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The Launch
On the surface, the Pro-Palestinian movement looks like a spontaneous eruption of moral outrage that ‘just happened.’ But beneath the surface, it was a highly orchestrated, well-funded propaganda campaign that had been seeded for over twenty years under our noses.
The soft launch occurred the month before 10/7, with venom seeping out in news outlets like Al Jazeera with the trope of Israeli terrorists attacking worshipers at the Dome of the Rock. In fact, 10/7 was the Pro-Palestinian launch event, akin to the Super Bowl ad of political movements.
Immediately following 10/7, well before Israel stuck back, a powerful grassroots organization, the BDS/SJP campus network, consisting of over 300 members, had its Pro-Palestinian marketing machine already in action. A ten-page live Google Doc, known as The Playbook, detailing everything protestors needed and pushed to join the cause, was launched to BDS/SJP social media networks. Worse, it was updated online every 5 minutes. Clearly, somewhere in the world, there is a conference room with 40 full-time activists acting as the ad agency for them.
The Playbook Elements
‘Free Palestine’ slogan, banners, t-shirts, flags
‘From the River to the Sea’ and other chants
Apartheid and colonizer messaging
Teach-ins / Die-ins
Protests with participants fully adorned in the green and red colors of Palestine
Downloadable protest signs
How to wear your Keffiyeh
Even legal advice for the prudent protester
And once Israel struck back, their messaging evolved to include:
“Ceasefire Now”
“Stop the Genocide:”
“Shut it Down”
THE HEART MONITORS UNCOVERED FACT:
“Free Palestine” and the movement behind it has inspired over half of Generation Z to support their cause.
The Story of the Two Davids
The true brilliance of the Pro-Palestinian effort stems from the fundamentals of storytelling, as developed by noted Sociologist & Anthropologist Joseph Campbell in the Mid-20th Century. Campbell’s ‘hero’s journey’ is intrinsic to all cultures and serves as the story arc of virtually every successful Hollywood blockbuster ever made.
The star, an ordinary person lacking special abilities, is chosen to confront the insurmountable force threatening peace and prosperity, ultimately triumphing through guile, wit, and the support of a few cast members. It’s exemplified by characters like Luke Skywalker, Bilbao Baggins, Robin Hood, the Black Panther, and Rocky.
Similarly, it mirrors the tale of David versus Goliath, though in this instance, the Palestinians have flipped the script, turning David into Goliath and the Palestinians into David.
Hamas is glorified as an army of heroic Davids fighting against the militarily superior Goliath. The concept of martyrs seamlessly fits into this narrative and helps to make sense of why suicide bombers are glorified as heroes in Arab culture.
What remains concealed from the public eye is the true Goliath of the region, behind the scenes funding the entire enterprise: Oil money.
THE HEART MONITORS UNCOVERED FACT:
25% of Gen Z today see both Hamas and the IDF as terrorists.
Lives Exchanged for PR.
In order to make their narrative stick, it’s essential to Hamas that Gazan civilians die in great numbers. That’s a key reason why Hamas uses human shields; they know that civilian deaths will position Israel as the dark side.
Fact: Gen Z has sympathy for victims
51% of Gen Z see the Palestinian people as victims, while 41% see Israelis in the same light, as opposed to the general population, which was split among Gen Pop at 52% for Palestinians and 49% for Israelis.
Minority appeal.
The hero’s story is most appealing to Muslims, people of color who relate to the oppressed, the LGBTQ+ community, and Gen Z, who themselves feel oppressed because they feel no one listens to them. All these groups especially relate to David, and of course despise Goliath.
Gen Z also feels that their generation is somehow ‘special’ (that’s what we get for supporting those participation trophies!). In fact, almost 70% percent of Gen Z state that their views are different from those of all other generations.
Surprisingly, many Gen Z Muslims and Gen Z as a whole feel that Jews are themselves a minority, worthy of DEI inclusion.
However, Jews do not win the sympathy usually associated with such minority groups. This is most likely due to influence and wealth of the Jewish community. They are minorities, yes. But not in the same way as other minorities.
THE HEART MONITORS UNCOVERED FACTS:
33% of Gen Z believe that Israel is engaged in apartheid.
56% of Gen Pop believe that the resignation of Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay was due to the influence of “rich Jewish donors.” 66% of Gen Z feel the same.
40% of Gen Pop and 53% of Gen Z respectively believe that Robert Kraftʼs airing of a Super Bowl ad is an example of rich Jewish people exerting influence in media and sports.
