Cavemen of Different Kinds

False Claims and Tribalism

Thirty years ago I was very confident that the anti-Torah evolutionists were wrong. After all, I had read an essay by an Orthodox Jewish scientist documenting the Piltdown Man hoax. This “discovery” of the skull of a primitive caveman was presented in 1912 as clear evidence of the evolutionary link between apes and humans. Although there were immediately reasons to be suspicious, it was widely accepted as authentic for decades, until it was conclusively demonstrated to be fabricated from a combination of skull parts of a human, an orangutan, and a chimpanzee. With a scam like this, and other fraudulent claims that I read about, what more evidence was needed that evolutionists were a bunch of frauds, and there was no reason to believe in evolution?

A few years later, when I discovered that there was actually no theological reason to object to evolution, that God (according to the rationalist approach) prefers to work through nature, and that the idea of man evolving from animals actually has strong conceptual support in traditional Torah sources, I realized that I had been looking at things the wrong way. Yes, there were cases of fraud and overstated claims. But this did not mean that there was not also a wealth of evidence in favor of common ancestry. I had been misled by my inclination to divide people into two categories, anti-Torah and pro-Torah, and to see everything through this lens. (I describe the evidence for evolution, and the theological issues, in my famously banned book The Challenge Of Creation, available on Amazon but better and more cheaply purchased at the museum website.)

There were tribes of primitive cavemen. But while we have evolved since then, we still have primitive tribal instincts. We have powerful inclinations to classify everyone as friend or enemy, and then to assess everything in that light. And this means that if someone makes a false and harmful claim, we rate them as “enemy,” and then discount absolutely everything they say, rather than accepting Rambam’s maxim that one should accept the truth from wherever it comes.

There have been some particularly powerful examples of this relating to Israel - some with us, some with our opponents.

After October 7th, some people from prominent Jewish organizations spread stories about Hamas having beheaded 40 babies, and this was subsequently widely repeated. But it turned out to be fabricated. As a result, other people declared that all reports of Hamas atrocities were likewise false. Needless to say, this is not the case. A particularly horrific study of Hamas atrocities was just released today.

Switching to the other side, there have been wild exaggerations, fabrications and context-missing accusations about “settler violence” for years. Many Jews therefore claim that there is little or no truth to it at all. But, as with Piltdown Man, the lies and exaggerations from our enemies do not mean that there is not also a genuine phenomenon. Seeking clarity, I decided to join a WhatsApp group of the people said to engage in such violence. I saw for myself that they are not at all shy to talk about it and even post photos.

A similar case just occurred yesterday. The New York Times, which is always eager to focus on Israeli rather than Palestinian wrongdoings, and has a history of egregious reporting on Israel, published a story about shocking abuse of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. The author relied on utterly unreliable haters of Israel for stories that lack evidence and even basic credibility. (UPDATE: And it seems that the agenda may was to distract from the new report about Hamas’ sexual violence on Oct 7.) Many Jews are therefore saying that the entire claim about prisoner abuse is false.

Yet none other than the Public Defender’s Office of Israel’s Justice Ministry released reports showing that Palestinian security detainees held in Israeli prisons have suffered from severe and systematic violence from prison guards, deprivation of food, and medical neglect. This was published in The Times of Israel, which is not exactly an anti-Israel outlet. Other reliable pro-Israel sources, while pointing out the unreliability of the NYT’s extreme claims, likewise acknowledge that there is a genuine problem of prisoner abuse.

And it’s hardly surprising. Itamar Ben Gvir, who has been given authority over the Israel Prison Service, has repeatedly boasted of the harsh conditions he has imposed on Palestinian detainees and prisoners. In part, he may have been rectifying too much leniency that was formerly granted, but it would hardly surprising if someone like him has gone much too far in the other direction.

Is it upsetting to think that Israel has problems? Of course. But let’s be realistic. Why would Israel be immune from problems? Is any country immune from problems? Abuse of security detainees happens all over the world, even worse in non-democracies, but also including in Western nations such as France, the UK and the US; this is not to excuse it, but there is no reason to think that Israel would be immune. And especially when undertrained reservists are called up to guard prisoners, after having seen Hamas’ terrible atrocities, we can only expect that abuse will happen (again, this is not to say that it should not be punished). There are all kinds of problems all over the world, and it is only to be expected that not only will Israel have its own share, but it will also have its own share of problems that are more serious than in some other countries, as every country does.

People are subconsciously afraid that if they acknowledge problems in their home team, it means that we are the “bad guys” or that we have “lost.” But this is simplistic. No nation is perfect. Problems exist with every nation, some of which will be particularly prominent with certain nations. It doesn’t mean that we have no legitimacy, or that we are not overall pursuing a just cause under very difficult circumstances and the most horrific genocidal threats, or that we have not often excelled ethically. And it’s obvious that much of the world engages in delegitimization, demonization, and double standards with regard to Israel (note that the Palestinian Authority has never prosecuted anyone for attacks on Jews, and has instead even paid the families of those convicted by Israel for doing so). But it’s simultaneously true that we should be striving for the highest standards, which is not the case with many people who currently wield power.

And so this is the repeating pattern. One side makes exaggerated and false claims. The other side responds by denying the phenomenon entirely. Everyone takes the most extreme positions, supporting their “home team” fully and rejecting the claims of the enemy team entirely.

We need to avoid primitive tribalism. And we need to be honest rather than reactive and acknowledge problems in our own camps. And it’s not just because that gives us more credibility; it’s also because it’s the right thing to do.