is painful to watch.

2. ISRAEL IS AN ISLAMIC COUNTRY

We commend the below ex-study abroad student for being open to listening. However, it is important to highlight the average Western young adult’s knowledge and understanding of the Middle East. This is the situation that countries like the United States have found themselves in, with various social justice movements ultimately backing values that oppose their own.

It may be lost on some that Islamic-run Palestinian territories like the Gaza Strip are generally unfriendly towards the LGBTQ community. What is surprising here, is that this woman apparently visited and spent time in Israel. It would be assumed that she would know that Israel is a Jewish state.

3. ISRAELIS, PALESTINIANS MUST HAVE HARMONIC ONE-STATE TO LIVE IN “HAPPILY TOGETHER,” BUT “IT’S NOT FOR ME TO DECIDE HOW”

Jackson Hinkle has been on our radar, and his recent appearance on TalkTV proved that he lacks knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially regarding diplomacy.

In an ideal world, everyone should live ‘”happily together.” Unfortunately, the world is filled with strife, and there are difficult conflicts across continents that have not been solved. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is incredibly complex, and both sides have been in on-and-off negotiations with each other for decades to no avail.

Why bend over backward to attempt to become a respected public figure if you have no will to study the history of conflicts you speak so staunchly about?

4. “ALMOST ALL ISRAELIS HAVE TWO PASSPORTS: THEIR HOMELAND AND ISRAEL”

This is a particularly common trope we have seen rise in popularity — but it is not true. Research by author Yossi Harpaz estimates only about 10 percent of Israel’s population holds dual citizenship.

As writer Simone Somekh noted in a thread on X, Israeli Jews of North African and Middle Eastern descent, for example, are not welcome back to live in those countries and do not hold citizenship.

In conclusion, there are many who desire another passport, but to Avon Lady’s dismay, 10 percent is not almost every Israeli.

5. IDF SOLDIERS RAPED PALESTINIAN WOMEN DURING AL-SHIFA HOSPITAL OPERATION

This despicable comment was made live on Al Jazeera by a Gazan woman during her interview with head news presenter Elsy Abi Assi back in April. She claimed that during the IDF operation in Al-Shifa Hospital, soldiers raped Palestinian women and violently slaughtered other Palestinians who were taking shelter in the hospital at the time.

But, according to a tweet on X by Al Jazeera columnist and former director Yasser Abuhilalah, Hamas even disproved this claim.

The woman later admitted she inflated these claims in order to “arouse the nation’s fervor.”

6. ISRAEL ETHNICALLY CLEANSES PALESTINIANS BY ROUNDING THEM UP INTO ENCLAVES

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only shocking accusation about Israel that TikToker Guy Christensen has made.

His main point: Israel uses these tools to move Palestinians into enclaves so that they are easier to target and control. There is major context missing here. Guy also makes false claims about apartheid.

One outrageous claim he makes is that roads in the West Bank are made separate for Israelis and Palestinians. This is simply not true.

Guy also fails to give context to IDF checkpoints across the West Bank, which exist for security purposes. Checkpoints are meant to prevent terror attacks on Israeli civilians. Previous terror attacks and intifadas indicated the necessity, and have proven effective. The same goes for the contentious security barrier.

His accusations that Gazan restriction of movement is so that Israel can keep them oppressed is also false. Gaza is ruled by a terror organization, in case you haven’t heard.

7. ISRAEL IGNORED DANGERS TO DISPLACED CIVILIANS IN RAFAH BEFORE STRIKE MISHAP


Perhaps the most unfortunate thing about this statement is that the IDF itself said it was aware of where the displacement camp was, and that it did not strike it. The Hamas terror target was roughly 650 feet away. Further, targets were pinpointed with smaller munitions to reduce surrounding damage. A devastating secondary explosion due to the strike, believed to be a Hamas weapons truck, resulted in the deaths of dozens of civilians.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.

The post Top 7 Dumbest Things Said About Israel Lately first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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