Free Israel!
Taking Back the Popular Narrative
So apparently there is some sort of world sports event being held at the moment. And in an interview with a fan, he shouted out “Free Palestine!” I don’t know anything about him, but it’s possible to be pretty certain of several things:
This person does not know or care about the lack of various freedoms that Palestinians experience under Palestinian authority (and indeed that most other Arabs experience);
This person does not know or care about the reasons why the Palestinians do not have a state;
This person has not given any thought to what would happen if the Palestinians would get a state;
This person is convinced that he is a virtuous person who cares for the oppressed.
Unfortunately, simple slogans such as “Free Palestine!” are catchy and most people do not have the time or interest for a lengthy explanation of its problems. It therefore occurred to me that we need to come up with a catchy slogan of our own - ideally, one that takes the wind out of the sails of the Free Palestine! crowd. Originally, I thought of making a “Free Palestine from Palestinian Oppression” sign, but then I decided that this does the job better:
This cuts to the core of the problem. The Palestinians (and many of our Arab neighbors) steadfastly refuse to acknowledge the historical connection of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel, which is why they will never accept our existence here on any part of the land. Much of the international community (and, regretfully, many Jews) plays along and rejects the very existence of the State of the Israel. Meanwhile, these result in ongoing threats and attacks on Israelis, which is why concessions are so dangerous.
Feel free to use this graphic and spread it as you see fit - no attribution is required. And if you have any suggestions of tweaks to the wording, I’d welcome them. (Perhaps a mention of “racism” would be useful?)
Many Israelis and Jews don't sufficiently appreciate the gravity of the fact that Israel is the only modern country since World War II that is long-term occupying a population without giving them citizenship rights. This is not a trivial thing, and it's easy to see why it's interpreted negatively by people around the world that don't understand the reality and difficulty of the situation.
There's plenty to discuss and debate about how and why the problem arose, whose fault it really is, and why it's difficult if not impossible to solve. Israel may be in an impossible situation, because if it were to unilaterally give Palestinians a state, that could likely destroy Israel, and if it were to give Palestinians Israeli citizenship that would end Israel as an ethnically Jewish state and a home for Jewish people.
But none of the above negates the extremity of the situation itself, which many people overlook, which is that Israel is the only modern democratic country occupying a population long-term with no real plan to end it. It's a serious problem that will fester and create negative dividends for years to come, in Palestinians and in the international population, if a creative solution is not somehow found.
I STAND WITH ISRAEL FOREVER!!!
🇵🇭🇮🇱🤜🇵🇸🏳️🌈