As a Jewish woman who was received a Jewish education that also happened to be very pro-Israel, let me tell you something: unlearning the pro-Israel stance is very, very difficult.

Beginning in preschool, I was taught that Israel is the greatest country in the world, and that it couldn't do any wrong. The reasoning? Everyone who criticizes it is jealous of its accomplishments, and is antisemitic.

The most interesting part is that, in my experience, it didn't really shove Israel down our throats--but it was very subtle. For example, they'd have us make Hanukkah cards for IDF soldiers and have us thank them for "protecting the Jewish people against enemies".

They would have Israel flags hung on the walls of our classrooms for our 4 and 5-year old eyes to see every day. On Thanksgiving, they made us say we were thankful for Israel. It was never explicitly anti-Palestinian or islamophobic at that age; or at least it wasn't for me.

But that would all change as the years went by. I remember when I was older, probably around 9 or 10 years old, it was around the anniversary of 9/11. Like every American school, we spent the whole day learning about it. But I explicitly remember my Hebrew School teacher...

...telling me that the perpetrators of the attacks targeted New York City because it's a very Jewish city, and that all Muslims hate Jewish people. Those words were stuck in my head for many years. That's all I knew for a while.

I also attended a Jewish summer camp, one that was also very pro-Israel. I remember one particular instance where one of the counselors made a joke about Palestinians being terrorists in front of the campers and camp owners, and the owners laughed hysterically.

It all got so much worse as we got older. You know why? Because we were approaching the age where we became eligible to go on our birthright trips, and that meant all of my friends' older siblings were already going on them.

For those of you who don't know: birthright is a free 10-day trip that any Jewish person can go on between the ages of 18-26 years old. It's "free" because it's completely paid for by the Israeli government, and they are usually filled with propaganda.

It's something that I remember constantly being told about at a very young age. They place a huge emphasis on it and constantly talk about how those will be the best 10 days of your entire life. I have not gone on birthright myself, but what I've heard from people who have...

...they really are the best 10 days of your entire life. But, there's a catch. Many of my Jewish friends who are now pro-Palestine actually did go on their birthright trips say that while it was an amazing experience, they remember there being a lot of very subtle propaganda.

It wasn't until I became increasingly involved in activism until I learned the truth. It took one conversation from a Palestinian activist for me to learn about the most important event in the conflict that I'd never even heard of before: The Nakba.

No one had ever told me that 700,000+ Palestinian civilians were forced out of their homes between December 1947- January 1949, with hundreds of them also being raped and murdered during this time period. Moreover, no one told me 250k+ were forced out before Israel was created.

That changed my perspective on everything. It made me realize how much unlearning I had to do. It's been several months, and I believe that I still have some unlearning to do, but I'm trying my best. I'm doing my own reading and research on the conflict, unlike before.

Unlearning everything you once believed after realizing you were lied to is very painful and challenging. You're going against everything you were taught for years. You lose a lot of friends, because they don't want to admit that they've been manipulated for so long.

But it's something that must be done. We need to unlearn the lies, and we need to learn the truth. We must stand up for the truth.

Before I close this thread, I want to make something VERY clear: THIS IS NOT THE FAULT OF JUDAISM OR THE JEWISH PEOPLE. THIS IS THE FAULT OF A PRO-ISRAEL EDUCATION. IF YOU USE ISRAEL AS AN EXCUSE TO BE ANTISEMITIC, GO FUCK YOURSELF.

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