Over the past few months, the world has been subjected to horrifying images of anti-Israel protests. From the streets of London to the square in Harvard Yard, Palestinians and their supporters have chanted “Kill the Jews,” “Intifada,” and called for an end to Israel. Protesters have marched, blocked highways, and “occupied” university campuses.
Many pro-Israel activists worry that these protests have influenced anti-Israel public opinion in the U.S. and around the world. Not only do polls show that this is not the case, but these protests, their aggressive methods and messages are influencing American public opinion to think positively about Israel.
On a hot Friday afternoon, I was trying to cool off by relaxing and scanning the news headlines when I saw the horrifying news about a Palestinian who had put up a large swastika Nazi flag outside an off-road truck repair shop in Jacksonville, Florida. This wasn’t the first time that Palestinians had used Nazi paraphernalia to defend the Palestinian cause, but I was still shocked by the callousness of brazenly associating with the Nazis. Sitting in my home in Mitzpe Eliho (a suburb of Jerusalem and Jericho), there wasn’t much I could do, but it wouldn’t be right to do nothing.
I looked up the store’s phone number online and ended up calling the number before I even had a plan in mind. The owner, Radi Ahmed, answered the phone and asked what I could do. I was surprised because Ahmed answered the phone like any other business. I was expecting a greeting like “Heil Hitler” or “Free Palestine.” With no plan and no idea why I was calling, I asked Ahmed if he had put up a Nazi swastika flag outside his store. He asked if I had called to taunt him or to hear him out. I don’t think people who put up Nazi swastika flags should be given a chance to express their views, but I found myself saying, “Of course, I’ll listen to you.”
Ahmed is trying to normalize the swastika
What Ahmed said next sickened me, but did not surprise me. I had heard the usual slanderous accusations about anti-Semitism and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, which Ahmed repeated one by one as if reciting a list of Palestinian talking points. I was sickened by Ahmed’s complete normalization of the Nazi swastika and his unashamed attempt to equate Israel’s treatment of Palestinians with the German Nazi treatment of Jews. As the grandson and student of Holocaust survivors and a survivor rabbi, I was tired of listening to anyone who tried to deny the uniqueness of the Holocaust.
Ahmed told me that in response to the genocide Israel is committing in Gaza, we need to not only protest Israel’s actions, but also make it clear to everyone that Israel is not conducting a legitimate military operation, but is committing a genocide similar to the one the Nazis committed against the Jews during the Holocaust. “People need to know the truth!” Ahmed explained emphatically over the phone.
“You don’t know what it’s like to be a Palestinian under Israeli control in the West Bank, because you haven’t seen it!” Ahmed continued to lecture me. “If you’ve seen what Palestinians go through on a daily basis, you’ll agree that raising the Nazi swastika flag is an appropriate expression of protest against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.” Throughout his lecture, Ahmed referred to checkpoints and other wrongs that Israel seems to be committing against Palestinians (in Ahmed’s eyes). I patiently listened to his rant and waited for him to finish.
Once Ahmed had finished speaking, I calmly explained to him that hanging a Nazi swastika flag outside his shop was not stretching the truth. I told him that he had a right to his opinion about Israel’s actions during the war and its treatment of Palestinians. I disagreed with his portrayal and I know he was wrong. I told him that I found his opinion defamatory, but that I was not going to convince him and that he was not going to convince me. I explained that I lived in the area he was referring to and that if eyewitness testimony was the deciding factor (as he claimed), then my opinion should carry more weight than his in these matters.
I then explained the difference between the Holocaust, which the Nazis perpetrated against the Jews, and what he believes is Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. I explained that the Holocaust was an extremely devastating event, unlike anything that has ever happened in history. The Nazis considered the Jews subhuman, and they planned and carried out a plan to completely wipe out the Jewish people. They would have achieved their goal if they had not been stopped by the armies of the world.
Israel considers Palestinians to be a people created in the image of God and has never planned to exterminate them. Under Israeli rule, Palestinian quality of life, life expectancy and population have improved significantly. Ahmed acknowledged that there is no comparison between Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and the Nazis’ treatment of the Jews.
I advised Ahmed on how to communicate his message most effectively. I explained that when he raised the Nazi swastika flag in a major American city, his story was so repellent to Americans who still see the Nazis as an enemy that it made national news. By raising the Nazi flag as an act of defence of Palestine, Ahmed had linked the Nazis and the Palestinians in the minds of Americans.
I explained that rather than attracting Americans to the Palestinian cause, Palestinian activists blocking highways and disrupting social events and neighborhood meetings had the opposite effect: As Americans saw Palestinians chanting anti-Semitic tropes, causing sabotage, and now displaying Nazi swastikas, polls showed they were becoming increasingly supportive of Israel as the war continued.
I told Ahmed that if he wanted Americans to sympathize with the Palestinians and his claims (even if they were lies) to resonate with Americans, he needed to change his tactics. After receiving a promise from him that he would never again fly the Nazi swastika, I ended our conversation by explaining that I hoped he would not follow my advice, but that he should if he wanted to succeed in “telling the truth.”
Americans have a very positive impression of Israel, Zionism, and the Israeli people because the two countries share values. When Americans watch Zionists march down Fifth Avenue in New York City, attend a rally in Los Angeles, or march in their own hometown, they see the American and Israeli flags proudly displayed, hear the American national anthem being sung, and hear positive messages of peace being shouted. Those images and messages resonate with Americans.
The author, who has worked in Zionist education in educational institutions around the world, recently published a new book called “Zionism Today.”
