r/JewsOfConscience Non-Jewish Ally 18d ago

Activism Imagine feeling threatened by a library display

Post image
673 Upvotes

102 comments sorted by

View all comments

-31

u/matchacry Israeli 18d ago

i am as pro palestine as it gets, but apparently there is a PFLP member and con artist (Bisan Owda) on the table.

our cause is grounded on the principal of morality, and isn't that immoral? i look forward to hearing thoughts.

also, how do you guys refute arguments of Israeli children being killed? i always feel very helpless in these arguments since, yeah you get it.

35

u/Specialist-Gur Ashkenazi 18d ago

Con artist Bisan? That honestly sounds like a Zionist talking point... maybe you can elaborate?

Which Israeli children being killed? None since October 7 afaik?

9

u/Lamese096 Palestinian Lebanese Muslim 18d ago

Afaik?? We use this word in Arabic, if you don’t mind me asking, do you know if they have the same meaning??? I’m really curious. I’ve seen many users on here use it.

21

u/Specialist-Gur Ashkenazi 18d ago

Oh! "As far as I know" acronym!! It just means "as far as I know"

What's it mean in Arabic?

-8

u/matchacry Israeli 18d ago

Two comments from the original r/jewish post:

‘ “We Palestinians aren’t going away.” Sorry to disappoint, but neither are Jews, and we have thousands of years of experience from the Romans to the Nazis of groups trying to destroy us, and we’re still here. But sure, give it your best shot.🤭 ‘

’ This is my branch. Maybe I'll leave "People love dead Jews" on the table lol.

Look, there's nothing inherently wrong with books about Palestinian culture, but when I see a pic of PFLP member, propagandist, and con artist Bisan Owda prominently displayed it makes me want to puke. ‘

(i’m not supporting zionists lol i’m trying to bolster our arguments)

zionists claim “hundreds of innocent people were taken hostage by hamas. a UNRWA teacher took people hostage in their basement!”

as well as ‘The safety and wellbeing of children in Israel continues to be at risk amid the escalated conflict. The indiscriminate firing of rockets at Israel has resulted in civilian casualties, including Israeli children, caused schools to be closed periodically, and impacted the mental and psychosocial wellbeing of Israeli children. Like children everywhere, children in Israel must be protected.‘ - savethechildren.com

and there are also reports of israelis being displaced from northern israel.

and another point they love to bring up is the music festival.

how do we refute these and make our cause worthy in their eyes? we have to be logical, or else they won’t get it.

30

u/Specialist-Gur Ashkenazi 18d ago

Don't waste your time with people who make comments like this honestly. Save your energy for open minded people who actually seem curious about the Palestinian experience, even if they are currently Zionist.

9

u/matchacry Israeli 18d ago

even if i’m not going to waste my time with them, i’d like to know why they’re wrong and how they can be rebutted.

28

u/Specialist-Gur Ashkenazi 18d ago

I mean in some cases I am not even sure what to say... it's hard to prove a negative? Or disprove a negative? Whatever the case..? If they say "Bisan is a fraud" how am I supposed to disprove that?

If they say unwra is Hamas... how am I supposed to disprove that?

You really can't... point to people that aren't Hamas? Oh they'll point to the one person that had distant ties or was involved. They'll point to a time Bisan said something inaccurate.

One thing I'll say to the person who wanted to leave "people love dead Jews".... no one loves dead Jews more than that sub.

6

u/matchacry Israeli 18d ago

exactly, that’s my point. how do you win? you can’t, not against them.

23

u/gatoescado Arab Jew, Masorati, anti-Zionist, Marxist 17d ago edited 17d ago

You win by understanding that there is nothing to 'win' in the first place from debating with zionists. I was once a strong Zionist who grew up in Jerusalem and was proud to call myself Israeli. I did not come to reject that ideology and that identity because I encountered anti-Zionists who were really great at debating and could counter all of my rhetorical points. I had these debates all the time online and IRL, and they never did a damn thing to change my perspective

3

u/ThrowTheFoodAway13 17d ago

What happened if you don’t mind me asking?

