Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction
Israel/Palestine: The Difficult but Necessary Conversation
Different Facts, Beliefs, and Narratives
Differences in Language
Getting Clarity with All These Challenges
This Guide's Format
How to Use This Guide
Group 1: Attacking You
1. "That Comment Is So Anti-Semitic."
2. "Why Are You Singling Out Israel?"
3. "This View Is Not Balanced; It Is Pro-Palestinian."
Group 2: Pressuring Acceptance of a Jewish State
4. "Do You Believe Israel Has the Right to Exist?"
5. "The World Community (UN) Gave Jews Israel because of the Holocaust."
6. "But God Gave Jews the Land."
Group 3: Justifying Israeli Actions
7. "Doesn't Israel Have the Right to Defend Itself (against Palestinian Violence and Terrorism)?"
8. "Israel Has Always Had to Defend Itself from Aggressive Arab Nations."
9. "The Security Fence/Wall/Barrier Is Needed to Protect Israel."
Group 4: Demonizing or Criticizing Palestinian Actions
10. "Not All Palestinians Are Really Refugees."
11. "Demanding Palestinians' Right of Return Is a Ploy to End the Jewish State."
12. "Palestinians and Other Arabs Are Taught to Hate Jews."
Group 5: Describing an Alternative Reality
13. "There Is No Occupation; All of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria Are Part of Israel."
14. "Gaza Is Not under Occupation; It Is under Hamas Control."
15. "Jerusalem Is the Capital of Israel."
16. "Israel Just Wants Peace."
Group 6: Claiming That Israel Is Like the United States
17. "We Should Support the Only Democracy in the Middle East."
18. "We Need to Support Israel. They Are Like Us; They Have Judeo-Christian Values."
Now What?
Appendix: Why Call It When They Speak Israel?
Endnotes