Elder of Ziyon continues here with his series of the logical fallacies displayed in the anti-Israel arguments of far too many. I discussed the first seven here, four more here, and a third group here.
16. Big Lie technique. “Israel is an apartheid state.” “Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.” “Most Palestinians are against terrorism.” “Most Palestinians support a two state solution.” “Hamas has shown flexibility in its demands.” “Israel is the obstacle to peace.” “There were no rapes on October 7.” “Israel bombed the Al Ahli hospital.” “Fatah is moderate.” etc. etc.
17. Blind Loyalty fallacy: “I don’t know enough about history or current events, but everyone else on campus/my favorite professor says Israel is evil.”
18. Blood is Thicker than Water fallacy: “As a Muslim (or Arab,) I support Palestinians no matter what they do.”…
Read the rest of those here, and find another installment of Elder of Ziyon’s series on logical fallacies can be found here.
31. The “Draw Your Own Conclusion” Fallacy: “35,000 Gazans are dead. Whose fault is that?”
32. The Dunning-Kruger Effect: “I read Mondoweiss, so therefore I know everything I need to know about Israel.”
Mondoweiss is a frenziedly anti-Israel website run by one Philip Weiss. Take a look at what he has on offer here.
It is a common tendency for some people to overestimate their competence in one or more areas. They may exhibit great confidence about things where they have no knowledge. This effect is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect. It is defined as a type of cognitive bias whereby people with limited knowledge or competence in a specific area largely overestimate their knowledge.
The French have an amusing way of describing the Dunning-Kruger Effect: Everything was alright, said the Frenchman, until that moment “quand la bétise s’est mise à penser” (when stupidity began to think).
How many people, displaying the Dunning-Kruger Effect, pontificate with self-assurance about Israel and the Palestinians without any knowledge of the following: what the Qur’an and hadith say about Infidels, and about Jihad; what is in the Treaty of San Remo; what the Mandate for Palestine was meant to achieve, and the territory it was originally supposed to include; when and why the Emirate of Transjordan came into being; when and why the toponym “West Bank” was invented; why the 1947 UN Partition Plan was turned down flat by the Arabs; what the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Azzam Pasha, predicted in 1947 about the coming war against the Jews; why Israel was forced to fight for its very survival in 1948, 1963, 1973, and 2023-2024; why the peace plans offered by Ehud Barak in 2000 to Yassir Arafat, and by Ehud Olmert to Mahmoud Abbas in 2008, were rejected; when the “Palestinian people” were invented and why; what the Hamas Charter says about Israel; when did Israel pull completely out of Gaza; what was the Arab population of Israel in 1949 and today; what was the Arab population in Gaza in 1967 and in 2005; what was the Arab population in the West Bank in 1967 and today; what border adjustments did UN Security Council Resolution 242 consider legitimate; what is the IDF’s “knock-on-the-roof” technique; how many leaflets were dropped, messages sent, telephone calls made, in the Gaza War to date, by the IDF, in order to warn civilians away from areas about to be targeted by the IDF? That’s a start. A way to minimize, when it comes to making pronouncements about Israel and the Palestinians, the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
33. Noble Effort fallacy: “For decades, the US and EU invested countless hours into trying to achieve a two state solution and building up a Palestinian government. It is the only path to peace.”…
Many would disagree that a soi-disant “two-state solution” is any solution at all. All the versions that have been discussed by the US and the EU would have Israel agree to be squeezed back within, or approximately within, the 1949 armistice lines, which would strip Israel of its control of the Jordan Valley in the West Bank, essential for its defense, and would leave the Jewish state with a nine-mile wide waist from Qalqilya to the sea. An invader from the east with a few hundred tanks could cut Israel in two within a few hours. The US and EU should rethink their efforts at a “two-state solution,” and instead consider the proposal of Prime Minister Netanyahu, to allow the Palestinians all the power they need to govern themselves, and none of the power they need to kill Israelis.
45. Guilt by Association: The entire David Miller body of “research,” energetically defended by many academics.
David Miller is an academic at the University of Bristol who hates Israel, and specializes in warning about Jewish conspiracies to take over the world. His anti-Zionism long ago metastasized into antisemitism.
KoshsShadow says
The “apartheid” charge is so blatantly false – Apartheid is legal discrimination based on race. If you ask some anti-Israel person what race Israel is using apartheid against, they would say the “Palestinians”, even if you point out Israeli Arabs have full rights. So, are Israeli Arabs and Palestinian Arabs different races? Of course not. But Palestinians are not Israeli citizens, and EVERY country discriminates based on citizenship. Either what Israel is doing is not apartheid, or the term is meaningless because every country does it.