More frequently, they are openly admitting what was once concealed as they desperately try to sway opinions and influence minds worldwide.
Sarah Hurwitz, a former speechwriter for Obama, shared some striking observations during her address at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly last Sunday. She voiced concern over how younger Jewish people are dismissing pro-Israel arguments in light of the devastation witnessed in Gaza.
“We are now wrestling with a new I think generational divide here, and I think that’s particularly true in that social media is now our source of media,” Hurwitz remarked. “It used to be that the news you got in America was American media, and it was pretty mainstream; you know it generally didn’t express extreme anti-Israel views. You had to go to a pretty weird bookstore to find global media and fringe media. But today we have social media, which is the global medium; its algorithms are shaped by billions of people worldwide who don’t really love Jews. So while in the 1990s a young person probably wasn’t going to find Al Jazeera or someone like Nick Fuentes, today those media outlets find them; they find them on their phones.”
Hurwitz added, “It’s also this increasingly post-literate media; less and less text, more and more videos. So you have TikTok just smashing our young people’s brains all day long with video of carnage in Gaza. And this is why so many of us cannot have a sane conversation with younger Jews, because anything that we try to say to them, they are hearing it through this wall of carnage. So I want to give data and information and facts and arguments, and they are just seeing in their minds: carnage. And I sound obscene.”
She also pointed out that Holocaust education might be backfiring, as it gives young people the misleading impression that genocide is inherently wrong.
“And you know I think unfortunately, the very smart bet that we made on Holocaust education to serve as anti-semitism education in this new media environment, I think that is beginning to break down a little bit because, you know, Holocaust education is absolutely essential, but I think it may be confusing some of our young people about antisemitism,” Hurwitz explained. “Because they learn about big, strong Nazis hurting weak, emaciated Jews, and they think oh, antisemitism is like anti-black racism, right? Powerful white people against powerless black people. So, when on TikTok all day long, they see powerful Israelis hurting weak, skinny Palestinians, it’s not surprising that they think, Oh, I know the lesson of the Holocaust is you fight Israel. You fight the big powerful people hurting the weak people.”
This certainly invites deep analysis.
It’s particularly intriguing to witness a former White House speechwriter echo so many points long voiced by anti-Zionists, yet interpret them in the polar opposite manner:
- The traditional mainstream media has habitually concealed anti-Israel perspectives from the public—and this was deemed positive.
- Social media now enables Palestinians to reveal Israel’s misconduct—and this is viewed negatively.
- People are no longer accepting Zionist narratives because they have directly witnessed the devastation in Gaza—and this represents a problem.
- Those educated about the Holocaust understand genocide is wrong and are applying this understanding to Gaza—however, this is seen as “confusion.”
Hurwitz doesn’t deny Israel’s actions or frame its genocidal conduct as the core issue; rather, she bluntly admits that the real problem lies in people gaining knowledge and moral insight about these violations. The misconduct itself isn’t the issue—it’s that people recognize and name it correctly.
Her complaint that she appears “obscene” when attempting to rationalize the Gaza tragedy for those witnessing the “wall of carnage” rings painfully true. Naturally, presenting arguments that justify graphic footage of massacre, mutilated children, and emaciated bodies as acceptable will seem utterly repugnant.
Trying to defend such atrocities in front of piles of child victims and then complaining that others refuse your rhetoric is like killing a family and then telling authorities, “But you’re not hearing my reasons!” The normal response is to reject the justification while the apologist appears grotesque.
A viral clip of this speech has been circulating on Twitter, prompting me to watch the full video on the Jewish Federations of North America’s YouTube channel to see if anything might soften her stance—but it didn’t.
Hurwitz also argued it is misguided to apply Holocaust lessons to oppose Israel’s genocidal acts because, in her view, the Holocaust involved Nazi Germany scapegoating Jews much like Israel is blamed today for many global issues.
She lamented that Western Jews have “re-imagined Judaism as a Protestant-style religion” to assimilate into Western culture instead of maintaining a strong, Israel-loyal identity.
“The problem is, we’re not just a religion,” Hurwitz emphasized. “We’re a nation. Civilization. Tribe. Peoplehood. But most of all we’re a family. And so if you are a young person raised in America who thinks Judaism is a Protestant-style religion, then the seven million Jews in Israel are merely your co-religionists. So my co-religionists, if I look at them and they’re not practicing my religion of social justice and certain prophetic values then what do I have to do with them?”
“But that’s a category error,” she continued. “The seven million people in Israel, they are not my co-religionists, they are my siblings. But I think if you think of them as merely your co-religionists, it’s easy to slide into anti-Zionism. You don’t necessarily have that connection to them.”
Hurwitz is essentially advocating that Jewish people globally should pledge allegiance to Israel regardless of its actions—not because this stance is just or truthful, but simply because Israel is where their loyalty should lie.
Personally, if my siblings were responsible for killing civilians, I would consider them adversaries immediately. I could never support a brother who, like IDF snipers have done in Gaza, deliberately shot children in the head. In fact, I’d feel particularly compelled to confront him precisely because he is family. Committing genocide doesn’t become acceptable just because the perpetrators happen to be your “siblings,” unless one is morally detached.
The intensity with which Zionists have freaked out over Israel losing narrative control in the past two years is remarkable. Increasingly, they reveal what was once kept quiet as they panic to influence perceptions and control minds worldwide.
Many truths that were hidden are now emerging into the open.
Original article: caitlinjohnstone.com.au
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