I have developed this bad habit of logging into my iPhone and perusing its various apps before starting my day. This morning I came across something that literally paralyzed me from getting out of bed. It was this from Abu Ali Express English:

How is it possible that after everything Israel went through on 10/7, which included especially brutal crimes the likes of which were not seen in our provinces, even Israel's great friends surrender to the "Palestinian lobby" and impose restrictions on Israel's military activities (for example, ground action in Rafah)? An action that will most likely lead to a decisive military victory against Hamas? How is it that the most cautious army in the world that operates under unusual legal restrictions compared to any other army, is still accused of committing "genocide" in many European capitals? How is it that through lies and deceit that are exposed time and time again, the Palestinians succeed in tilting international public opinion in an ever-increasing way in their favor?... All of the IDF's military superiority is inhibited and not manifested because of successful Palestinian consciousness warfare on the one hand and Israel's continuous colossal failure in this field on the other hand... This is how we arrive at the current situation where the massive firepower of the IDF cannot break through the wall of the "Palestinian lobby" that with one light finger Biden can press where it hurts. This is the most effective "secret" weapon of the Palestinians. In the face of all Israel's investment in weapons, the Palestinians have been investing, for decades, in a war of consciousness. They are practiced, sharp, fast, taking advantage of every event, big or small, to stop the Israeli war effort and impose restrictions and sanctions on it. Thus we reached a situation where Israel's great friendships prevent it from defeating an extraordinarily cruel enemy, even though they knew everything that this enemy did to us on 10/7.

You know, this is not the first time bad PR has been blamed for universal hatred against Israel and the Jews. I remember before 9/11 when I was actively involved in the field of “consciousness-raising” regarding the murderous Intifada that was blowing us up on our buses and at our Bar Mitzvah celebrations, and almost murdered me and my family on Seder night at the Park Hotel in Netanya in 2001, no matter what the Palestinians did, no matter how inhumanly they behaved, they still had the world’s sympathy. I often felt that whatever I or others did to enlighten the world was like bailing out a sinking cruise liner using a teaspoon.

I realized then it wasn’t because Palestinians were so clever, and so organized and so much better at PR than the Jews. It was because people wanted to believe them; because they too hated Israel and hated the Jews. It wasn’t rational. And then, out of nowhere, came the great game-changer: 9/11.

After that, suddenly, everyone, including George Bush, changed his mind. Islamic fundamentalism was declared an enemy. Countries went to war.

And then, so quickly, they forgot. Only a decade later, they inaugurated an Islamic cultural center and mosque two blocks away from Ground Zero! Everyone agreed to forgive and forget. Because it was easier to sink into forgetfulness, then to painfully remember, stand up, and fight.

What kept me immobilized this morning was not the great revelation that we need better PR: It was the full realization of powerlessness. They are more powerful in getting their message across because they are so much more numerous than we are, they have more money, and thus more power to reward.

Israel and its friends have gotten the truth out there. Everyone knows what really happened. The problem we face is that most people have chosen the momentarily more comfortable path of least resistance not to care.

It’s not surprising. Morality and truth have never held much sway in the world. They are paid lip service, but mankind genuflects to might, not right. The only reason Islamic terrorism continues to grow is, not that people believe their lies, but that terrorist lies provide a saving veneer to the cynical and evil decision to link oneself to the powerful, however depraved. They provide a respectable narrative for those who want to wear the red buttons supporting genocide of the Jews, putting on a little make-up over the raw obscenity of choosing to ignore beheaded babies and raped, tortured girls held hostage in billion-dollar terror tunnels erected with “humanitarian aid” collected from people all over the world.

And just as I thought I might sleep-in all day, I came across this in Variety, an open letter signed by 450 Jewish Hollywood executives, creators and actors protesting Jonathan Glazer’s obscene anti-Jewish Oscar night speech: “We refute our Jewishness being hijacked for the purpose of drawing a moral equivalence between a Nazi regime that sought to exterminate a race of people, and an Israeli nation that seeks to avert its own extermination . The use of words like ‘occupation’ to describe an indigenous Jewish people defending a homeland that dates back thousands of years, and has been recognized as a state by the United Nations, distorts history. It gives credence to the modern blood libel that fuels a growing anti-Jewish hatred around the world, in the United States, and in Hollywood.”

We are small – no, cross that out. We are tiny. But we are right. And that, in a world created by a just God, I will continue to believe means something. I don’t know how this is going to end, this latest fight against evil. But I do know this: No matter what they throw at us, every morning, we have to throw off the covers, wash our faces, and face the day. We have to go out and do our best, morning after morning, day after day. With hope, with faith, and with prayers in our hearts.

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