Activists Start Calling Israel #JSIL -the Jewish State of Israel in the Levant
All that remains of 44 homes in Zafer 4, Gaza. Taken by @dancohen3000
Pro-Palestine activists have begun ‘re-naming’ Israel as the Jewish State of Israel in the Levant, or JSIL, in an obvious satirical allusion to the neighboring self-proclaimed ISIS, a splinter group of Al Qaeda that has brutally taken over swathes of Syria and Iraq, mowing residents and particularly minorities in its path.
This was meant to coincide with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at the United Nations, a man they're calling the ‘Supreme Leader’ of JSIL. It comes nearly a month after a ceasefire was reached in Gaza following the 50-day offensive, which killed at least 2,137 Palestinians, a majority of whom were civilians, including 577 children, and wounded at least 10,870 others. The attack has also had a noticeable effect on Gaza's economy, with hardly any civilian infrastructure left untouched: over 18,000 homes destroyed, as well as over 100 schools, 50 health-care centers and 17 hospitals damaged or 20 destroyed.
Led by known supporters of the Palestinian cause, the re-naming movement is using the same language ascribed to ISIS by the mainstream media to describe the Israeli government's policies. Independent journalist Rania Khalek, for example, warns of the threat posed by ‘JSIL’ to the Western world:
We have to stop #JSIL before its tactics migrate to our shores. Some already have! http://t.co/izAxuopZKj http://t.co/VGdTVbiNcF
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) September 29, 2014
She also compared the financial and military aid given by the United States to Israel to the ISIS's “Jizya tax” — a tax imposed on those they consider to be non-believers:
#JSIL has already imposed its jizya on American taxpayers forced to pay $3.1 billion/year to Israel in military aid. Scary stuff.
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) September 29, 2014
Another similarity are the executions committed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Journalist Rania Khalek tweeted an excerpt from Jewish-American journalist and blogger Max Blumenthal recalling for the Russell Tribunal, or the International War Crimes Tribunal, what two International Committee of the Red Cross said they found in the Gazan town of Khuza'a:
.@MaxBlumenthal on executions carried out by the Jewish State of Israel in the Levant (JSIL) http://t.co/4zirsezbDX pic.twitter.com/ooswj6CNBv
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) September 28, 2014
The tribunal concluded that evidence showed Israeli forces had committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of murder, extermination and persecution, and incitement to genocide during the offensive.
Gaza-based American journalist Joe Catron pointed out how ‘JSIL’ also recruits foreign fighters — most of whom end up leading the country:
Many of #JSIL‘s most notorious warlords first joined the terror gang as foreign recruits: http://t.co/VOrXOUN6xz pic.twitter.com/5mYRUWGwTR
— Joe Catron (@jncatron) September 29, 2014
Joseph from the ‘ALeftwingBlog‘ wondered about the ways in which the Jewish community could fight extremists, spoofing the pressure put on the world's Muslims to condemn or apologize for ISIS:
What can the Jewish community do 2 strengthen the moderates? How can we isolate & undermine the Jewish extremists in #JSIL? Tough questions
— JosephⓋ☭ (@JosephIsVegan) September 29, 2014
Of notable and symbolic importance is the number of Jewish activists taking the lead in calling Israel ‘JSIL’ wishing to challenge the Zionist narrative of speaking for all Jews around the world. Gaza-based American journalist Dan Cohen recalls the Zionist recruitment agencies that visited him in his synagogue as a child:
Growing up Jewish in America, #JSIL infiltrated my synagogue and actively recruits from my community to kill for its expansionist aims.
— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) September 29, 2014
To which Max Blumenthal responded by accusing Taglit, the ‘birthright’ agency that organizes trips to Israel for young Jewish adults around the world, of being a sectarian training program:
.@dancohen3000 #JSIL‘s private donors paid to send me and 1000's of others to be indoctrinated in a sectarian training program called Taglit
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) September 29, 2014
Dan Cohen and Max Blumenthal were both in Gaza during the latest Israeli aggression and described the scenes of horror they saw there. Both Cohen and Blumenthal lead the naming movement on Twitter, citing comparisons between ISIS and ‘JSIL’ policies:
I missed Supreme Leader of JSIL Netanyahu's speech but I assume it involved a lot of sophistry to defend the indefensible.
— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) September 29, 2014
#JSIL extremists close in on key Palestinian village, pressuring residents to evacuate http://t.co/x8IlpvQ7DK
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) September 29, 2014
They also accused ‘JSIL’ of using the Holocaust for its own political gain, echoing the letter that was released by Holocaust survivors in August:
.@MaxBlumenthal #JSIL exploits the slaughter of my grandmother's family to provide cover for similar crimes against humanity.
— Dan Cohen (@dancohen3000) September 29, 2014
Finally, Blumenthal and Khalek summarized the point of the naming campaign with the following tweets:
#ISIL falsely claims to embody the true Islam, inspiring Islamophobia. #JSIL falsely claims to represent all Jews, inspiring anti-Semitism.