Freedom is the ultimate trump card.
Freedom (‘Free Palestine’) is the magic bullet that trumps every other concept in this debate. It’s the core of the story as Palestinian Davids fight the Goliath who has oppressed them, stolen their land, and sentenced them to reside in an open-air prison.
Nowhere in the story is the fact that Israel just wants to live in peace mentioned. Or that they withdrew from Gaza 17 years ago, forcing Jewish residents to leave as well. Or the fact that Radical Islam doesn’t just desire its own state; they wish to wipe Israel off the map (and quite possibly the Western world as well).
That sounds too much like Goliath to be a part of the popular narrative. But it’s spoken of frequently in the sanctity of Mosques and in coffee houses all over the world.
The emotional power of freedom relies on the notion that Israel is oppressing the Palestinians. That’s why for every ‘Free Palestine’ poster you see, you’ll see one about oppression, apartheid, or something to that effect.
You need both a David AND a Goliath in order to make the story work.
Freedom is a moral get-out-of-jail-free card that justifies any and all behavior: blocking traffic on busy streets, ripping down hostage posters, even violence. The radical slogan ‘by any means necessary’ is justified by the equally radical oppression of the Palestinian people.
For Gen Z, the world began in the year 2000
For Gen Z, 9/11 is history, but the Holocaust is more like the Civil War — ancient times that only belong on the History Channel. There is little relevance to today, especially when there is a genocide happening right now (with Israel on the wrong side). Importantly, once an event becomes ‘history’, all of the emotional power to move people is drained out of it, and it becomes a purely academic and intellectual pursuit.
Speaking of which, Jews love facts. So, Jewish Studies, holidays, and religion tends to focus on culture and past history. Conversely, Muslim Studies at universities are sure to address the current state of the world, and skip the bits from the past 3,000 years where Jews were continually tormented.
THE HEART MONITORS UNCOVERED FACT:
Only 32% of Gen Z (ages 16-26) believes that historic oppression of Jewish people, including the Holocaust is relevant to the current conflict in the Middle East.
Jews & Israelis need a BIG counter punch. Very BIG.
But they don’t have it. Yet.
Jews and Israelis have no long-term answer to ‘Free Palestine.’ Nothing which creates the emotion required to mount a reasonable counterargument. Short-term marketing efforts are being made by the State of Israel leveraging the hostages –people who have had their own freedom curtailed. That’s smart. And emotive. After all, freedom is not an argument! However, the hostage situation will get resolved, and then what does Israel do?
Most of Jewish/Israeli counterpunches are aimed at the head — the Palestinian messaging is aimed squarely at the heart. Yes, ‘Bring Them Home Now’ evokes sympathy, but ‘Free Palestine’ also evokes inspiration. It’s a movement.
The counter narrative, courtesy of Joseph Campbell
It’s simple, but not easy. Israel must flip the script back to regain the role of David. Unfortunately, we are far into the second act already and the characters have been established.
So, how does Israel (and the Jews) engineer such a plot twist? The villain is actually the hero, and vice versa? It’s been done: The Godfather, Revenge of the Sith (no, not Luke Skywalker?!) , Spider Man 3, Dark Knight, and Terminator. Notice that this happens in sequels. That’s good because we need a fresh start – Israeli War 2: The Truth Emerges.
But how? Try this....
Israel is a nation the size of New Jersey surrounded by 52 unfriendly Arab countries, backed by BILLIONS of dollars in oil money, which they did nothing to ‘earn.’
Radical Islam seeks to destroy not just Israel, but the entire Western world, instituting Sharia law everywhere...or death. Your choice.
There are over 1 billion Muslims vs. a paltry 15 million Jews.
Israel just wants to be left alone — they are not aggressors, and only appear that way when acting in self-defense, provoked by Arab atrocities.
The ‘casting’ of Goliath is essential to the story. As every James Bond film demonstrates, you can’t have a true hero without a supervillain.
For Israel to win, the conflict cannot be against Hamas alone. They aren’t formidable enough for the role of Goliath. But when you look at the influence of Iran and Russia, billions in oil money and then add in the attacks by Hezbollah and the Houthis, you get the full picture.
Israel isn’t just taking on Hamas, they are the tip of the sword, fighting against a massive movement intent on the destruction of our way of life. Now it’s starting to sound like a Hollywood blockbuster.
Reclaim David. Recast Radical Islam as Goliath.
Jon Bond. Co-Founder
Robin Lemberg. Co-Founder
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