There is a truth that many are afraid to say out loud: Israel is not hated because of what it does; Israel is hated because of what it is: a confident, successful, unapologetic Jewish state in a region – and world – that never wanted it to survive.
This hatred is not logical. It isn’t rooted in policy; it defies evidence. And yet, it pulses through international institutions, college campuses, Western media, and the streets of Europe’s major cities. It has become acceptable – even fashionable – to condemn Israel for defending itself, to brand it a colonial project, and to campaign not for coexistence but for its erasure.
Still, Israel endures. And not only does it endure; it excels. Despite relentless pressure, it builds, innovates, absorbs, defends, and creates. That is not just resilience; it is quiet defiance. And that is exactly why it will prevail.
From its inception, Israel’s existence was treated as a provocation. A home for the Jews? In the Middle East? In lands Jews had lived in for centuries, long before Islam existed? The very idea was rejected violently by its neighbors.
Within 24 hours of Israel’s founding in 1948, five Arab nations invaded to strangle it in its cradle. They failed. So did every other attempt to destroy it, from conventional wars to intifadas, rocket barrages, and terror tunnels.
But Israel’s victory on the battlefield was only one front. The deeper war – the more insidious one – is the war of perception. And in that war, Israel faces a much darker force: the normalization of anti-Jewish double standards disguised as social justice.
Today, anti-Zionism has become the socially acceptable mask of antisemitism. Its proponents no longer shout “Death to the Jews” but “From the river to the sea.” They no longer burn synagogues; they boycott Jewish businesses, intimidate Jewish students, and deny Jews the right to self-determination under the language of liberation.
THIS HATRED now hides behind the word “Palestine,” but its target remains the same: Jewish legitimacy, Jewish security, and Jewish survival.
It is important to state clearly that criticism of Israel is not antisemitism. But denying Israel the right to exist is antisemitism. Holding it to impossible standards no other nation is judged by is antisemitism. And treating its people as permanent suspects, even when under attack, is antisemitism.
Still, even as hatred grows louder, Israel must not flinch. In fact, its answer should not be appeasement; it must be moral clarity.
The world accuses Israel of apartheid, while Arab citizens sit in its parliament, attend its universities, serve in its judiciary, and walk freely in every city. The world calls it a colonial project as if the return of a people to their indigenous homeland after two thousand years of exile, persecution, and genocide is colonialism. The world accuses it of genocide, while its army warns civilians before striking terror targets embedded in homes and hospitals – something no other military on Earth does.
Israel must stop apologizing for existing
Israel cannot spend its energy begging the world to understand. It must stop apologizing for its existence. There is no moral justification for its enemies firing rockets from playgrounds, launching terror attacks in synagogues, or using their own people as human shields. There is no moral high ground in calling for the annihilation of a nation.
So, how does Israel respond? Not just with military strength, but with narrative strength.
It must start telling its story again and telling it better. The world does not need another defensive press release. It needs truth with a spine. It needs voices that stop chasing Western approval and start asserting moral reality.
Israel must stop letting its enemies define the terms of the debate. “Occupation”? The land it is accused of occupying is the same land offered to the Palestinians in countless peace deals, all of which were rejected, not because of borders but because of Israel’s existence. “Colonialism”? There has never been a Palestinian state to colonize. Jews are not foreigners in Jerusalem, Hebron, or Tiberias. They are natives returning home.
And to those who chant “Free Palestine” while excusing the murder of Jewish civilians, Israel must respond: Freedom is not the right to erase another nation.
BUT THE strategy cannot stop at defense. Israel must go on the offense culturally, diplomatically, and intellectually. It must invest deeply in media, storytelling, and international education. Not dry facts, but bold narratives that make people feel the truth.
People don’t rally around spreadsheets; they rally around stories. The story of Israel is powerful – one of trauma, triumph, rebirth, and hope. The world needs to hear it from Israelis themselves, not filtered through foreign correspondents or activist NGOs with political agendas.
Beyond messaging, Israel must redefine its alliances. For too long, it has sought love from Western elites who will never grant it. It’s time to build partnerships not just with governments but with people – from African innovators to Eastern European thinkers to Arab dissidents who admire Israel’s strength and stability.
Israel’s moral support may not come from the traditional halls of European diplomacy but from a new coalition of nations and individuals who admire what it truly stands for: liberty, innovation, and survival.
Domestically, Israel must never let the hatred abroad poison the soul within. The answer to hate is not fear; it is faith. Faith in its democracy, resilience, and diversity. The Jewish state must remain what it has always strived to be: a beacon of pluralism and progress in a region suffocated by tyranny. Its greatest revenge against its enemies is to keep flourishing.
And for Jews around the world, the message must be loud and clear: You do not owe anyone an apology for supporting Israel. Zionism is not extremism; it is justice. It is the belief that Jews have the right to live safely in the only country that exists to protect them when the world turns away, as it so often has.
Israel was never meant to be liked. It was meant to survive. And it has done more than that; it has given a scattered people a future, dignity, and a flag to rally around. That flag, the blue and white, is not a symbol of conquest. It is a promise: Never again will Jews rely on others for safety, justice, or identity.
So yes, the world may hate Israel. But Israel does not exist to be liked. It exists to be free. And in its freedom, it has outlasted every enemy, defied every expectation, and proven, over and over, that hatred is not stronger than history.
In the end, Israel does not need to win hearts to be victorious. It only needs to stand tall, clear, and unafraid.
And it will.
The writer, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco. Follow him on X/Twitter: @amineayoubx.