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) September 29, 2014
#ISIL & #JSIL‘s hijacking of religion leads Muslims & Jews to protest “not in our name” https://t.co/yiyy2OoeIV http://t.co/Fbb3zTx0ig
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) September 29, 2014
50 comments
This asinine hashtag is completely ridiculous and just shows how moronic and uninformed the anti-Israel activist community is. Also this comparison is anti-Semitic in the same way as comparing Israel and Israelis to the Nazis is, it’s a transparent attempt to incite hatred against Israel, Israelis, supporters of Israel and Jews.
I know that empty moral equivalences are a staple of the far Left but to compare the only country in the Middle East that has seen an increase in the numbers of religious minorities in the last 50 years to a terrorist organisation that murders and rapes people for the sole reason that they are not Muslims is totally ridiculous.
Also it’s pretty rich given that the fools behind this hashtag support Hamas and Islamic Jihad; Islamist terrorist organisations that share many of ISIS’s goals.
Agree with you. Israel isn’t right in all it’s actions, but this hashtag is ridiculous. What about Palestinian State of Gaza and Levant? I think it wouldn’t be right if supporters of Israel used hashtag #PSGL. It isn’t good to try to turn one of the most complicated conflicts in the world in “Horrible Israel kills poor Palestinians” (or vice versa).
what’s RIDICULOUS is the cover and excuses that Israel and the u.s. and every other warmaker imperial country has used
for slaughtering and destroying the world over.
what’s ridiculous is a whole country of persecuted jews cheering for the persecution and slaughter of Palestinians. the irony is ridiculous. the fascist nature of Israel is ridiculous(ly) NOT EVEN FUNNY.
and it is NOT the most complicated conflict or one of them. in fact, it’s very Uncomplicated. all that’s complicated is the historical web of lies and excuses for jewish colonialism in Palestine and the UNBELIEVABLE
endless excuse of victimization by victimIZERS of the people who lived AND live on land Israel wants to TAKE OVER as their own. there’s real ridiculous. that you’all see nothing wrong in starving and destroying other people ALL THE TIME and how it’s been so ugly and endless and endlessly deceptive.
Well, I don’t stand with Israel, I think it must go out of Gaza, and I agree that it’s doing some awful things. Nevertheless, I see in HAMAS the threat to Israelis, and if you look at what HAMAS want, you’ll see that it isn’t free and happy life for Palestinians. The fact that their missiles did not kill anybody, does not justify them. I stand for Palestine, but without HAMAS,
and I stand for the united states but without the murderous military and VERY gestapo-like police state and what looks to me like a treasonous government destroying the u.s. constititution and the lives of ordinary americans.
Israel and the u.s. are working together and working with other closed, medieval-type policestate tyrannical governments and with less and less democratic European governments to DESTROY the middle east and other countries RUTHLESSLY.
the Palestinian’s hamas should be less your concern while Israel AND ITS ALLIES are definitely making more terror in the world than any country should ever be allowed to do.
curiously, too, no one seems to know anything about who hamas is. they’re invisible, apparently. that much unimportant? goyim?
That’s exactly what the anti-Israel activist community aims to do; dumb down a complicated situation to ‘Israelis bad, Palestinians good’.
that’s funny…
can you figure out why?
Because most anti-Israel fanatics don’t care whether Israel are ‘good’ or ‘bad’ anyways because Israel being a Jewish majority state is enough for them to hate it?
it’s not “a transparent attempt to incite hatred”, but to incite THOUGHT.
we, maybe especially YOU, ought to THINK about what the violence is doing, what it means, smashed life, destroyed places and history, what the ideologies and excuses for violence mean, etc. etc. why cant you consider those?
why shouldn’t the terrorism from Israel be considered any differently? why don’t you even SEE the terrorism from Israel AS WHAT IT IS– disgusting and brutal TERROR!?
but I also think we might start calling the warmongers from the u.s.
( happens, though, many are transplanted Israeli Zionists, but still- our congress and white house and pentagon, etc,ARE and must be held responsible ) but let’s call those of our war-making representatives the USIS or USIL. we’d have to call them the USIW, though. (we do the world over)
JSIL seems to make a ton of sense, if you let yourself think about it.
so does USIW ! or NATOIW, too. definitely.
the JSIL tag is perfect, you could say!
Complete nonsense and your conspiracy theory crap (Israeli Zionist ‘implants’ leading the US to war) is typical of the type of person who would use this stupid anti-Semitic hashtag.
but it IS a conspiracy, sumarai.
is “implants” the wrong word
for the wrong country’s people
writing the war project plans for the U.S.?
It’s not a ‘conspiracy’ and there are no ‘Zionist’ or US ‘implants’. You are insane.
“Pro-Palestine activists” is nothing but a euphemism for people who apparently find it easier to align themselves with Islamic fanatics and murderous terrorists than with peace-loving, democratic Jews.
