The Lies People Tell Themselves About the Middle East

This is one man’s journey from parroting anti-Israel slogans to confronting propaganda, groupthink, and the uncomfortable power of facts.

Even after overwhelming evidence of Palestinian sexual atrocities of October 7th, much of the world still treats Jewish suffering as negotiable, deniable, or politically inconvenient.

The surge in antisemitism is forcing the surge in something else too: integral reminders about Jewish survival, identity, and nationhood.

These are the slogans, assumptions, and talking points that no longer serve Jews in a post-October 7th world — and what should replace them.

Today marks the start of the holiday that transformed freedom into purpose — and created the foundations of Jewish civilization.

As the old integrationist dream weakens, many Western Jews will increasingly need to rediscover the strength of family, community, and peoplehood — cornerstones of the Sephardic Jewish experience.

Contrary to what many Western pundits want us to believe, the Strait of Hormuz is not Iran’s forever weapon. The Iranian regime can threaten Hormuz, but it cannot stop the future.

For centuries, Jews have been told to justify themselves in exchange for belonging. But what if the real problem was the assumption that Jews must always stand trial in the first place?

The tragedy is that many Jew-haters would rather invent fantasies about Jewish success than adopt the habits, values, attitudes, and behaviors that helped Jews endure history in the first place.

The mounting pressure on Israelis has moved far beyond the Jewish state's borders.