Hananya Naftali: Dear pro-Israel activists – this one is for you

I started to officially advocate for Israel back in 2014, right when I got out of the Gaza Strip after serving in Operation Protective Edge, where I was in the Armored Corps. I was mad seeing all the protests against Israel, I was mad when they called Israeli soldiers war criminals - and I wanted to fight back. I could not be silent. 

My first video advocating for Israel was me sitting in my room and speaking English with a slight Israeli accent to a cheap camcorder my parents bought me for my birthday. The video went viral at that time, and it wasn’t because of the video quality, but the story. Many things have changed since then. 

It has become a trend to hate Israel, a source of pride. After October 7th, when the world saw the horrific GoPro footage of Hamas terrorists shooting civilians and rejoicing over kidnapping people - it didn’t matter to the anti-Israel activists and most certainly didn’t change their opinion of Hamas. 

The Washington Post recently wrote that “On Facebook, the #freepalestine hashtag is found on more than 11,000,000 posts — 39 times more than those with #standwithisrael.” According to the Post, “On Instagram, the pro-Palestinian hashtag is found on 6,000,000 posts, 26 times more than the pro-Israel hashtag.” 

However, it is important to say that pro-Israel campaigns have also been successful in reaching millions of people around the world and getting the truth to people who never heard it before. It got people to hang Israeli flags outside their homes, join protests calling for the release of the hostages, and, mostly, to stop being indifferent. Thanks to many pro-Israel activists, the West now recognizes more than ever the true ugly face of Hamas. But of course, the work is not finished.

Recently, with a group of foreign journalists, I was invited to visit the Kerem Shalom border crossing, where Israel is transferring truckloads of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Despite seeing the same things and observing the same facts, when they wrote their stories, some filtered the reality that we both saw so that it matched their outlet’s agenda. Instead of saying that Israel has increased the number of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip, they said, “It is not enough.” And guess what? It’s never enough when it’s about Israel.

I’m not saying that Israel is perfect, because it’s not - just like no other country is perfect, but the fact that Israel is being treated like it’s the world’s biggest problem - is a problem.

We need to change with the changing world

The first thing we need to change is the word “Hasbara.” In Hebrew, Hasbara means “explanation.” For too long, we have focused on explaining Israel’s actions in a way that almost sounds apologetic. For too long, we have been defending Israel, waiting for the anti-Israel base to attack us so we can defend ourselves. We got too comfortable being on defense, building a digital Iron Dome instead of a digital F-35 fighter jet. 

It’s time to go on the offense - and make the pro-Hamas activists, who openly call for the destruction of the Jewish nation - explain themselves. We need to stop apologizing for our existence. We need to stop trying to appease the world and start doing what is good for us. 

In almost a decade of creating content and standing up for Israel, with nearly 3,000,000 followers across social media, I’ve learned that in order to utilize this powerful tool called social media, I have to initiate instead of waiting for an attack to come. 

Anti-Israel activists never run dry of baseless accusations - and that’s exactly their objective, to keep us busy explaining ourselves instead of initiating and leading the narrative. 

Today, many people liken words posted on social media to a weapon. With a single tweet, wars can start, wars can end, peace can be made, and conflicts can end. The beauty of social media is that people read, people listen - even those who hate Israel. In the digital battle for Israel, we have opportunities that do not exist outside social media. I mean, where else can you get Syrian, Lebanese, Iranians, Saudis, and Americans to read what you have to say? 

As an Israeli, when I tell the story of Israel, it’s not out of hate for Palestinians but rather love for my country. I believe that love and education are the solution, but hate will simply bring more hate and more wars. With that being said, let us all fight for our truth and for the release of the hostages remaining in captivity in Gaza. 

Hananya Naftali is a leading Israeli Jewish influencer and human rights activist in the fight against antisemitism, antizionism, and the BDS Movement. 

This op-ed is published in partnership with a coalition of organizations that fight antisemitism across the world. Read the previous article by Adam Milstein.