1

u/matchacry Israeli 17d ago

Thanks for sharing your story, that really struck a chord with me.

What are your thoughts on Yoseph Haddad?

3

u/gatoescado Arab Jew, Masorati, anti-Zionist, Marxist 16d ago

Yoseph Haddad offers nothing of value and should just be ignored. He just exists to tell Zionists what they want to hear. He’s a deeply unserious person

I’ve talked about him with Palestinians from a whole range of political positions, everything from Muslim nationalists to liberal atheists who have lots of Jewish Israeli friends. And not a single one of them takes him seriously

13

u/Specialist-Gur Ashkenazi 18d ago

You win by not engaging. They sound ridiculous to someone who knows even a shred of detail. Engage with people who want to learn so they'll be immune to the silliness

1

u/sulamifff Jewish Anti-Zionist 15d ago

If you are not already you might be interested in other (ex) Israelis anti Zionists who discuss a lot of these topics on how to engage with Zionists and refute some claims while living in Palestine on Instagram @elik_harpaz and @robeloviajwro and on YouTube their channels are The Hebrew Canaanite and Sound of Anarchy

1

u/MassivePsychology862 Non-Jewish Ally 3d ago edited 3d ago

Point out the logical fallacy. Not the content. It’s a distraction. Focus on the logic and ask further probing questions. The onus is on the accuser to make their case and provide evidence, not you. You’re going great! Keep your head up. It’s frustrating and has taken me a year to figure out how to handle the convos.

For blatant fallacies I just respond with something like this:

Whataboutism. 1pt. Ad hominem. 3pts. False equivalency. 3pts. Syllogistic fallacy: 5pts.

Logical Fallacies

I enjoy this stuff - I studied logic in school and really enjoyed it.

My Meyers-Brigg type is also “The Debator” lol. I’m Lebanese American and from a southern village that’s been damaged. In the beginning this conflict was draining emotionally but I’ve spent the last year learning and studying and practicing my debate skills again.

I’ve started watching a lot of Chomsky/Finklestein/Dershowitz/Morris debates + other non I/P debates. Really interesting and I’ve learned a ton.

13

u/Playful_Tea_5268 Ashkenazi 18d ago edited 18d ago

When they bring up the music festival you can attempt to refute it by pointing out West Bank objectively illegal settlements or the conditions of Gaza since the blockade but then they will just make excuses that Palestinians are violent blah blah blah and need to be occupied and discredit all human rights organizations all the way up to the UN. There’s no point with most of those people.

10

u/NeitherFollowing4305 Non-Jewish Ally (Christian) 18d ago

I feel like there is no point in reasoning or trying to communicate logically with Zionists anymore. I tried to do so for months, and every single time they just hit back harder with hasbara and nonsense. I'm amazed that you're even here, supporting the Palestinians right to live, because at the moment that is so incredibly rare and precious to encounter an Israeli who isn't a fascist zionist.

31

u/gatoescado Arab Jew, Masorati, anti-Zionist, Marxist 17d ago edited 17d ago

Calling Bisan a con artist is disgusting. Whatever criticism you want to throw at her hardly compares to the immense good she has done by documenting what is going on in Gaza. And the fact that you say you are as pro-Palestine as it gets and then get upset about the PFLP, would be hilarious if it were not so absurd... If you make such broad dismissals of Palestinian resistance, especially of a group who’s goal is to create a single secular socialist-democracy between river and sea, you are standing in opposition to the cause of liberation. And you are specifically standing in opposition to the Jewish anti-Zionist cause, which favors resistance based more in secular internationalism rather than religious nationalism (but we still support resistance regardless of its source).

9

u/Artistic_Reference_5 Jewish 17d ago

Why is Bisan Owda a con artist?

Sidebar, do you know where the name Bisan comes from? (I feel very haunted by this since I learned.)