Yossi Schwartz ISL (RCIT section in Israel/Occupied Palestine) 18.08.2025
Today, Odeh Bisharat, a Palestinian journalist who is a citizen of Israel, bravely wrote for Haaretz, the only newspaper that can be read in Israel, the simple truth. The war in Gaza has exposed the true nature of Israel instead of the lie that the citizens of the world have endured for years. He wrote:
“Like a spouse who shows infidelity after years, and life turns into a nightmare, it seems that this is how the world feels about Israel today. They saw Israel as a people that had risen from the ruins and built a modern state in the heart of the dark East — and suddenly the sweet narrative had shattered to pieces.
The story of the establishment of the State of Israel is one of the greatest stories of deception in history. An ideal picture was always presented; A country that was established to be a home for those who the West has abused, its inhabitants build, plough and make the wilderness bloom, and in the evenings they sing mournful Eastern European songs, hold hands, close their eyes and dream of the tomorrow that will come, and “if not tomorrow, then the day after.”
But at the same time, the other side of reality has disappeared. An entire nation was squeezed under the carpet, most of it was expelled from its land, more than 500 of its villages were destroyed, and instead of gaining sympathy in light of the bitter reality it found itself in, it was at the center of a blood libel, as if it “rose up against the Jews to destroy them.”
“The debt that the free world owes to the Jews was easily thrown on the necks of the Arabs,” said author Amos Keinan. Mainly on the necks of the Palestinian people, the vast majority of whom have never left their villages, the vast majority of whom have never seen Jews, and almost all of them have never visited a single Jewish town overseas.
Simple logic is trampled upon: after all, one who wants to destroy the other comes to his home, not waiting for him in his house and vineyard. Even expressions of rage, which are the natural reaction of anyone facing destruction, expulsion, and killing, have been cynically exploited to tarnish the name of the Palestinians. Zionism asked the Palestinians to go out singing and dancing to welcome their heirs and their plots.
Afterwards, the lie was spread that five Arab countries had risen up against the State of Israel. However, two of these countries had been under French rule two years earlier, and three had been under British rule, which had prepared the ground for the establishment of the State of Israel.
“Things are measured in the end,” the Arabs say. No one bothered to ask how these five countries might have been defeated in disgrace. How did the “weak” Israel manage to increase its territory by 22% of the size allocated to it in the partition decision? How did a country, which was just a step away from annihilation, expel 750,000 Arabs? And how, had it not been for the intervention of the British Air Force, would the Sinai Peninsula have also been occupied?
There are two possibilities. First, these countries were not militarily strong, and they “fought” with slogans only to silence public opinion angry in their countries over the attack on their Palestinian brethren. The other possibility: they were confronted by an Israeli “Rambo”, who received the backing of colonial countries. Both possibilities are correct. This was also the case in the June 1967 war. The war began in the country on the verge of annihilation, and after six days it tripled its territory.
Today, the world is outraged by the crimes in the Gaza Strip, but mostly it is angry at itself for “buying” the forgery. For about 80 years, the world has lived in a lie, and it had to wait for Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to conclude that the Palestinian people are victims.
The democratic public is angry at its rulers, who are quick to declare an embargo on rogue countries such as North Korea, Sudan, and even the superpower Russia, while at the same time continuing to supply weapons of mass murder in the Gaza Strip.
In this context, I have always thought of my parents, who were expelled with the masses from many villages. How will history judge them, as victims or as terrorists, according to the propaganda here? Today, the truth, despite everything, is beginning to appear. In the Qur’an, it is written, “The truth has come and the lie has vanished, indeed the lie is null and void.”[i]
There is no doubt that if he had written this article a few weeks ago, he would have been sent to prison for incitement against the State of Israel. But in the meantime, hundreds of thousands are beginning to discover that what they were taught about Israel was many lies. Still, these masses have not detached themselves from Zionism, but they have begun to understand reality. Against this background, it is possible to know how Odeh Bisharat had the courage to write the truth.
Endnotes:
[i] https://www.haaretz.co.il/opinions/2025-08-18/ty-article-opinion/.premium/00000198-b796-d68a-a7ba-b7f6ff7f0000