I Recently Dipped My Toe In the "X" Underworld Formerly Known as Twitter

It Wasn't Fun. But We Mustn't Let Them Distort the Narrative Accounts of Actual Survivors of the Massacre.

Welcome back!

Much has happened since my last post, from the rescue of four Israeli hostages to the pro-Hamas riot outside of the Nova Festival Exhibit in New York City. In addition to these public affairs, I made a personal journey down into the circle of hell formerly known as Twitter. I know better than to stick my toe in that quicksand, but after spotting a false narrative build on the Twitter thread of a “journalist,” I plunged in.

The pro-Hamas people were denying the vast atrocities of the October 7th massacre by blaming Israel for killing its own citizens. Of course, the Twitter mob is always full of idiots, but in this instance, a man armed with an elite Ivy League education and extensive public visibility and connections to major political figures such as President Obama, Ali Abunimah, cofounder of The Electronic Intifada, was pushing against me. I was the underdog, and it felt personal because it involved a family member who survived the massacre. She survived not just once, but at multiple points that day. That her story is being weaponized against Israel is an outrage that transcends metaphor. I will not bother to try and describe my indignation.

On October 7th, when the terrorists first began murdering festival goers, Yasmin Porat and her boyfriend, Tal, happened to be taking a rest inside their car. They managed to escape from the music festival, ultimately seeking refuge at Kibbutz Be’eri. Yasmin has provided a detailed account of her survival in multiple interviews—please see one from CNN posted below.

While fleeing the festival, Yasmin witnessed terrorists shooting at everyone. Once in Be’eri, she and Tal found refuge in an older couple’s home where they hid together in a safe room for many hours. During this time, the foursome texted with neighbors on their phones, neighbors who would ultimately fall silent, having been either murdered or taken hostage.

When Hamas terrorists later broke into the safe room, they took Yasmin hostage, intending to bring her into Gaza with over a dozen other Israelis, but Israeli forces arrived before the terrorists managed to transport them. There was much confusion on the ground, and it seems that some Israeli civilians were killed by their own in a crossfire that even included a tank shelling. Against all odds, Yasmin survived because she was used as a human shield by a Hamas commander who surrendered. Hear her account in the video posted below.

If some Israelis were tragically killed by Israeli forces, what does it mean? Any reasonable person quickly understands that given the complex circumstances, a tragedy happened. But what happened on the Twitter thread was something else. People used this particular happening, out of all that happened on October 7th, to accuse Israel of killing everyone or most of the victims that day.

I went back and forth with the Intifada writer, Ali Abunimah. This man has worked on destroying Israel for decades. He has a huge following. Obviously, I’m not going to alter his point of view, but Israelis, Jews, and allies need to understand the PR war. Abunimah is intelligent and shrewd and quite successful. He would not contextualize what happened. He refused to admit that Hamas had slaughtered civilians. When pressed, his responses read like someone coached for the witness stand. From there, he let the idiot Twitter mob grab the narrative and run with it. They’re still running, even as I type this.

If you happen to see Abunimah referred to as a journalist, note that his craft is not to report objective facts. His life’s work is to promote his agenda: a one-state solution. How the Jews would actually survive a Muslim majority is anybody’s guess, but if history shows us anything, it’s that Israel is full of Jewish refugees from other Muslim nations, places where Jews have already been ethnically cleansed.

Back to the Twitter incident. Abunimah’s followers were quick to accuse me of being all sorts of things: a liar, a Jew, and even a bot. Despite my indignation, I was mildly amused by the absurdity. I know I’m not a liar, and if one wants to get technical, I’m still in the process of conversion to Judaism. As for being a bot, who can know? Perhaps we can reboot Descartes and ask him to figure it out. But let’s leave philosophy for now. I want to enter a more psychological realm.

As the Twitter madness continued, I couldn’t help but notice my physical reaction to it all. This is my American privilege: I get to luxuriate in self-analysis, unlike the Israelis and Gazans who face threat against their actual embodied existence.

My reaction was one of disgust and contempt for all of Abunimah’s followers. I became curious about him too. What would it feel like to depend upon mass stupidity to advance one’s agenda? Does he feel contempt for them too? Not that any of it matters, but I went on wondering, contemplating the very nature of leadership. Does it always depend upon the music played by a Pied Piper? Those rare leaders that seem driven by total integrity—where have they all gone? I can’t find any living example at the moment.

On the other hand, I find integrity in regular people, and Yasmin is an extraordinary example. When you watch her interview below, you will see that even in her early shock, she provides a nuanced and complex account of what she survived. I do not minimize the trauma and suffering she endured and continues to suffer (her partner did not survive the massacre), but I do want to highlight her as an example of someone who not only survived multiple moments that day—she also survived by maintaining an ability to humanize her captor. Observing his fear of dying, she became essential to his survival—she acted as a communicator between him and the Israeli forces.

Yasmin navigated unfathomable circumstances, and in the devastating aftermath, she went on to articulate complex truth. Many other Israelis suffered no such opportunity for survival at the hands of more sadistic Hamas commanders, but had Yasmin been unable to sense her commander’s fear of death—had she totally dehumanized him—this might be a very different post.

It is an outrage to see her interviews taken out of context, not only because they omit the larger truth of what happened on October 7th, but because doing so eliminates the example she can be in a world divided by hate. The whole world might benefit from hearing her story.

As for those of us living in America, we should also take heed from what happened in Israel. Israel was attacked during a period of extreme political division. We are just as polarized; actually, we are probably even worse off. While Israelis were divided about their government, I don’t think they suffered the total lack of patriotism we see happening here in America. I worry this makes us extremely vulnerable to attack by our external enemies. Iran and Russia and China are not our friends, but our biggest enemy, in my opinion, is our polarization. When one side wins, everyone loses. I don’t know how our population will repair its internal fracture before it’s too late, but it seems essential that we seek out common ground.

If America is going to survive what looks like an inevitable world war, we better get over our internal bullshit. My wish is for a leader to materialize from the ether, put a stop to the antisemitic chaos and general lawlessness executed by both parties from the insurrection to the burning of our cities all across America. Unfortunately, I don’t see a savior on the horizon, so it’s up to we the people to take our individual and collective responsibility with far more seriousness and care.

Democracy is too fragile. Perhaps its entropy is inevitable, subject to the cyclical demise of all things. So be it. Even in the face of total futility, we should still aim for unity. The skills we cultivate while trying to do so will surely serve us in the aftermath.

This post is dedicated to Yasmin Porat.