Ido, I agree with your article, but I would take it a step further.
The irony is that while much of this activism may do very little to change reality in Gaza, it does have enormous consequences here in the West.
It influences elections. It pressures politicians. It shapes public opinion. It affects universities, media coverage, corporate policies, and cultural attitudes. In that sense, it is far more successful than many of us would like to admit.
Part of the reason is exactly what you describe. The keffiyeh has become fashionable. It has become a symbol that allows people to signal virtue, belonging, and identity. For many young people, it looks rebellious, compassionate, and socially approved all at the same time.
When I was young, people wore bell bottoms because they were cool. Today, some people wear a keffiyeh for the same reason. The difference is that this particular fashion statement carries political consequences.
That's why I think many of us underestimate it. We look at a protest, a hashtag, a scarf, or an encampment and say, "What did it accomplish?" But the cumulative effect is enormous. It normalizes ideas. It recruits supporters. It creates social pressure. It influences institutions. And eventually it influences policy.
In that sense, our opponents have run a remarkably successful propaganda campaign. They have managed to turn a political cause into a cultural identity and a fashion statement at the same time.
What is our equivalent? What is our slogan? What is our symbol? What is our cultural movement? We don't seem to have one. We don't market our story. We don't package our ideas. We don't make Jewish pride, Zionism, or support for Israel something people feel excited to display publicly.
Meanwhile, the other side understands the power of symbols, slogans, fashion, and social pressure.
And that is why they are destroying us in the propaganda war.
“I wore a Star of David for the first time the day after October 7, 2023. I am still wearing it — not because God told me to, but because my people were under attack and I needed the world around me to know whose side I am on.”
Zionism is the movement for the Jewish People’s national self-determination in their ancestral homeland.
Zionism stands as a remarkable example of decolonization, in which an oppressed and exiled people returned to their ancestral homeland, revived their ancient language, and built a vibrant democracy.
Abraham, our Patriarch, was a Zionist
Genesis makes it clear that Zionism is central to Abraham’s new religious mission.
Abraham becomes a Jew and a Zionist at the same time. The first command he receives is “Go from your country [lech lecha], your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” Abraham’s religious journey begins with a pilgrimage to Israel. Israel is an ever-present theme in the text; when Abraham and Sarah abandon Israel in search of food, it is seen by some, such as the Ramban, as a “major sin.” Their entire lives focus on the dream of building a nation in the land. When Sarah dies, the Bible depicts the intense effort Abraham makes to bury her in Israel. As Ibn Ezra notes, the purchase of a burial plot for her marks the beginning of the future Jewish state.
Genesis makes it clear that Zionism is central to Abraham’s new religious mission.
The keffiyeh is the new swastika. I so love little Jewish girls wearing keffiyehs on campuses and in big city marches. So brave. I often wonder if mommy and daddy approve ( maybe they even have their own , in stylish colors if course). Anyone see the intergenerational foursome with their keffiyehs and cute sunglasses posing outside the Park Slope ( slop) food coop?
Yes, they wrapped their heads in keffiyehs. However, the brains inside the heads functioned only to control locomotion, speech, and many other biological functions, but these brains were devoid of thinking ability.
Ido, I agree with your article, but I would take it a step further.
The irony is that while much of this activism may do very little to change reality in Gaza, it does have enormous consequences here in the West.
It influences elections. It pressures politicians. It shapes public opinion. It affects universities, media coverage, corporate policies, and cultural attitudes. In that sense, it is far more successful than many of us would like to admit.
Part of the reason is exactly what you describe. The keffiyeh has become fashionable. It has become a symbol that allows people to signal virtue, belonging, and identity. For many young people, it looks rebellious, compassionate, and socially approved all at the same time.
When I was young, people wore bell bottoms because they were cool. Today, some people wear a keffiyeh for the same reason. The difference is that this particular fashion statement carries political consequences.
That's why I think many of us underestimate it. We look at a protest, a hashtag, a scarf, or an encampment and say, "What did it accomplish?" But the cumulative effect is enormous. It normalizes ideas. It recruits supporters. It creates social pressure. It influences institutions. And eventually it influences policy.
In that sense, our opponents have run a remarkably successful propaganda campaign. They have managed to turn a political cause into a cultural identity and a fashion statement at the same time.
What is our equivalent? What is our slogan? What is our symbol? What is our cultural movement? We don't seem to have one. We don't market our story. We don't package our ideas. We don't make Jewish pride, Zionism, or support for Israel something people feel excited to display publicly.
Meanwhile, the other side understands the power of symbols, slogans, fashion, and social pressure.
And that is why they are destroying us in the propaganda war.
“I wore a Star of David for the first time the day after October 7, 2023. I am still wearing it — not because God told me to, but because my people were under attack and I needed the world around me to know whose side I am on.”
Ditto.
Brilliant expose! Thank you! And glad you are wearing your Star of David. We do the same. The Lord bless you!
Thank you for reading!
Absolutely. They should be ashamed but they're too stupid and egotistical to know it. They'll trip over their hypocrisy yet 🤬
The self-aggrandizing narcissism wrapped in moral superiority gives them a cloak of untouchability, or so they believe.
Zionism is the movement for the Jewish People’s national self-determination in their ancestral homeland.
Zionism stands as a remarkable example of decolonization, in which an oppressed and exiled people returned to their ancestral homeland, revived their ancient language, and built a vibrant democracy.
Abraham, our Patriarch, was a Zionist
Genesis makes it clear that Zionism is central to Abraham’s new religious mission.
Abraham becomes a Jew and a Zionist at the same time. The first command he receives is “Go from your country [lech lecha], your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” Abraham’s religious journey begins with a pilgrimage to Israel. Israel is an ever-present theme in the text; when Abraham and Sarah abandon Israel in search of food, it is seen by some, such as the Ramban, as a “major sin.” Their entire lives focus on the dream of building a nation in the land. When Sarah dies, the Bible depicts the intense effort Abraham makes to bury her in Israel. As Ibn Ezra notes, the purchase of a burial plot for her marks the beginning of the future Jewish state.
Genesis makes it clear that Zionism is central to Abraham’s new religious mission.
The keffiyeh is the new swastika. I so love little Jewish girls wearing keffiyehs on campuses and in big city marches. So brave. I often wonder if mommy and daddy approve ( maybe they even have their own , in stylish colors if course). Anyone see the intergenerational foursome with their keffiyehs and cute sunglasses posing outside the Park Slope ( slop) food coop?
It's all very disgusting.
Yes, they wrapped their heads in keffiyehs. However, the brains inside the heads functioned only to control locomotion, speech, and many other biological functions, but these brains were devoid of thinking ability.
Are you so desperate that needed to come up with this strategy to invade our emails as well? Stop this propaganda!