You’ve seen it a hundred times. An Israel-hater squares off against a well-meaning pro-Israel advocate, and by the time the segment ends, the advocate has “won” on facts but somehow lost the room. The other side interrupted, deflected, played the victim, and walked away looking like the underdog, while our guy or gal sat there looking flustered.
Facts alone don’t win debates. Preparation, discipline, and a ruthless understanding of tactics do. The anti-Israel crowd doesn’t need to be right, hey just need to look sympathetic, derail the conversation, and make you lose your cool on camera. They’ve had years of practice turning bad arguments into good optics.
It’s past time we got just as good at the game, without sacrificing the truth to do it. Below are nine rules I’ve picked up from years of doing exactly this: prepping, sparring, and yes, roasting people who deserved it. Use them wisely.
1. Prepare
Not everyone is a polymath with the ability to counter every point. This is why it’s important to know what the other side is using as their baseline arguments and knowing the counterarguments and sources (because they will always demand a source to derail you). I know people who use Chat GPT to source things they know, and others who have primary sources bookmarked for certain things, and those are all good ideas. More important, however, is the studying of the subject and staying up to date on the most recent information. If you prepare, you will never be taken off guard and can counter almost any argument. The facts are on our side, so use them.
2. Have clear red lines for behavior
The anti-Israel crowd has gotten very good at using our platforms to spew their vitriol, and we are not very good at stopping them. The problem with conversations and debates is that unless you want to look like an a-hole, you have to let the other person speak. The other side knows this, so they will do everything they can to make themselves look like the underdog, even as they interrupt and talk over you. They will complain that you are interrupting and talking over them. They will add in subtle digs and dog whistles, hoping to pull you off your game. Be ready for that and don’t let them get an easy optic win.
Certain behaviors should be discouraged and make sure the viewers know the reasoning. This is why you should only debate in certain conditions – where there is an unbiased moderator, or on your own platforms – because otherwise they will simply abuse their power to interrupt and derail. If you are on their platform they will not allow you to debunk their nonsense and I guarantee you they will talk over you and drop you if you are doing too well. If it’s on your platform, the best redlines are behavior not ideological. For instance, no insulting people on your panel, no sexual statements, and no personal attacks. There should be no warnings for these breaches. Just drop them, and I will explain why.
The debate is not just about facts – we win on that alone. The optics and psychology are also important. For instance, they will often pick on one person on a panel – usually a woman. If you allow them to insult her or denigrate her, you come off looking weak and unable to protect your women. If you come off too strong, you look like you are white knighting and don’t believe the woman can hold her own or protect herself. So it’s a fine line and you have to find a way to navigate it. They will try to appeal to one person and make it “us against them” by saying things like “I don’t want to talk to you, I’m talking to (insert name) because they are reasonable and you aren’t.” Or they will choose the host and say “I didn’t come here to talk to you, I’m talking to the host.”
3. Always be a united front
Do not let them be divisive and always show a united front. They love when we argue amongst ourselves.
The temptation to interrupt is hard to resist, especially it seems for Jewish people(!), but resist it. Also resist the urge to “add something.” Interrupting will always derail and can throw people off by breaking their train of thought, so just wait your turn – you can always come back to something. Unless someone is saying something that is absolutely wrong and damaging, it’s better to wait. Remember optics, and when you contradict someone on your own side, it’s a win for the other side optically, so be strategic. Never contradict unless it’s about something vital. Slight corrections in stats? No. Wrong date? No. Save the disagreements for the other side.
4. Deal with monologuing
If they start monologuing, simply say “I would like to address each of your points in depth so let’s keep it to one at a time. Otherwise things will get lost in the weeds.” That way, when they attempt to “baffle with bullsh*t,” people will see that they are merely trying to throw as many points out at once to confuse the viewers. Make sure those watching see that you are actually engaging their points in good faith and have legitimate counters to those points. If they insist on monologuing and spewing several points, when it’s your turn to speak turn it back on them by saying “You used a lot of words and frankly we don’t have time to go through point by point because of that, so why don’t you choose what you believe is your strongest point and I will address that first.” Only do this if you are confident you know enough about each of their points to debunk any of them. What works for me may not work for you if you aren’t prepared.
