My Hobby Is Characterizing Israeli Defensive Weapons, Actions As Aggression

by Yousef Munayyer, US Campaign for Palestinian Rights

Washington, August 2 – We’ve all heard the claims: Israel’s Iron Dome missile system poses a dire threat to Palestinian safety. A minority of people hear the statement and find it absurd, because how could a system that intercepts incoming rockets threaten anyone? But most people lack expertise or familiarity with the details of the situation, and agree simply because “missile” makes them think of weapons, and weapons are bad! Boom – instant propaganda victory. It’s a favorite pastime of mine.

The Iron Dome fallacy fits into a larger hobby I enjoy, namely, portraying Israel’s defensive measures and systems as oppressive to Palestinians, or as outright aggression against them. The Separation Barrier provides the obvious example. We activists like to call it a “wall,” which in places I suppose it is, but mainly where stopping suicide bombers and other terrorists required more solid deterrence during the Second Intifada. No matter. Anything that protects Israelis must perforce hurt Palestinians, else Palestinians have no pretext to object to such measures. The same folks who assume aggression when they hear “missile” also have no idea that the Palestinian cause aims not to establish a viable Palestinian state, but to destroy the Jewish one.

Another one I like: Israel’s otherwise-reasonable efforts to interdict or block weapons from reaching terrorists in the Gaza Strip are “collective punishment” and a “siege” that hurts millions of innocent Palestinians in “the world’s largest open-air prison.” I’m particularly fond of that locution. It neatly flips cause and effect, laying all the blame at the feet of the people whose activities in and around the territory aim to prevent harm, while those within it continue to focus their energies and funding on trying to harm Israel, even at the mounting cost of hurting their own. Not a weekend passes during which I refrain from invoking collective punishment, much in the way my peers might indulge in a round of golf or an afternoon of waterskiing. Chacun à son goût.

I tried fishing once or twice; not for me. I need something with a little more immediate zing, but without the effort and expense of, say, mountain climbing or scuba. Characterizing Israeli defensive weapons and actions as aggression hits the sweet spot for me: I’m good at it, I enjoy it, it doesn’t require much outlay, I can devote as much or as little time to it as I desire, I get attention for it, and I see its real-world results, as measured in Jews attacked for the actions of Israel.

I recommend it to everyone.

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