by Justine Hemmestad
2-29-24
21 people were arrested last week amid massive pro- tests in Israel that called for the resignation of Netanyahu and his government. “People want a new government, people want new elections as soon as possible,” says journalist Ben Dror Yemini. The new government Israelis call for must represent the reservists who sacrificed themselves for the country. “Netanyahu is responsible for October 7, more than anybody else - [due to] his policies of funding Hamas,” assures Yemini. Though Itamar Ben Da- vid is a reserve officer in the IDF, making Youtube videos when he can for his nearly 10,000 followers is an effective way to educate people about the war as well as the heart of Jewish Israelis. Teaching comes naturally to Ben David. As a tour guide he’s well known for the knowledge he imparts to his travelers. Though guiding tourists has effectively slowed way down amid the war, Ben David still finds an avenue through which to tell the public about what is most important to him - his country, his people, and their biblical foundation. The need has never been greater. He says that as a tour guide, he is, “familiar not only with the historical and religious context of the war, but also with the political discourse of people abroad and how they understand the conflict, which helps me to speak in a way that could actually be understood.” He also addresses the “cultural blind spots” that people who don’t live in Israel may have when processing information, especially from news outlets. Ben David has made videos teaching about the Jewish exile and the history behind the displacement, to the Jewish peoples’ return to Israel; he’s also addressed the future of Gaza in his videos, as well as how the UN is corrupt. Infused within his videos are the meanings behind original words - such as the Arabic name of the war in Gaza is Toofan Al-Aqsa, a name which “suggests the drowning of Israel.” The strong online presence he has incurred has made facing antisemitism inevitable for him, however. Sadly, after October 7, online antisemitism has be- come even more common- place, as there has been an 86% rise across all online platforms world-wide. The rise could well be due to algorithms that are focused on enhancing engagement online in order to make money, according to Jimmy Lin, a professor at the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. As a whole, the Anti-Defamation League says, “Antisemitic incidents in the U.S. increased 337% in the two months following Oct. 7. On college campuses, 73% of Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since the beginning of the school year.” Rabbi Matthew Cutler says, “I will tell you the one word I would use with the rise of antisemitism, is fear. There is an incredible sense of uneasiness that we’ve never seen before.” The American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report reveals that, “antisemitism online and on social media continues to be the place where American Jews experience antisemitism the most. 62% report seeing or hearing antisemitism online or on social media in the past 12 months, including 6% who say this happened once, and 56% who say it happened more than once.” The worldwide online antisemitism makes Ben David grateful to not only live where he does, but to also be able to provide the type of educational content he makes available on his channel. Israel was founded as a safe place for Jews to live, after all, a concept that was irrevocably violated on October 7. Guiding viewers through online facets may be a way to counter that violation through spreading facts as fast as facts can move.
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