Talking Point IL

Libels can be dangerous.
However some of those, are so ridiculous- that they cross into the realm of the hilarious.

In July 2009, a Gaza police spokesperson- provided one of those.
In a formal press briefing, he declared that Israeli intelligence services were smuggling a passion-boosting chewing gum and attraction-stimulant drops into the Gaza strip-
Apparently as part of psychological warfare aimed at “corrupting the young generation”.

Yeah. No punchline.

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Now, why would he even say something like this?
The answer is less entertaining but still is interesting.

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The “Fadeela” (virtue) campaign:

After taking total control over the Gaza strip in 2007, the new Gazan government began pushing for a more “Islamic” society.

Among other things, they deployed modesty patrols that were:
• Breaking up unmarried, mixed-gender groups sitting on beaches or in cafes,
• Enforcing that no women would be riding on the backs of motorbikes,
• Ordering shop owners to remove lingerie from storefront windows,
• Distributing posters warning against the “satanic industry” of pairing a headscarf with tight jeans,
• And more.

Of course, such actions were sometimes met with a degree of disobedience.

But what is the very well tested method the Palestinian leadership uses time after time against its political and ideological rivals?
Blaming them for cooperating with Israel.

While those who call out the Palestinian governmental corruption in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria are blamed for “cooperation with the occupier”,
Those who want some liberty, eventually face the same logic-
Just perhaps through a slightly more creative lens.

In June 2016, the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas- paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia.

During this visit he decided to present the Saudi King Salman with a rare, historic gift:
A framed, original front-page edition of the 1935 newspaper “The Palestine Post”.

The Palestinians and the supporters of their cause- love showing similar pre-1948 artifacts, with the name “Palestine” on them- to try and claim the Palestinian state infrastructure existed before to the modern state of Israel.

However, too bad Mahmoud Abbas’s office forgot to google the origins of this newspaper.

“The Palestine Post” was a pre-state Zionist, English-language newspaper founded in 1932 by Gershon Agron.
It was one of the largest media outlets for the Jewish Yeshuv (the pre-state community)- which explicitly advocated for the recreation of a Jewish national home.

In 1950, the paper changed its name to its current one: “The Jerusalem Post”.

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Bottom line:
The President of the Palestinian Authority has gifted the Saudi King- a leader in a country that does not recognize Israel to this day-
An artifact of early Zionist media history.

Here is an interesting statistic.

According to the “ACLED” Data Project:
➡️ During the first full month of the recent war in Iran ~150 exclusively anti-war protests were held in the U.S.

➡️ About 10 out of them, were held on school and university campuses.

On the other hand,
According to the CCC- Crowd Counting Consortium-
During the first seven weeks after October the 7th 2023:

➡️ 1869 anti Israeli demonstrations were held across the US.

➡️ 420 of them- during the first ten days. Before the ground operation has even began.

➡️ About 560 of the 1869, were held on U.S. universities and public schools campuses.

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I’m not an expert, but it is hard to miss such a staggering difference.

It seems that there are two players behind the anti-Israeli and anti-Western protests in the U.S. as a whole, and on the university campuses in particular- who are begging to be noticed.

➡️ Qatar.
The de facto MB state, has spent years investing very heavily in the American entertainment business and education.

The infrastructure built this way- was one of the enablers behind the campuses and other public spaces in the U.S. - erupting with protests against Israel during the war vs HMS (an offshoot of the MB).

During the war in Iran on the other hand- It wasn’t only Israel who was involved, but also, directly- the U.S.

Not to mention also that Qatar has been repeatedly attacked by the Islamic Republic over the course of March 2026.

Considering the said above, activating the mentioned infrastructure to defend Tehran- would have been a strange decision at best.

➡️ The regime in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
A less mighty player than Qatar- when it comes to soft power- yet, we should not forget about them as well.

The IR has been immersed in chaos.
Economically and logistically.
Especially since the beginning of March.

