Hacking Hatred with a Better Story

“Hey hey, ho ho!
___________ has got to go!
Hey hey, ho ho!
___________ has got to go!”

“1-2-3-4 __________ no more!
5-6-7-8 smash the __________ _________ _______!”

“Say it loud say it clear, we don’t want ___________ here.”

Perhaps you can imagine hearing similar chants echoing from the walls of a gymnasium as zealous high school cheerleaders will their team to victory against an athletic rival.

But these chants aren’t for a sports team. Read them again, this time with the blanks filled in:

“Hey hey, ho ho!
Zionism has got to go!
Hey hey, ho ho!
Israel has got to go!”

“1-2-3-4 occupation no more!
5-6-7-8 smash the settler Zionist state!”

“Say it loud say it clear, we don’t want Zionists here.”

College students shouted these chants (and others which were even cruder) from tent encampments they constructed at some of America’s top public universities (including Harvard, Columbia, Northwestern and UCLA). As they protested Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist group after Hamas’ deadly attack on October 7, 2023, they sent a clear message to Jewish students, faculty and people everywhere: You’re not welcome here.

Hatred Tells the Wrong Story

The Anti-Defamation League reported between October 7, 2023 and January 7, 2024, antisemitic attacks in the US increased more than 360% compared to the same time in 2022, the year when reported incidents reached an all-time annual high. It’s clear hatred targeting the Jewish people runs deeper than mere disagreement with Israel’s government and military. A false narrative has been promoted about this people group which has fanned the flames. The only way to overcome the evil of antisemitism — and all other brands of hatred — is to tell a better story.

Behind the terms “Zionism/Zionist,” “occupation” and “settler” is a belief that the land of Israel does not truly belong to the Jewish people. According to the story, Israel is an oppressive, racist colonial power which is occupying the territory of the Palestinian people.

If that was the only story you heard about Israel, it would undoubtedly shape your perspective of the Middle East conflict and the Jewish people. But this is only one side of the story.

Few people realize Israel’s claim to their land goes back to the days of Moses more than 3,000 years ago, when God outlined the borders of the land He would give them (Numbers 34:1–12). There’s always another side to the story. There is always a better story.

Love Tells a Better Story

Did you know, for example, that Israel once provided life-saving medical care to imprisoned Hamas founder Yahya Sinwar? Or that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have cancelled airstrikes to prevent civilian casualties? Or that the IDF has used millions of leaflets, text messages and phone calls to warn civilians to leave conflict zones? Or that more than 250,000 Palestinians safely evacuated northern Gaza because the IDF opened a humanitarian passageway in the middle of the conflict? Or that the IDF offered 100 gallons of fuel to medical personnel at Shifa Hospital, but Hamas prevented them from accepting it? Or that even former US military officials believe the IDF’s restraint toward civilians has met or exceeded the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC)?

Seeing another side to the story doesn’t eliminate the complexities of the conflict or undo the suffering and evils of war. It sadly will not change the hatred many still feel toward the Jewish people. But through Israel’s acts of compassion, mercy and longsuffering, the Jewish people are telling a better story.

Better-Story Living

A Jewish rabbi named Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:43–45a) Anyone can “hate them back.” That’s easy. Jesus told a better story: We are most like God when we repay love for hatred and prayer for persecution.

Saying the right words isn’t difficult. Living a better-story life that turns the other cheek when hatred punches you in the face is the hard part. Jesus did both. What He taught with His lips, He sealed with His blood as He submitted His hands and feet to a soldier’s nails and hammer. He did it as He submitted His body to be beaten and whipped. He did it as He submitted His heart to the emotional lashes of rejection, betrayal and injustice. He demonstrated better-story living as He pleaded for the forgiveness of those whose hatred had put Him on the cross. At the climax of His suffering when He had breathed His last, He personally paid the price of eternal life for the entire world. Only love could do that. Love tells a better story.

Hatred and Your Story

Perhaps you have been the subject of a wrong story and experienced antisemitism or others’ hatred and discrimination. I’m sorry for your experience. Your pain is real. Your feelings are real. For you, the story of your experience is real. You don’t have to pretend it didn’t happen. Acknowledge it. Grieve it. But if you want to move forward, don’t wait for “the other side of the story” to even the score. Through intentional, consistent efforts to show love and good will, you will tell an even better story.

Article by Cam Edwards