Narrative spin for Israel is in full swing following the Bondi Beach attack, conflating pro-Palestinian activism with anti-Jewish violence.
Aftermath of Bondi Beach massacre, Bondi Beach, Sydney, on Dec. 16. (Sardaka / Wikimedia Commons / CC0 1.0)
By Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin’s Newsletter
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Looks like some kind of memo went out or something, because pro-Israel outlets and individuals are all loudly amplifying one specific talking point about the Bondi Beach shooting.
Here are some examples:
“Bondi Beach Is What ‘Globalize the Intifada’ Looks Like”
~ Bret Stephens, The New York Times
“The Intifada Comes to Bondi Beach”
~ David Frum, The Atlantic
“The Intifada Comes to Australia”
~ Walter Russell Mead, The Wall Street Journal
“Shooting at Bondi Beach is what a globalized intifada looks like”
~ Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post
“The Intifada Comes to Australia”
~ Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The Free Press
“Welcome to the global intifada”
~ David Harsanyi, Washington Examiner
[See: 2 U.K. Police Forces Pledge to Arrest People Who Chant ‘Globalize the Intifada’]
“Palestinian propaganda has globalized the intifada”
~ Zachary Faria, Washington Examiner
“Bondi Beach massacre is what globalizing the intifada looks like”
~ Vivian Bercovici, National Post
“Chanting ‘globalise the intifada’ leads to Bondi Beach”
~ Danny Cohen, The Telegraph
“I have a simple question for leftists after the antisemitic shooting in Australia. What do you think ‘globalize the intifada’ means?”
~ U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
“That attack in Sydney is exactly what it means to ‘globalize intifada.’ We saw the actual application of the globalization of intifada in Sydney.”
~ New York City Mayor Eric Adams
“These are the results of the anti-Semitic rampage in the streets of Australia over the past two years, with the anti-Semitic and inciting calls of ‘Globalise the Intifada’ that were realized today.”
~ Gideon Sa’ar, Foreign Minister of Israel
“When you refuse to condemn and only ‘discourage’ use of the term ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ you help facilitate (not cause) the thinking that leads to Bondi Beach.”
~ Former U.S. antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt (addressing New York City Mayor Elect Zohran Mamdani)
“What on earth do you think globalise the intifada means? And can’t people see the link between that kind of rhetoric and attacks on Jewish people as Jewish people? Because that’s what really struck at the heart of Jewish people in our country today — an attack on Jewish people organising around Hannukah, coming together as Jewish people.”
~ U.K. Health Secretary Wes Streeting
“Why is it still allowed? What is the meaning of globalise the intifada? I’ll tell you the meaning… it’s what happened on Bondi Beach yesterday.”
~ Ephraim Mirvis, Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom
“Calls to ‘globalise the intifada’ and chants of ‘from the river to the sea’ are not abstract or rhetorical slogans. They are explicit calls for violence, and they carry deadly consequences. What we are witnessing is the inevitable outcome of sustained radicalisation that has been allowed to fester under the guise of protest.”
~ Israeli embassy in the U.K.
“This is what happens when you ‘globalize the intifada.’”
~ Newsweek editors
“This was not an isolated act of violence — it was the culmination of ‘globalise the intifada’ rhetoric that has been building around the world since October 7.”
~ Yoni Bashan, The Times
“For those who’ve been marching these past few years demanding to ‘globalise the intifada’ this is a barbarous anti-Semitic consequence of their pro-Islamist stupidity.”
~ Former BBC anchor Andrew Neil
“When people call to ‘globalise the intifada’, this is what they are calling for: dead Jews, terrorism and families shattered forever.”
~ Campaign Against Antisemitism spokesperson
“Taking a stand against antisemitism after Bondi Beach should begin with an unequivocal recognition that ‘intifada’ rhetoric is hate speech.”
~ The Bulwark’s Cathy Young
“It would be great if those who have been shouting ‘Global Intifada’ would revisit that phrase right now. It is not a ‘harmless left wing slogan.’ It is a call to blame — and kill — Jews who have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the actions of the Israeli government.”
