Tips & Facts for Discussion & Debate from March 2024 (version 2)
Read the full article as a PDF from our Where Olive Trees Weep Resources page.
Everyone can agree that talking about Israel/Palestine is a delicate topic, which can easily get very heated – especially now. This is made more difficult to navigate due to the complex history of the conflict, and the huge amount of biased and false information that is circulated by the Israeli government, with the assistance of well-funded international lobby groups, professional propagandists, and compliant media and politicians, especially in the USA, UK and Australia. It can be difficult to try to change someone’s mind, or at least counter
their arguments, when that person is using an arsenal of dubious ‘facts’ in rapid fire, hoping that at least one of them will catch you out. It is even more difficult if you are not prepared with the knowledge of provable facts and how they connect into the bigger picture, and an understanding of the tricks and traps that are likely to be used to frustrate you. This article is here to help – but be warned, it’s aimed at readers who want to spend some time digging below the surface. If you are looking for something quick and snappy that can be
read and digested in your lunch break, this may not be for you.
Basic tips for approaching debate
Firstly, treat the person you are engaging with respect, and do not try to belittle them. Even if they are saying things you know to be untrue, they might not be trying to deceive, and probably really believe their arguments to be truthful. Listen to what they have to say without interrupting until they pause for your response. Try not to be inflammatory (which with this topic, is easier said than done).
Secondly, stay calm and do not react to attempts to provoke you into getting worked up. It is difficult to make a rational, carefully worded argument for what you believe in if you are agitated or angry. Shouting is not helpful and can make you look like the aggressor. Talking calmly and being reasonable and compassionate towards the other person is much more likely to result in a fruitful conversation in which the other person might actually listen and think about what you have to say. It also can defuse tension and turn a potentially hostile confrontation into a productive encounter that might even end with smiles. That outcome might seem unlikely, but it’s something good to aim for. If you’re talking with someone who is aggressive, belligerent, and clearly not interested in listening to you, it’s probably best to wish them peace and walk away.
Thirdly, know what you’re talking about. Pro-Israel pundits or members of the public often have a shallow knowledge of the factual history of Israel/Palestine, and tend to rely on well-trodden soundbites, dubious claims, and emotive trigger terms to frame the discussion in a way that makes a good response difficult if your own background knowledge is also shallow or uncertain. The best thing you can do here is educate yourself so that you can respond to falsehoods or misleading statements with truths that can be backed up with real evidence. This will also give you insights that enable you to intelligently voice your own opinions without having to repeat stock statements learned from a ‘cheat sheet’. Some suggested high quality resources for learning more about this issue are listed at the end. If you don’t know any facts to respond to a given statement or question, don’t try to bluff and make up something that sounds credible. This will only make you look bad if the other person knows, or can later find out, that what you said wasn’t true. If the interaction is being filmed, this is even more important because it will likely be shared with the whole world, labelled on Youtube with something like “Idiot Terrorist Supporter Owned”. Just be honest and admit you don’t know enough about that, but will look into it. Our greatest tool for justice and peace is the truth.
Read the full article as a PDF from our Where Olive Trees Weep Resources page.