This piece was written by CAMERA Fellow Danielle Haberer, originally published in The Oracle of the University of South Florida and republished in the Algemeiner under the title College Group Uses ‘Game Show’ to Dehumanize Israel.
I attended “Battle of the Bulls” hosted by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). In this game-show style competition, participants from seven student organizations were asked to answer highly skewed, dehumanizing questions about the state of Israel.
SJP said the purpose of this event was to educate students about the Israeli “occupation” in an entertaining manner. In actuality, this event did not educate, but rather spread blatant falsehoods to audience members.
The portrayal of Israel given throughout the two rounds of the game was severely unbalanced and misleading. This is unsurprising considering that in preparation of the event, participants were instructed to reference the YouTube videos of Anna Baltzer, a Jewish defamer of Israel who has been known to fabricate false tales alleging crimes against Israelis in her mission to de-legitimize the state of Israel.
The claims that were made at the event were outrageous and shocking. One question, listed under the category of “blood profits,” asked for the name of the company that makes the missiles Israel uses to bomb crowded areas, such as Palestinian refugee camps. It would seem that whoever wrote this question was confused—the practice of launching missiles into crowded civilian areas is a tactic frequently employed by Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist organization.
Since 2000, Hamas has initiated hundreds of rocket attacks against civilian targets, launching missiles from the Gaza Strip into towns in Southern Israel, such as Sderot. Meanwhile, Israel goes to extreme lengths to minimize civilian casualties, even when it means putting its own soldiers at risk.
Other questions accused Israelis of tainting the water supply of Palestinians. One asked for the name of the type of poison that Israeli settlers put in Palestinian water to make it undrinkable. Another alleged that Israel denies Palestinian farmers from adequately watering their land, which has resulted in a 50 to 60 percent decline of olive trees.
In reality, unlike these disgraceful allegations would have students believe, Israel provides water to Palestinians in Gaza. In fact, Israel exceeds the responsibilities outlined in the 1995 Water Agreement and provides a much greater amount than designated.
Even the categories themselves were disturbing, with titles such as “blood profits,” which hints at the concept of blood libel, the false and highly offensive accusation that Jews murder children to use their blood for religious reasons.
One question referenced the story of Muhammad al-Dura, who was defined as a Palestinian boy who was shot and killed by Israeli gunfire as the world watched on live television. Al-Dura’s story is commonly used to fuel Palestinian hatred and invoke violence against Israel, despite the fact that numerous questions about the accuracy and authenticity of the broadcast have been raised since.
The winner of the biased game show, Students for a Democratic Society, was offered a $1,000 prize to donate to the charity of its choice. Rather than donating to disaster relief in the Philippines as the participants initially intended, the group is donating to a Palestinian refugee aid at the suggestion of SJP.
Israel is currently stationed in the Philippines, providing medical aid in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. These charitable, generous actions certainly do not fit with the image SJP painted of Israelis as evil and murderous. No positive achievements or true facts about Israel were noted at this event.
Danielle Haberer is a junior majoring in mass communications.