5. Go on the offensive
I like to go on the offensive, because I know more about their history and “struggle” than they do. I like to ask them simple questions that they almost never know the answers to. For instance, recently a palestinian Arab came up on a panel and said “What about the IDF cold-bloodedly murdering two Palestinians for no reason?” I responded with “We already know those Palestinians stole some livestock from a nearby Jewish village and when they went to get them back, the Arabs threw rocks at them. The IDF came, and when the Arabs attacked them, two Arabs were shot. That’s hardly cold-blooded murder for no reason.” When the Arab interrupted and said “That’s a lie,” another panel member found the article and posted it for everyone to see (that’s a great panel member by the way – always try to be that panel member!) However, what really sealed the deal was when the Arab tried to play the emotions card with “I’m just really upset because Palestinians are being murdered by the Israelis for no reason all the time, and we have video.” Rather than play into the argument of emotions I simply asked “If you care so much, what were the names of the two Palestinians who were killed. Because clearly if you care so much, you would know their names. After all, I can name almost every Israeli living in Judea and Samaria who was killed by Palestinian terrorists.” They, of course, didn’t know the names because they do not in fact care about Palestinians at all – not enough to learn their names anyway.
Going on the offensive works but you need to be cognizant of the optics. You don’t want to become the bad guy by being too aggressive, and you do not want them to be sympathetic to the viewers.
6. Deal with triggering language
Do not let them use triggering language when they make their statements. If they attempt to do so, simply wait until it’s your turn and then correct the language. For instance, they will call the IDF the “IOF”, and they will use words like “indiscriminate”, “murder”, “genocide” and “apartheid.” Make sure you know the definitions inside and out and don’t let them drag you into the weeds with them. Instead, correct them. My favourite thing to do is simply say “Words have meanings and when we misuse words we can end up making mistakes, so in debates and conversations precision of language is vital.” Then if they insist on using those words I will start using similar words. However, I know the definitions of words like “terrorist” and “freedom fighter.” If they try to trigger me by calling Hamas “freedom fighters”, I will talk about how Jews living in Judea are the real resistance, and they are resisting Arab colonizers who illegally stole their land. They rarely last very long after that because they lose their minds.
7. Explain why moral equivalency arguments are wrong
Make sure people know the difference between primary and secondary sources, but don’t fixate too much on it. Just make sure people hear it. More importantly is making certain people understand why moral equivalency arguments are so dangerous and morally reprehensible. A good example is that if someone punches your child and you punch them back, you are not both morally equivalent. If someone attempts to rob your home and you shoot them, you are not the aggressor. They will try to claim that Jews are stealing Palestinian homes, which is when you drop the bomb that the Palestinians were not in fact there first and it was Jewish land before Arabic was even a language. Sometimes the thieves don’t get to keep what they stole.
8. Deal with insults in smart fashion
If they start using foul language and insults, do not immediately respond. If it continues, feel free to match energy but make sure your insults are funny because you want the viewer to go away thinking “Wow that one guy was a d*ck, but the other guy was funny.” Always have some good insults ready. For instance, one of my favourite exchanges was with a palestinian Arab who said to me “Bellerose you are so fat, when was the last time you saw your penis?” My response was lightning-fast: “Yesterday before the top of your mother’s head got in the way!” Needless to say, they didn’t have much to say after that. I usually avoid low hanging fruit like physical appearance unless it’s something really funny. Like when a palestinian Arab who was very short kept making fun of someone on a panel I was on, I simply said “If I follow the yellow brick road I’m pretty sure it won’t lead to Palestine.”
If they are really rude, I will say something like “I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and sh*t a better argument than you just made.” That usually ends it.
9. Pay attention to the dog whistles
Pay attention to the tactics they are using, especially the dog whistles and the subtle digs. Just don’t let them get to you, but if you can show the viewers, it’s usually good. Remember this is about the viewer walking away knowing what odious people these haters are.