Now, while their online propaganda seems to function just fine- this is not the same as maintaining the ability to affect realities on the ground.

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Bottom line:
The massive anti-Israeli protests aren’t a spontaneous eruption of civil “empathy” and “morals”, but rather a result of a well directed, funded and coordinated effort.

Israel has earned the title “Startup Nation”- among other things by contributing to the world at least seven patents that at the time were new even as a concept.

• Drip irrigation.
• SPI (firewalls).
• USB. Disk on Key.
• Instant messaging. (ICQ).
The idea which today is behind Whatsapp and others.
• PillCam.
A much more friendly and effective alternative to an endoscope.
• ⁠Rewalk.
Enabling people with spinal injuries- to walk again.
• ⁠Mobileye.
The technology behind many of the autonomous vehicles.

That’s before we even start addressing other popular products and optimisations used worldwide.

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On the other hand, we might ask ourselves:
What inventions did the Palestinians contribute to the world?

If one looks up these “inventions”- they find a list containing 21-23 items.

10 of them are related to kinetic energy… if you know what I mean.

There are also:
• 8 craft and art related items.
• ⁠3 culinary related items.
• ⁠2 modern technology items.

However, even the three categories above include mainly either anachronistic things- which have very little, if at all- to do with the modern day Palestinians,
Or things that just aren’t inventions but an attempt (including a failed one) to optimise something that already existed.

Here are some examples:

➡️ “The Nablusi soap”.
Its invention dates back to the 10th century.
Too bad the Palestinians did not exist back then. The city of Nablus (Shkhem) was controlled by a Tunisian dynasty and inhabited by Samaritans and immigrants from the Arabian peninsula.

➡️ “Mother of Pearl Carving”.
An artistic designing of Oyster shells introduced to Bet-Lekhem in the 14th century.
Before the Palestinians were invented.
By pilgrims from what today is Italy.
When the land was controlled by a Sultanate originating in Egypt.

➡️ “Non-Invasive Microwave Cancer Treatment Device”

A startup that tried to modify a well known technology into a device.
The device was never clinically proven to be effective.
The startup was closed without ever bringing a product to the market.

➡️ “Mapless Autonomous Vehicle Driving System”

First of all, this is not an invention by any stretch of imagination,
But rather a small part of a highly competitive branch in robotics.

However, this is likely the only modern positively contributing “invention” on this list- that is actually up and running.

What’s the catch?
The initial platform for this startup was given by the Tel Aviv University- where the founder- Ghazali, earned his M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering. (Apartheid and all. You know).

Early backing and ecosystem support to the startup were given by an Israeli venture capital fund “Takwin Labs”.

The co-founders were another Palestinian and two Israelis.

The company offices are located in Haifa and in San Jose.

➡️ Keffiyeh.
Just like the Palestinian flag,
And even the name Palestine itself-
The keffiyeh was not invented in Palestine nor by the Palestinians.

Its origin is today’s central Iraq- Kufa.

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It appears that even the existence of the list of Palestinian “inventions”- like so many other things about this conflict- is an attempt to rewrite the history.

What can you do when international media outlets air “news” without doing even the most basic fact checking?

One option is to turn their carelessness against them:

Below is a list of baits planted by ordinary Israelis across social media- that large news networks, in their chase after a sensational headline- fell for.

Such list makes you wonder if they verify anything at all, before broadcasting it.

➡️ 2024. “The helicopter agent”
On May 2024, a helicopter carrying the Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, and several other high ranking Iranian officials- got caught in thick fog and crashed with no survivors.
A cause that was later confirmed by the Iranian experts as well.

Despite that- “independent” journalists and podcasters- especially pro Kremlin ones, expectedly pointed the finger at Israel.

As a response- Israeli internet users fed the social media space with the name Eli Copter- as the Mossad pilot who allegedly was in the cockpit.