~ Spiritual guru and former U.S. presidential candidate Marianne Williamson
Of course, these outlets and individuals do not actually care about the phrase “globalize the intifada.” If pro-Palestine activists had never chanted that slogan, pro-Israel spinmeisters would be focusing on a different line today. They are not trying to stop chants which they perceive as dangerous, they are trying to stomp out criticism of Israel’s genocidal atrocities.
As The Intercept’s Natasha Lennard wrote regarding the aforementioned Bret Stephens piece,
“It’s all done in the name of fighting anti-semitism by conflating the worst kinds of violent anti-Jewish bigotry, like what we saw in Bondi Beach, with any criticisms of Israel and its actions. To so much as say Palestinians ought to have basic human rights, in this view, becomes a deadly attack on Jewish safety.”
The term “intifada” means to “shake off” and “rise up,” and as Middle East Eye’s Craig Birckhead-Morton and Yasmin Zainab Bergemann explained last year, intifadas have historically included nonviolent resistance.
Saying “globalize the intifada” isn’t calling for people to massacre Jewish civilians around the world, it’s advocating resistance to the power structure which incinerated Gaza and continues to inflict abuse upon Palestinians and any other population which doesn’t bow to the interests of the empire.
And the people scaremongering about this phrase know this. They’re fully aware that they’re using a tragic mass shooting as a political cudgel against people who believe Palestinians are human beings. This is just one more cynical manipulation aimed at protecting Israel from criticism so that it can inflict more violence and suffering upon the world.
As Em Hilton wrote for the Israeli outlet +972,
“It is obscene how quickly the right has seized on this horror to advance an Islamophobic, anti-Palestinian agenda. And it is disgusting to see Israel’s politicians almost gleeful at the opportunity to distract from their genocidal onslaught in Gaza by using our pain and grief as a political weapon.”
Caitlin Johnstone’s work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, following her on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud, YouTube, or throwing some money into her tip jar on Ko-fi, Patreon or Paypal. If you want to read more you can buy her books. The best way to make sure you see the stuff she publishes is to subscribe to the mailing list at her website or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything she publishes. For more info on who she is, where she stands and what she’s trying to do with her platform, click here. All works are co-authored with her American husband Tim Foley.
This article is from Caitlin’s Newsletter and re-published with permission.
The views expressed are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Consortium News.
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The New South Wales government wants desperately to ban the protest rally-march against the Gaza genocide that has been held in Sydney nearly every Sunday arvio since 7 December 2023…
When the Greater Israel slogan “From The River To The Sea” was adopted by pro-Palestinians it was reframed as
being actually anti-semitic code for killing Jews… The chant of :Globalize the Intifada” is undergoing the same
reframing – it is allegedly code for killing Jews…
The NSW government appears to have had prepared legislation to criminalise such “Hate Speech” slogans, ready to
make law whenever An Incident conveniently occurs…
…….
‘According to NSW Premier “Hate Speech, anti-semitism'” begins with chants at marches. “then it migrates online to
a tweet or some kind of post,” leading to property damage and arson, and finally, “then you see this terrible,
terrible crime.” hxxps://reclaimthenet.org/chris-minns-defends-nsw-hate-speech-laws-linking-censorship-to-terror-prevention
Seems premier Minns also got the memo about “Globalise The Intifada” being a gateway chant…
…….
We can expect the government will claim “Globalise The Intifada” chant is “Hate Speech”. Police will be instructed
to arrest any participant in the Sunday marches. Participant will resist, and the provoked “violence” “riot” will
provide the desperate excuse to ban further marches…
Another victory for Mossad*… (*By deception Thou Shalt Wage War) …
Aclarwmos las cosas. Lo que el mundo ha visto es un Genocidio. Lo que el mundo ha hecho es revelarse ante un Genocidio.
It all appears quite clearly to be a concerted action, made by the zionists/ nazis/ fascists of what is still called ‘israel’.
Including the shooting itself.
I would not be surprised, if it was some kind of false flag operation. zionists kill jewish people without hesitation, when considered profitable.
See the ‘hannibal directive’ for example.
Who is profiting, is the question.
The answer rather evident.
