When the Israel Occupation Forces Co-Opt the Tools of a Movement Meant to Incriminate Them
Infographics were popularized by the 2020 movement to end police violence in the US. Why is Israel using them to victimize itself?
Last summer, the movement to end police violence led to the popularization of the Instagram infographic. The typical infographic is set up this way: an easy-to-read initial slide that uses clear bold lettering stating a broad question or idea that people may have questions about, which is then followed by slides with tidbits of information expanding on the idea. Despite their shortcomings, infographics were used widely by activists and became a way for millions of social media users to learn ideas they may not have previously been subject to that are not often dissected in mainstream discourse. Police abolition suddenly jumped to the forefront of youth consciousness, and thousands of other ideas were expanded on in this fashion. It also became a way for people to share widely with their peers that they are paying attention, for them to publicly perform their advocacy for a cause, without doing anything tangible for the movement outside of posting a square.
The infographic industrial complex was born out of the movement to end state violence against Black people. The movement was about the disenfranchisement of Black people at every level, with the police as the virulent agent. The police are the essential thread here—a military backed arm of the state in every neighborhood, demanding their essentiality under the guise of “protecting the community,” while questioning, arresting, and murdering Black people with impunity. The infographics that came out of this moment were aplenty, how to call for police and prison abolition while calling for killer cops imprisonment, how to defund police departments, how cash bail incarcerates low-income people, alongside a few on supporting Palestine and the history of Zionism.
Months after the infographic industrial complex became the new normal, a new cursed infographic creator entered the scene: the Israel Occupation Forces (IOF). The IOF is identified by Israel as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a distinction of which we must take note, because the IOF is a military occupier, who is not engaging in any act of defense, but rather advancing an offense against the Palestinians they are occupying. Israel calling it the IDF is intentional, to position itself in a constant state of defense, rather than as the initial aggressor.
The IOF developed their first infographic on August 27th, 2020. It carries all the necessary parts: the what, the explanation, the why you should care. Suddenly, a new actor has co-opted the tools of the oppressed to maintain their apparatus. The IOF noticed how successful information on racism was being shared and understood widely, leading to widespread grassroots movements, and so they, rather ingeniously, began utilizing the same means to a different end. The irony cannot be lost here—what happens when a brutal occupying military begins to use your tools, meant to share information about your oppression, to make themselves seem like the oppressed? What better way to ensure the next generation of Zionists remains relentless in their ideology than through a cutesy graphic that constantly defines Hamas and Iran as the threat, and Israel as the innocent victim?
It is a brilliant tactic by the IOF, just as it is unbelievably haunting. The IOF begins using a tool of information that was popularized by activists in the movement to end police violence in the United States. Police are a form of occupying agents often localized in urban neighborhoods, terrorizing their constituents using fear tactics like stop-and-frisk, just like the IOF. The IOF themselves have historically trained US police officers in counter-terrorism operations. US police departments often employ military-grade weapons such as rubber bullets and tear gas against unarmed protesters that the IOF uses against Palestinians. The fight to end police violence at home can be translated to the fight to end military occupation abroad. They are intrinsically connected.
It seems fitting, then, that the IOF would do anything in its power to remain in solidarity with US police forces. It becomes a requirement for them to subvert the narrative, to make themself the victim in order to gain sympathy. Without victimhood, what is Zionism? Without victimhood, who are Israeli settlers? Without victimhood, who is the IOF? The existence of the IOF is dependent on one thing: having something to defend Israel from. When there is nothing to defend from, its existence is no longer necessary. Israel has been using the guise of the IDF to justifiably torture Palestinians for 73 years. So when the military occupier of another state tries to subvert the purpose of the infographic—to educate, to inform, to broaden community and shift perspective closer to justice—said occupier should be realized, and outed for their attempt at appropriation. Their self-victimization should be condemned. The historical fallacies being pontificated to the world should be denounced.
Now it is May 17th, 2021, and Israel has been bombing Gaza relentlessly since May 10th. Since the attempted dispossession of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah received widespread coverage over a week ago, Israeli forces have moved forward with their brutal terror brigade. From stopping families in Sheikh Jarrah from entering their homes to attacking worshippers at Al-Aqsa mosque in Al-Quds on Eid al-Fitr, the IOF has violated their jurisdiction in countless ways. Brave Palestinians have been sharing the violence they are subject to online, demanding that people abroad share it far and wide. And we did. Videos demarcating the terror, the bombings, the lynchings of Palestinians by Israeli settlers, an Israeli running over two Palestinians with his car, Israeli police entering Palestinian homes and terrorizing a mother and father as their child hides, screaming and filming the encounter. Popping up alongside these videos came infographics about Palestine, discussing the historic conflict, why it exists, and what everyday people can do.
A very specific infographic was published by the Instagram account @key48return on April 18th. It shows two people sitting with their cups of tea, having a conversation. One of them is asking questions about the historic conflict, to which the other responds, denouncing many of the myths that are purported by Western media. The slides continue, expanding on different aspects of the conflict. Over the past two weeks, since the beginning of the Sheikh Jarrah eviction attempt, the post was shared thousands of times.