While Eli, is a common Israeli name-
You’d expect the professional media outlets not to miss the strange “coincidence” behind Eli Copter flying a Helicopter.

But no.
i24News Francais fell for it.
Dragging the very prominent Russian state propagandist Vladimir Soloviev with them- who in all seriousness quoted the name on his show as a proof of the Anti-Israeli conspiracy.

➡️ 2022. “Agent SBD”

In June 2022 a drone strike targeted a vehicle in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Iranian state media immediately claimed that it has hit a senior Israeli intelligence asset.

As part of a usual response- Israelis went on the internet and claimed that the name of the asset was Assaf Lotz.
Assaf- is a relatively common first name in Israel.
Lotz- is a plausible surname.

However when said together, it sounds like “Asa flotz”. Which literally translates from Hebrew as “he has let off steam through his rear end”…

Who were the ones to take the bait this time?-
Prominent Iranian state news agencies “Fars” and “Mehr”, who have published official reports celebrating the liquidation of a “Senior Mossad commander- Asaff Lotz”.

The articles stayed up for hours,
Giving the Israelis a chance to remember him as the “Silent but deadly” agent…

➡️2024. “Born to be an ‘Assassin’”.

In July 2024, the political leader of HMS- Ismail Haniyeh, was eliminated in a secure guesthouse in Iran.

Naturally, and this time maybe even rightfully so- all fingers pointed at Israel.

But while everyone were scrambling for details- the Israeli users “leaked” the name of the Mossad agent behind the operation. Amit Nakesh.

Once again,
Amit is a popular Israeli name.
Nakesh is a plausible surname.
But when said together- “Amitnakesh” literally translates from Hebrew as “the Assassin”.

Sure enough there were multiple large media outlets who fell for it.

This time it was the turn of the Turkish ones.
“Akdeniz Gercek Gazetesi”, “Usak Olay” and “Haber Global”-
Came up with entire profiles detailing the career of this “agent”.
One of them even went further and speculated about his “Indo-Jewish” origins as Amit is also a popular name in India.

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Jokes aside,
These are excellent demonstrations of the media “echo chambers” when it comes to reporting anything about Israel.
The media outlets understandably want to be “the first on the scene”, so during high profile incidents they rely almost blindly on their open sources to give immediate results.
However, those sources aren’t necessarily (to put it mildly)- objective or truthful.

And just as large media outlets fell for the playful trolling by the Israelis- they repeatedly fall for much less harmless tropes, without properly questioning their sources.

Let’s review the common accusation claiming that “Israel is ‘grabbing’ land from Lebanon”.

To do that, we should simply look at the negotiations that are being held between Israel and the government of Lebanon.

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The basic assumption of these negotiations:
➡️ Israel will eventually withdraw from Lebanon entirely.

Not exactly something being agreed upon by someone trying to “grab” land.

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What are the conditions that Israel is putting forward in order for that to happen?

➡️ All armed factions in Southern Lebanon should be disarmed and their place should be entirely and irrevocably taken by the LAF (the national military of Lebanon).

➡️ Lebanon should eventually recognise Israel’s right to exist. (Amazing. Thank you).

➡️ Lebanon should eventually establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

That’s it.

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Israel is not demanding anything humiliating.
➡️ Nobody even asks Lebanon to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. (Which also is a basic fact, but whatever).

➡️ Nobody is asking Lebanon to revoke their recognition of Palestine.

➡️ Israel doesn’t demand the LAF to limit the number of its soldiers, nor types of equipment, nor its area of presence.

➡️ On the contrary- the LAF should be able to enforce itself as the only armed entity in the area.

Generally nothing that would limit country’s sovereignty as long as the reasonable conditions above are met.

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In other words, nobody is putting forward any extraordinary conditions:
• Please be a normal country and make your national army- the only armed entity in it.
• ⁠Please, one day- recognize our right to exist. (🤦🏻)
• ⁠Please, one day- have diplomatic ties with us.