“Palestinian” is the name non-Jewish occupiers of the Jewish homeland, or their descendants call themselves these days.
you must be young. Palestine used to be on the map but curiously wasn’t on maps . you must be young, and perhaps your teachers and parents were young enough,too, so that those old maps had disappeared from their view, too.
THESE DAYS EVERYONE is starting to find out the TRUTH about THOSE DAYS.
you should join up. find out what really happened.
sign up, won’t you?
not to kill, but to learn, and to help save us all.
OMG. there’s a lot of comedy in these comments.
should we call ones like yours, commenty ?
commentididdily?
I am sorry but “peace loving democratic Jews” in Israel? Where are they?
It’s always nice to see that Antisemitism – even in its more subtle forms – is alive and well.
Well it is a lot right. ISIL beheads innocents, israel bombs the head off. ISIL illegally grabs the land and so does israel. Cool name. #JSIL it is. Lol
No, Israel bombs the illegal Muslim occupiers of Jewish land who dare to try to stop Jews from resetttling their homeland as was legally authorized in the League of Nations Mandate in 1922.
But I like the name JSIL because it is true that the Hebrew speaking people are the true heirs to the Land of Israel (formerly known as Canaan) and Hebrew is the last remnant of the Canaanite language, and not a foreign import as is Arabic. And Hebrew religion is native as well, not imported from Arabia either.
yes yes. , the Zionists SHOULD love the JSIL term
because it is a special name for special people just as
ISIL is special.
‘NO, Israel bombs the illegal muslim occupiers.,” you say, because they “dare to try to stop jews from resettling..” OMG. I guess hearing those bible stories since before you could talk is why you can repeat gar-bage like that and not expect the readers to laugh.
but, laughing is always a good thing, and I enjoyed it. you can’t see me, so I guess I’m not being mean to laugh. but I also think that being mean and laughing at someone’s religious righteousness-speak isn’t even close to mean like BOMBING THE HELL OUT OF WHOLE NEIGHBORHOODS AND ALL ITS FAMILIES ! is.
there’s NO justification for the slimey occupation and terror wars. you and jsil and isil have TUNNEL TERROR VISION…… it’s no joke or bible story, either.
Hahaha seriously? OMG no wonder you support that filthy state. Go google Partition of Palestine. Hahaha lol
You should use it, it’s a good way for people to tell anti-Semites from real critics of Israeli policy.
Who’s being anti Semite? Even Jews defy israel. What’s that, Anti(anti-Semite)? . Oh yeah another one. Jews, Muslims defy JSIL and ISIL , lol
You are being an anti-Semite by comparing the world’s only Jewish majority state to a bunch of crazed lunatics like ISIS. Just because there are Jews who are anti-Israel (such as Max Blumenthal who coined ‘JSIL’) does not mean that it is not anti-Semitic. Besides many anti-Israel Jews are only superficially Jewish and belong to the far left (again Blumenthal comes to mind) which hates Israel and the West in general and makes common cause with anti-Semitic Islamic extremists like Hamas.
A tardy compliment, Sir.
Truth in a sea of human delusion.
I’m a 100% ardent Zionist and I just LOVE the name Jewish State in the Levant! It is a wonderful name. It is a shame the State of Israel was not called the Jewish State of Israel back in 1948, but the socialists in charge of politics didn’t really like anything Jewish about themselves. But soon Stalin abandoned them when he realized that the Jewish state was going to be pro-West, pro-democracy and pro-America. But I love the name Jewish State in the Levant, because Hebrew is the Canaanite language, while Arabic is a foreign import from Arabia, as is Islam. Hebrew is indigenous.
I think hitler was more interested in Israel than stalin ever was.
you might see the history of zionist agreements with hitler and about the germans like .. von bolschwing..? and other top reich men who were working around PALESTINE.. for the Nazis.
conspiracy researcher, mae brussell, talked about Nixon’s Nazi friends and about Nazis who worked during wwII in Palestine with Zionists.
did the Zionists ever let stalin into their business?
You see, ISIS or the Caliphate represents the Arab invasion of the Middle East by Arabs from Arabia carrying a new “holy book” the Quran which justified their invading and stealing land from the Christian and Jewish inhabitants. So ISIS represents the Arab invasions. But JSIL or Jewish State in the Levant is a good name because Jews and their Hebrew (Canaanite) language were there before the Arabs showed up. Of course there were Ishmaelites around, as even Joseph was said to having been sold to Ishmaelites, and the Nabateans did establish a foothold mainly east in what was Edom and Moab, and is today Jordan, but Arabs never had a kingdom in Canaan. The Canaanites were semites, and the Israelites may have been comprised of Canaanites who followed Yahweh, but the Arabs today speak Arabic and are of Arab culture. They are Ishmaelites and Hagar, a Nubian servant girl of Abraham, was their matriarch. They have no right to the Land of Israel, but no problem east of the Jordan river.
What can the Jewish community do 2 strengthen the moderates? How can we isolate & undermine the Jewish extremists in JSL? lắp mạng internet Tough questions.
And let’s not forget that JSIL pays people to defend it on social media. It needs to, since the number defending it is so low.