On May 13th, a very similar style post was posted by @IDF. Instead of depicting a conversation between two everyday civilians, it showed an Israeli officer speaking to a civilian, justifying the attacks on Gaza. The conversation is supposed to normalize the military’s relationship with its civilians, yet depicts the same dissonance between officer and civilian: the civilian is unsure about what is happening, and the information they are getting is through the military apparatus. The graphic is itself a representation of the precise Instagram dynamic: the IOF is in charge of the account, and the people reading the information they share are everyday people. If the information you are gathering is directly from the oppressing entity—the entity whose existence is dependent on destruction, and dependent on your validation that their destruction is necessary—why would you trust them as a credible source? They actively cannot admit to any wrongdoing because they need people to believe in their right to exist and “defend” themselves from an invisible enemy.
While the IOF peddles nonsensical rhetoric of “self-defense,” hundreds of accounts advocating for Palestine have been shadowbanned. Palestinians on the ground trying to share live video streams have been blocked from doing so. Twitter accounts have been suspended. Posts supporting the Palestinian people have been removed by the tech giants (namely Facebook). Palestinians with large Instagram followings are having their pro-Palestinian content tracked and hidden so less people see it.
“The algorithm is not biased!” people will scream, even as it's proven to us in real time. Generally, when someone is trying to censor you, that means you are doing something that could potentially threaten the status quo—which in the US tech demon’s case, is good. Welcome to the resistance.
The translation of the horror of this entire episode is this: without the bravery of the families in Sheikh Jarrah sharing videos of the attempted evictions happening in their neighborhood, the world may not have known. When IOF attacked Al-Aqsa mosque, they didn’t think the world was watching, but we were, and we were outraged. When Hamas retaliated, Israel expected the narrative to be in their favor. “Hamas started it!” and even if the media didn’t, young people knew better, because they had been watching it unfold, engaging with and listening to people on the ground. The bombing of Gaza that followed only made resolve stronger. It led to social media trending topics every single day, infographics shared by thousands of young people, a renewed political consciousness that humanized Palestinians who are so often left forgotten by the media, by politicians, by the world. This rise in consciousness is what has led to relentless attacks by Israel on Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lydd, beyond. Zionism is losing its stronghold; we are watching public opinion change right before our eyes. And because of that, Israel has unleashed relentless anger directly at Gaza, with constant bombing that destroys hundreds of homes. That murders hundreds of men, women, children, and injures hundreds more. That destroys the roads that are necessary for the sick and injured to drive to hospitals to receive treatment. That wipes out journalist offices. That displaces thousands of families. But the world won’t soon forget any of this. The world is still watching the truth unfold. And the world is still organizing for Palestine.
The Instagram infographic has done its job: allowed the conversation to enter public consciousness, when national media sources are beholden to the enemy. Media is still an arm of the imperialist apparatus, so it must be on the side of the US government, it must validate the US’ involvement in the Middle East generally, and Israel, specifically, in order to both maintain control of its civilians, and aid terror abroad. But the role of infographics created by people fighting for justice, young people like us, is not to control anyone. It is a very short stepping stone to liberation. The infographic has urged more people to speak out in numbers never before seen. But the movement cannot and will not stop there, because the infographic is also being used by the enemy. And someone who is trying to maintain their occupation and expand into more territory will not allow the Instagram infographic to take them down. The time to “have conversations” has long passed. We’ve had 73 years of conversations, while millions of Palestinians have been dispossessed by Israeli settlers, have had to seek refuge abroad, and have lost their families. Now is the time to boost anything and everything Palestinians are telling us to, in order to successfully demand the US stops funding the genocide of Palestinians. Now is the time to rise up, and act. Past the infographic we go, onward!
Palestinians across Palestine have called for a general strike and day of action on Tuesday May 18th.
The requests are simple:
Host an action at the Israeli consulate or embassy in your region
Hold a protest of vigil for Palestinians killed by Israeli terror
Make a public commitment to Palestinian liberation and BDS
Call on your governments to place sanctions on Israel
These actions are feasible, reasonable, and everyone can abide by them. Attend a local action, send a letter to your senators and reps, and then send a letter to your dad’s senators and reps, your mom’s senators and reps, your cousin’s, do it on behalf of your friends. Ask everyone you know to act, and ask them to act quickly. Gaza is still under attack. Sheikh Jarrah is still occupied. This is no time to question semantics, or to decide which “side” to be on. There are no sides here. There is justice, or there is genocide. As Mohammed El-Kurd said, “Do you support the violent dispossession of me and my family?”
That’s the bottom line here. Share the hashtags #SaveSheikhJarrah #GazaUnderAttack #FreePalestine. Continue the momentum. Place your power and strength in the hands of the Palestinian people. Raise them up high. Give them your heart and do what little they ask of you. They will carry themselves to liberation, but not without our help.