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By the way,
Pretty sure that the one to benefit more from the peace agreement, would be Lebanon.
Among other things- because if the LAF remains the only armed entity in the country- others won’t be so hesitant to invest in it.
As the main obstacle until now was the fear of the money and technology ending up in the hands of the Iranian regime- whose proxies are the cause of the vast majority of the armed conflicts in Lebanon in the last decades.

In case you have missed it:
On May 11th, the New York Times has published an ‘opinion’ column accusing Israel, among other things- of letting trained dogs to “violate bodily autonomy” of detainees.
If I rephrase it politely…

You did not misread that.

After you are done laughing (or crying), I perhaps should remind you that it is by far not the first time that Israel was blamed for controlling the animal kingdom.

The list below is for your entertainment and perhaps reassessment of the credibility of some mainstream outlets.

⁠➡️ 2010 “Assault Sharks”:
The BBC quoted an accusation alleging that Israel is behind the shark attacks in Egypt.

⁠➡️ 2013 “Spy Kestrel”:
The BBC reported of a Kestrel “detained” in Turkey and X-Rayed for Israeli espionage equipment.

➡️ 2014 ⁠”Sabotage boars”:
The Palestinian News Agency WAFA, Reported accusations against Israel of using wild boars against the Palestinians.

➡️ 2015 “Mossad Dolphin”:
The BBC quoted a report about “Seizing an Israeli spy dolphin by the shores of Gaza”.

➡️2018 “Intelligence reptiles”:
⁠The Times of Israel quoted Iran’s ex military chief blaming Israel for using lizards and chameleons to spy on the Iranian nuclear facilities.

➡️2019 “Hyena squads”:
A Palestinian NGO coalition- indirectly funded through partner NGOs by the EU, and named “Stop the Wall”- accused the Israeli authorities of “setting hyenas” on the Palestinian populations.

⁠➡️ 2021 “Surveillance cattle”:
The Palestinian newspaper “Al Quds” published a story about Israelis “training cattle” to spy on Palestinians.

➡️ 2022, “Zionist Bees”:
The Gaza-based “Shehab” news agency,
Reposted claims by pro Palestinian NGOs that Israel uses genetically modified bees and drones disguised as bees- to monitor activities in Gaza.

Also, one should also not forget about the
• “Zionist poison-resistant rats” brought up by mainstream Palestinian news agencies in 2008 and 2023.

• ⁠The Islamic Republic of Iran “detaining” 14 squirrels in 2007.

And other cases of detaining “Zionist spy” vultures and eagles in Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.

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Apparently claims that would normally be considered ridiculous- for many people become very plausible once the word “Israel” is attached to them.

🔵Me:
Making a post addressing the ridiculousness of singling out the American military aid to Israel-
While even the American domestic frauds and mismanagements dwarf it tenfold.

🟢A guy from Bangladesh:
Starts mocking Israel and tells me that countries should not be given money by other countries.

🔵Me:
“Would you like to tell me about the 6-7 billion USD of aid that Bangladesh receives annually?
A billion of it- directly and indirectly from the U.S.”

🟢The guy from Bangladesh:
Stops responding…

The point of this post is not to tell you that Israel is better than Bangladesh,
But rather to remind you that nearly all anti-Zionist talking points (no pun intended)- lack one very crucial thing.
A context.

• What does your country do?
• What is the objective reality on the ground?
• What happened in similar situations throughout history?
• ⁠What would happen if (god forbid) the Palestinians and the Israelis switched roles?

Or even
• What has led to the thing?

Usually, none of it is being asked.

Instead- an accusation (usually, a libel) is a verdict.
Just make something up and chant it everywhere.

That graph doesn’t even mention the mixed cities like Haifa, Lod, Nof Ha Galil, or Akko- where another 80 thousand Muslims live side by side with the Jews.