The younger shooter had been properly trained how to use that bolt-action rifle. He was highly proficient with it, fast, and fluid. He knew exactly what he was doing. Just watch the video. Plenty of trained military have commented on it, and give credible assessments of his skills.
It was not the work of an amateur but of a professional killer. So who was he, where was he trained, and by whom?
May be reading the book “Wanderings” by Chaim Potok would give a clear historic picture of the Jews. Also letting go the myth that
Jewish people are God’s chosen ones would help.
My immediate reaction to this event: This reeks of an intelligence-concocted black flag op to jinn (gin?) up support for Israel/Zionism. CIA/Mossad/MI6.
We shall see.
As an ethnic Jew who grew up around antisemites, I initially felt horror at this mass shooting. Then I read that it was sponsored by the local Chabad — Hasidic Jews are a fundamentalist cult deeply involved in support of Israel and its genocide. Even then I though, it was a larger community and shooting people is an unjustifiable crime and tragedy. It would have been even worse but for the sacrifice3 of Ahmed al Ahmed, the Syrian-Australian who risked his life to disarm the shooter.
Then, along with the flowers, out come those filthy, blood-stained flags . . . Sadly it is Zionism and support for it in spite of the heinous reality of genocide that drives antipathy for Jews — they can blame nobody but themselves for inflaming it.
On the epithet “Globalize the Intifada”
Arabic, intif??a ‘an uprising’ (literally ‘a jumping up as a reaction to something’), ‘be shaken, shake oneself’.
Dictionary: Definitions from Oxford Languages’ dating way back, at least to June 1967, and before, in the details of actual history to the “Nakba” of 1948.
The significant aspect of the word, Intifada, in this context is: ‘a jumping up as a reaction to something’!
Factual documentation of the word Nakba:
[Key Aspects:
• Displacement:
Over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled their homes, becoming refugees.
• Destruction:
Around 400-600 Palestinian villages were destroyed, looted, or depopulated.
• Loss of Property & Land:
Palestinians lost their land, property, and cultural heritage.
• Ongoing Impact:
The Nakba is not just a historical event but an ongoing reality, encompassing the denial of Palestinian refugee rights and the suppression of their national identity.
• Perpetrators:
Zionist forces (Haganah, Irgun, Lehi) and the nascent Israeli military are identified as responsible.
• Significance:
For Palestinians, it’s a central trauma, shaping their collective memory, identity, and political aspirations, particularly the demand for the “right of return” for refugees and their descendants.
In essence, the Nakba describes the foundational rupture of Palestinian life and society due to the 1948 war, a narrative of dispossession central to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.]
But of course, these facts are not permitted acknowledgement. They count for nothing in a self-righteous, one-sided – (unfairly giving or dealing with only one side of a contentious issue or question) – world, in which the interests of the empires longtime, propaganda inculcated, non-Jewish anti-Palestinian hatred are paramount. (Definition from Oxford Languages’)
Commenter observation: Ayaan Hirsi Ali, (a Somali-born Dutch and American writer, activist, conservative thinker and former politician. A critic of Islam, she advocates for the rights and self-determination of Muslim (apparently so long as they are not Palestinian) women…. Does she still call herself a Christian these days or has she, more ingenuously, reverted to atheism?
Afterall, as a woman, she knows first-hand about patriarchy and persecution, yet she literally chose the “Wrong-wing” of humanity, after making her story known to the world; through the publication of “her widely successful memoir” Infidel, (2007), detailing her life.
[Ayaan Hirsi Ali isn’t affiliated with a specific U.S. political party, but is closely linked to conservative and libertarian think tanks like the Hoover Institution (Stanford) and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), focusing on women’s rights, liberal values, and criticizing political Islam through her AHA Foundation, advocating for “free speech” (so long as it’s not about the plight of Palestinians) and Western ideals (read ideology) while also embracing Christian conservative viewpoints after converting.] So long as ‘free speech’ is NOT about Palestinian women, children and men!?
Perhaps it’s time for her to write a memoir on hypocrites of the world, but then maybe she is not cognizant of the fact that she is now one.
Note:
Google AI Overview as well as Wikipedia et.al. are culprits in corroborating the detailed evidence of her highly evolved character.
The wedges of fear and blame have razor sharp edges.