Part I: What works
For all practical intents and purposes, the fight to defend the honor of Zionism is a lost cause. Outside of Jewish circles, the reputation of Zionism is today about as stellar as that of Islamism. There are Muslims who fight a rearguard defense of Islamism, arguing - quite factually and correctly - that not all Islamists are radical, and not all radical Islamists are jihadists.
But Muslims have a remarkable instinct for PR and self-promotion, and readily sacrifice academic nuances and intellectual theorizing in favor of a down-to-earth agenda: winning hearts and minds by whatever persuasive means are available.
By contrast, in the coming years we can expect pro-Israel activists to wage bitter grammatical battles over whether antizionism should displace anti-Zionism or vice versa, while the Muslim world exploits these divisions to insist that Zionism, hyphen or no hyphen, is, was and always will remain lipstick on a pig.
The temptation is strong to imagine that if only Zionism were not misunderstood, and if people just had a chance to read a good book on its history, all would be well again - that Zionism might somehow regain the luster it had thirty years ago, when it seemed as American as NASCAR, baseball and apple pie.
In our time, however, "Zionism" has become a curse word, and there are very few examples of curse words successfully reclaiming their reputation or ethical virginity, especially in the realm of politics.
Instead of investing our efforts in an anti-anti-Zionist campaign and fighting a PR battle on hostile semantic ground, we should refer to anti-Zionists exclusively as what they really are: destroyers of Israel. Exposing the ultimate and overarching goal of anti-Zionism is essential if we wish to discredit and defeat its proponents.
Today, both the ignorant and the devious readily insist that they are anti-Zionist but not anti-Jewish. They argue that Zionism is a supremacist ideology that inflicts on Arabs the same abuses and oppression that Diaspora Jews endured throughout history. Under this guise, their stated longing for Jews and Arabs to sit together at a table of binational brotherhood, like Samis and Swedes in Scandinavia, is almost touching.
But directly assailing and exposing the supreme goal of anti-Zionism tears away this mask and reveals anti-Zionists for what they truly are: epigones of Hitler.
It is nonetheless a fact that, unlike Hitler and the Nazis (at least to my knowledge), anti-Zionists do command a small, noisy contingent of devout Jewish fellow travelers.
Renegades such as Peter Beinart or Gabor Maté are simply the Jewish equivalents of General Vlasov, who led Russian troops in the service of the Führer, or Vidkun Quisling, the Norwegian who urged Nazi Germany to attack, occupy and erase his own democratic kingdom.
Exposing these truths could help defeat anti-Zionism; whereas defending Israel’s existence doesn’t need them. The reason is simple: propaganda battles are won by attacking and exposing the rot of adversaries, not by refuting every lie and half-truth they invent.
Part II: One example: A lettter to Peter Beinart
Hi Peter,
I'm Rafael, the rather eccentric Italian-Colombian non-Jew who loves Israel and writes for Arutz 7. A few years ago, you discussed the conflict with me and graciously agreed to share the recording of our online conversation.
After we spent an hour together I came to two conclusions: You mean well and say what you say not out of love of money or to advance your career, but out of a touch of intellectual vanity.
You have convinced yourself that you strive to be worthy of the great Hebrew tradition of speaking truth to power and defending justice, regardless of whether injustice, in your view, is committed in the name of your state and your people.
Nevertheless, your compassionate intentions are misunderstood. Misunderstood by your fellow Jews, many of whom assume you cash a weekly check from CAIR, but even more deeply misunderstood by the people whose interests you are championing.
In non-Jewish cultures, and particularly in the Arab-Muslim world, there is (de facto) zero respect and appreciation for a person who sides with the enemy.
Think of how many tens of millions of Americans still loathe Jane Fonda over 50 years after she visited North Veitnam, and how long even anti-Nazi Germans resented Marlene Dietrich for singing for American GIs during World War II.
So when you denounce Israel and delegitimize the Jewish State, progressive Jews and even some progressive Christians value your good intentions. Ironically, those who you defend, despise you in their hearts even more than do Morton Klein and Ben Shapiro.
Why? Because in their worldview it is inconceivable to behave like you do without venal motives or sinister intentions.
And here is a simple litmus test that will show you why I'm correct:
Your Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim hosts at conferences, meetings, and video-conferences are exceedingly courteous, friendly, and even flattering. Some even send you follow-up emails to thank you for having addressed and lent your support to their cause.
But Peter, how many messages of heartfelt appreciation have you received from ordinary Palestinian Arabs, other Arabs, or Muslims who heard you speak and then wrote to you personally, not in an official capacity?
As a mentsh you excuse this silence, telling yourself that the silence, suspicion, and ingratitude are understandable in the light of decades of abuses and Diaspora Jewish complicity.
But the proof that trauma and past wounds are not the root of this phenomenon, is that the more your positions become "pro-Palestinian Arab", the more vitriol and attacks you get from the very camp whose dignity you wish to defend.
Why? Because humans tend to project their own values and their own cultural outlook onto others. And if Peter Beinart were an Arab Muslim, the only reason he would do what you're doing is to grift, infiltrate, and sabotage the Palestinian Arab cause.
So Peter, do your writing and speaking in Hebrew and in front of Jewish audiences. Otherwise, you will unwittingly fan the flames of Jew-hatred. These flames have already reached dangerous heights. And do remember that the fate of Dr. Max Naumann and his small group of followers in League of National German Jews (who sided with expropriatig the property of Eastern European Jews who had moved to Germany, among other pro-Nazi goals) was not happy.
Best,
Rafael Castro
Rafael Castro is a graduate of Yale and Hebrew University, and an independent political analyst. An Italian-Colombian Noahide, Rafael can be reached at rafaelcastro78@gmail.com.