A Pattern - CHRONICLE Online/The WORD 08/21/25

Weekly On-line Rabbi's D'var-Torah

August 21, 2025

29 Av 5785

Parashat Re'eh

Over the past couple of weeks, it has become clear (or at least it SHOULD be clear) that many news reports about the situation in Gaza have misrepresented the facts in order to make Israel look bad.

Earlier this month, Israel targeted and killed a man by the name of Anas Al-Sharif. Many media outlets were outraged that Israel had killed a journalist. After all, Al-Sharif was employed by Al-Jazeera. However, he was ALSO the head of a rocket-launching squad and a member of an elite Nukhba Force company in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion. He was a terrorist who used a vest with the word “press” on it in order to be able to move more freely around Gaza. Many media outlets refused to accept the fact that someone who worked for Al-Jazeera could also be a Hamas fighter. So, they simply ran with the story that Israel killed a journalist.

Similarly, the western media published many photos of emaciated children in Gaza. No child should look like those children. Any decent human being should want to help a child who is little more than skin and bones regardless of their nationality. However, it has come to light that at least 12 of the young people in those photos that went viral had other conditions such as cystic fibrosis or rickets which caused them to appear so malnourished. Granted, living in a war zone in which Hamas uses hospitals as military outposts and steals the aid coming into Gaza doesn’t help. But ignoring their underlying health issues is either dishonesty or shoddy journalism.

Also, this month, the BBC reported about a Gazan woman named Marah Abu Zuhri who was evacuated to Italy to receive medical care. According to the BBC reporting, she died of malnutrition, and the reporter went on to blame Israel for her death. Of course, the BBC failed to mention that she had leukemia and that Israel had assisted in her evacuation so that she could receive better medical care. That’s a pretty big omission which—not surprisingly!—makes Israel look bad.

Are you seeing a pattern yet?

These stories indicate how easy it is for people—even good and smart people!—to be led astray by seemingly trustworthy sources. This is a story as old as time.

If we look at this week’s Torah portion, in Deuteronomy 13, Moses was extremely worried that the Israelites would conquer the Promised Land and then turn away from God. They would settle down and then suddenly they would forget all of the miraculous things that God did which enabled them to escape slavery in Egypt and settle freely in their homeland. Would they stay the course with God? Moses knew it was possible to forget one’s facts and one’s history.

First, Moses warned them about charismatic speakers convincing Israelites to turn away from God (see verse 2). Moses recognized that someone presenting himself or herself as a prophet or a seer with flashy signs and wonders could be very persuasive—just like journalists today.  

Then, Moses warned them about close relatives and friends who may have turned away from God and now wanted to bring others along with them (see verse 7). When inaccurate information comes someone you like or someone you agree with on other issues, it is particularly difficult to discern what is true and what is not.

Finally, Moses warned them about the power of mob mentality, when an entire community seems to be moving in a particular direction (see verse 13). When “everybody” is doing something, it is very hard to resist going with the flow.  

We know that there are persuasive speakers and clever videos which seek to delegitimize Israel. We also know that there are Jews who are quick to criticize Israel, which makes it easier for other critics of Israel to air their opinions. And we know that media outlets are willing to accept news stories from Hamas sources as truth without doing the kind of due diligence that we ought to expect from a journalist.

So, as exhausted as all supporters of Israel must be after nearly two years of misinformation in the media, we must do our part to fend off the verbal attacks and journalistic malpractice. If we don’t, we know how easy it is for supporters of Israel to be led in the other direction by charismatic speakers, by close friends and by the pull of the crowd—regardless of the facts and the history.

RAF