Since the outbreak of the Iron Sword War and the realization that Arab and Palestinian propaganda is much greater than the Israeli one, it seems that each of us has become a miniature explainer. Videos of private individuals in a variety of languages, videos and pictures exposing the atrocities alongside explanations and more flood the Internet - but it seems never enough, considering the amount of fake videos circulating from the other side.
Ben Shapiro, a journalist and author, formerly a political commentator for Fox Channel and one who frequently speaks at colleges and universities, also owns a YouTube channel with 6.4 million subscribers, most of whose content deals with political issues, differences between left-right attitudes in the United States, and many "anti-walk" videos dealing with LGBT and transgender people. In the past, he even interviewed Benjamin Netanyahu on his YouTube channel.
Since the war began, Shapiro, who is considered a conservative conservative and many of his viewers are devout Christians, has been posting pro-Israel and anti-Hamas propaganda videos. The most recent of these was posted on Sunday night, which has already received more than a million views, in which it explains about the Jewish state and debunks common myths heard in the Arab world about Israel.
"You were lied to about Israel and Palestine," reads the title of the video, which begins with the first claim: "Israel is historic Muslim territory." "It's just a lie," Ben explains, "this is Jewish territory," citing biblical evidence based on dates and archaeological finds on the subject. "The Romans decided to change the name of Israel to 'Palestine' in order to insult the Jews, and the name is based on the historical enemy of the Jews - the Philistines. Even during the years of exile, there was a Jewish presence in the Land of Israel. Islam, the religion of the Palestinian Arabs, had not yet been invented at that time, and there was still no independent Arab country in a place known as 'Palestine.'"
During the video, Shapiro refutes other claims - "myths," he says, one by one. Among the issues raised: the British Mandate, Arab support for Hitler, apartheid, the transfer of Gaza to the Palestinian leadership, proof of encouraging killing by world Arabs, and more. Towards the end of the video, Shapiro declares that Hamas' goal is not to try to create a joint state, but to kill as many Jews as possible, and until they fulfill their goal of "murdering every possible Jew and transferring the Land of Israel to their possession," they will not stop.
At the end of the video, Shapiro asks his viewers to donate to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which provide essential supplies such as medicine and food to Jews who need immediate help.
Ben Shapiro, in 2021, Photo by Getty Images
The video has so far received more than 12,35 comments, most of them supportive. "I am an Arab, and in the <> years of my life all I have heard about Israel is how evil, racist and bloodthirsty they are," wrote one commenter, "The news, movies and even advertisements portray Israel in the worst possible light. I've spent most of my life hatred, and only recently when I started investigating from my side instead of consuming what the Arab media – like Al Jazeera – provides, I've only now begun to see things differently... Love and peace from Morocco, the country where Jews and Muslims have always lived together and in peace and harmony."
Another commenter wrote: "I consider myself a left-leaning liberal all my life. After the last few weeks, I can't call myself that anymore."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us