The Jewish community does not require a report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) to confirm the horrors of the October 7 massacre of 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians. HRW has been accused of levying unfounded accusations against Israel, such as the 2021 claims of “apartheid and persecution.” We all know that Israel does not practice apartheid and that the two million Muslims living in Israel are very much part of its society enjoying every right and freedom equally.
The Jewish community and HRW have long been at odds because of this distortion. Despite this, HRW’s report on the Hamas attack in southern Israel, released this week, can illuminate the naysayers on the left. We once believed that the battle against antisemitism would be won through extensive Holocaust education and the proliferation of museums dedicated to this dark chapter in history. Yet, even these efforts seem insufficient in today’s climate, as antisemitism continues to rise to unprecedented levels.
Historically, Jews have been maligned with egregious accusations: deicide (the murder of Jesus), well poisoning during the plague, blood libel (the myth of killing Christian babies for Matzah), and the conspiratorial control of the world as purported by the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” These calumnies were meant to be relics of the past.
However, eighty-five years after the Holocaust, Jews are still defending their homeland against Palestinian terrorist groups and combating the lies and distortions surrounding the events of October 7, perpetuated by left-leaning university campuses, unions, the media, and international bodies like the United Nations.
In the aftermath of the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, I encountered the traumatized survivors, gathering evidence to counter the UN’s narrative that the Hamas attack did not occur in a “vacuum” and to address the grotesque denial of rapes at the Nova Party and Kibbutzim.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initially accused Israel of targeting hospitals in Gaza — a claim proven false. Evidence and video footage now show that Hamas rockets destroyed the pediatric wing of Barzilai Hospital in southern Israel, 12 kilometres from Gaza, while Hamas used hospitals for military purposes and to hide hostages.
Despite HRW’s appeal to the radical left and academia — both often unfairly biased against Israel — its findings, though not earth-shattering to the Jewish community, can help dismantle myths in these circles and the media. HRW has acknowledged, “Palestinian fighters committed killings, hostage-taking, and other war crimes, including the crimes against humanity of murder and wrongful imprisonment,” and has called for the immediate release of hostages.
The lies circulating on social media are particularly vile. One, for example, falsely claims that the Israeli army intentionally killed its own citizens on October 7 under the Hannibal Directive. HRW’s findings can address these lies head-on: “Across many attack sites, Palestinian fighters fired directly at civilians, often at close range, as they tried to flee. They hurled grenades, shot into shelters, and fired rocket-propelled grenades at homes. They set houses on fire, burning and choking people, and forced out others whom they shot or captured. They took dozens hostage and summarily killed others.”
Defending the truth is paramount in the battle to protect Israel and democracy. We must fight for it with vigour and relentlessness, ensuring history is not defined by those who seek to undermine civil society. In this struggle, we must leverage reports that dispel myths, engage social media, educate the public, and unite like-minded leaders who understand the peril of absorbing myths over the truth.
Avi Benlolo is the founder and CEO of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative.