israel & the bandwagon effect
With the threat of trendy activism currently infecting our campus and mass digital spaces, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stands out as a stark reminder of the dangers of oversimplification and the unresearched hive mind. Geopolitical issues, reduced to rhyming slogans, chants, and celebrity opinions, do a major disservice to the depth and complexity that defines such conflicts. The Bandwagon Effect, encouraged and strengthened by social media, often promotes a surface-level understanding, where push notifications and Instagram posts are taken as undeniable truth, regardless of how reflective of historical or evidential facts they are.
Though passionate about this topic prior, the realization became personal on Simchat Torah, a holiday usually characterized by joyous celebrations of completing and restarting the annual cycle of Torah readings. As an Orthodox Jew, Simchat Torah is a Jewish holiday where using phones or any form of technology is strictly forbidden, severing our connection to news outside the community for a 48 hour period. You can imagine the steady growth of fear as whispers between synagog congregants hinted at some tragedy in Israel told to them by a non-Jewish neighbor or security member. Hearing bits and pieces of the attack’s details while disconnected from the world set a heavy shadow over the joy of the day.
The choice of October 7th 2023 for the attack was not arbitrary, it followed the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War's beginning in 1973. On that day, Egypt and Syria led an ambushing attack on Israel, utilizing the holiest day of the Jewish year’s requirement of technology disconnection to their advantage. Though far greater in size, preparation, and surrounding country allyship, their unethical attack was thwarted by the Israeli Defense Forces; leading many islamic extremist groups to hold a grudge, one utilized on october 7th, 2023.
The aftermath of the recent attack revealed a stark contrast between expectation and reality. Turning on my phone after the holiday’s completion, I hoped for an outpouring of prayers and support for my community. Instead, social media platforms were flooded with #freepalestine posts, celebrities endorsing Hamas officials as "freedom fighters," and slogans advocating for the extinction and expulsion of my people from our homeland. These indivudals elevated the voice of Hamas, ignoring thier calls for the international annihalation of jews and blindly believing thier fictitous peaceful resistence. Though the most indigenous group to the land still existent, as evidenced by our name "Jews" being derived from the tribe and land of Judea and Israel, they label us as colonizers. They share inaccurate and radicalized infographics and claimed their antisemitism an acceptable sect within the intersectionality of fighting for minority rights. Hiding behind their screens and following the hoard allowed people my age to protect their identities and rights while infringing upon ours.
To claim a spot in the fight against discrimination and be able to be a part of something greater, many college students ignorantly claim the suffering of Israelis, whom the media has played as the oppressors, as deserved while claiming the suffering of the Palestinians, whom media portrays as victims, is despicable. Not only is it dangerous to join this bandwagon and base your opinion on what social media force-feeds you as truth, though proven fictitious, but it is also so destructive to see the world as black and white. This war is not against two groups with dissenting opinions. Many of the Israeli and Palestinian citizens want peace more than anything and the ability to safely live with their rights protected inside the land they view as their home. Historically, the Jews did live in the land before the Palestinians; however, more then millenia after the Jews were forcefully exiled, new groups, including the Palestinians, moved in and made the land their home. With that in mind, we need to stop fighting about the timeline and who did what and when and instead start embracing truth and having productive conversations that don't simply take celebrity words and social media posts as god's word. This persistent oversimplification neglects the geopolitical and historical evidence, international law, and the emotional and physical wellbeing of both Israeli and palestinians; and doesn’t just oversimplify but also perpetuates detremental narratives that directly impact us and lead to real world consequence, like the murder of Wadea Al-Fayoume in Chicago, and the 360% rise in anti semitic attacks between October 7th and January 7th.
Americans did the same troublesome patterns of blissfully ignorant "activism" with the Russian-Ukrainian war.. Few committed to research before posting an incorrect infographic or statement from their favorite celebrity. Soon after individuals realized the Russian-Ukranian war would be tumultuous and long, they stopped posting support and information and moved on to the newest trend. Discussing a need for justice, peace, and safety amongst both parties is not something to remain ignorant of and post about in the hopes you'll grow your following or peer support. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict deserves more than trending hashtags; it demands our careful consideration, historical awareness, and a commitment to understanding the needs of both peoples.
For more information on this and related topics, you can check out my youtube at “OfftheBandwagon.”