If one listens to the rhetoric coming from Pakistan regarding the Palestinians- it might sound like the former is a staunch supporter of the cause:

➡️ “Pakistan will continue to stand by its Palestinian brothers and sisters until they achieve a sovereign and contiguous state".

​➡️”Pakistan remains committed to the Palestinian cause, which is a cornerstone of our foreign policy..."

Has it always like been this?
Not really.
• In 1950, Pakistan diplomatically supported a complete denial of a Palestinian statehood.
• In 1970, Pakistan provided a direct support for a fighting effort against the Palestinians.

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Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Jordan occupied and officially annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem- thus factually denying Palestinian statehood.
Pakistan was one of the only three countries to formally recognize this annexation:

➡️ “The Government of Pakistan recognizes the union of the two banks of the Jordan into a single state under the Hashemite Crown, believing this step to be in the interest of the Arab people…"

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In September 1970, the Jordanian King Hussein decided to get rid of the ‘state within a state’- that the Palestinian factions have established in Jordan.

At that time Pakistan held in Jordan a 500 people- military advisory mission, and shifted it in favor of the fight.

The leader of the advisory mission- Brigadier Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq- who among the pro-Palestinians of that time, will eventually “earn” the nickname “The ‘Butcher’ of Amman”- played a crucial role in assisting the Jordanian Army in its operations against the Palestinian factions.

➡️ Yasser Arafat, the future president of the Palestinian Authority- reflecting on the role of the Pakistani Brigadier:
“Zia k***** more Palestinians in 11 days, than Israel could in 20 years”.

Zia-ul-Haq will eventually become a General and later the President of Pakistan.
Arguably, that September in Jordan- was what gave the boost to his military and then political career.

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I really do not envy the Palestinians.
Way too many of their “supporters” demonstrate us time after time- that they do not care about the Palestinian people, unless it allows them to use the latter as a tool against Israel.

Western politicians joke at the expense of Israel and Lebanon.

Most of the Western politicians do not understand the Middle East.
On top of that- many of them treat it as a political playground where they might sometimes get extra bonus points by trying to achieve an occasional ceasefire. Completely ignoring the fact that closing the lid over boiling water- does not stop the boiling, but rather speeds it up.

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Lately, we are hearing Western politicians calling upon Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon, based on resolution 1701.

In other words- based on a promise that the Lebanese state army (LAF) will disarm any other factions in Southern Lebanon and remain the only armed entity in that area.

Sounds reasonable.
Except for two minor details:
1. It has already been tried.
2. Not many people grasp the sheer scale of the organization that Israel is facing in Lebanon and the LAF is expected to disarm.

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To better understand the reality on the ground, lets compare the said organization to actual armies.

➡️ In terms of rockets and artillery:
Two years ago- in that category, it had a higher firepower than almost any individual European country.

➡️ In terms of manpower:
• 25 thousand ready-to-go-now active combatants.
• Up to 50 thousands, including the reserves.
• That’s more active-duty combat infantry than the UK or Germany can currently commit to a single front…

➡️ The LAF, who are expected to disarm this giant:
• Have ~40% fewer active-duty combat soldiers.
• On the paper it is more, but the financial crisis reduces that number.
• ⁠~30% of the state troops share the same religious and communal background as the group they are supposed to confront.
(We are talking about neighbors and relatives).
• ⁠The state soldiers- are known to many times benefit from the “alternative businesses” that the said organization is running.

➡️ There is also the international observer mission:

They have a personnel of ~8-10 thousand, but aren’t allowed to sieze a single weapon nor carry out a single operation- without a direct authorisation from the Lebanese government- where the main armed faction that is supposed to be disarmed, holds a significant power.

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Knowing this,
Does it seem realistic that either the restricted observer force, or the outgunned state army, or a politically paralyzed government-
Will be able to ‘disarm’ anyone?

Or are we, once again dealing with shortsighted Western politicians who are seeking to claim credit for an achieved ceasefire- that will inevitably lead to another cycle just like this one?