When Facts Fall Victim to Vibes

(This op-ed was originally published in the Jewish Journal on October 7, 2025)

Bravery today is not submitting to the zeitgeist, but challenging its moral distortions.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a profound tragedy. It is from this place of concern that we must also insist on intellectual honesty, especially when using terms as grave as “genocide.” A cultural environment is emerging where assertions about Israel are accepted as “common knowledge” so universally that few bother to check the facts — even those tasked to do so. The current zeitgeist has transformed Israel into both a symbol and a victim of this cultural moment.

The United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) latest report that came out a few weeks ago is a masterclass in dressing propaganda in the language of law. While presented as a “legal analysis,” it’s a document structured to support a predetermined conclusion. The report’s most significant flaw is its attempt to infer genocidal intent from the destruction of property. It admits the destruction itself is not a genocidal act but asks the reader to connect the dots. By omitting Israel’s stated goal of dismantling Hamas’ military infrastructure, it transforms a complex combat situation into a simple act of mass killing. This isn’t rigorous legal analysis; it’s a conclusion driven by ideology.

Long before the report, the off-hand labeling of Israel’s actions as “genocide” was already common. These accusations, often delivered by academic authorities without rigorous evidence, were amplified by social media algorithms and validated through circular citations where activists cite each other as “experts.” The claim has become less a factual assertion requiring proof and more a litmus test for progressive credibility. To challenge it is to reveal yourself as an outsider. This encapsulates a troubling phenomenon: the rise of “vibe-expertise,” the practice of making assessments based not on facts, but on the prevailing zeitgeist and ideology.

This environment generates well-intentioned but clumsy gestures, like Coldplay’s Chris Martin feeling the need to affirm the humanity of his Israeli fans, as if their identity were inherently suspect. We see it in cultural boycotts, such as one supported by over 2,000 filmmakers. While born from a desire to protest policy, such actions risk a blanket condemnation that slides into the cultural isolation of an entire people. The issue is not criticism of the Israeli government, but the casual acceptance of extreme characterizations that erase the humanity of Israelis themselves.

The civilian death toll in Gaza is heartbreaking, and the Israeli military’s conduct demands scrutiny. But what Israelis view as a tragedy they seek to minimize, Hamas views as a deliberate strategy. Hamas embedded its military infrastructure within civilian areas knowing Palestinian casualties would create exactly the international pressure we now witness. Acknowledging this is not an apology for Israeli actions; it is a recognition of the tragic moral dilemma at the heart of this conflict.

To ignore this reality is to misunderstand the situation. Israel’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid, establish evacuation corridors and treat wounded Gazans in its own hospitals are not the actions of a state with genocidal intent. These facts do not erase the suffering, but they fatally complicate the simplistic narrative of pure evil.

The fierce dispute within Israel over the war’s continuation — a debate between prioritizing the hostages’ release or ensuring Hamas’ defeat — is almost entirely ignored by global media. The international pressure campaign has little influence on this internal debate. Its more significant consequence is the distortion of Western morality in favor of a jihadi organization’s strategic narrative.

The greatest danger today is not overt bigotry, but a moral inertia among well-meaning people. When intellectual integrity is sacrificed for the comfort of conformity, reason is replaced by a righteous-feeling consensus. When we allow ideology and “vibe-expertise” to replace factual analysis, we aren’t just getting Israel wrong — we’re undermining the foundations of ethical discourse. Every time we accept an evidence-free genocide accusation, we fulfill Hamas’ strategy.

Bravery today is not submitting to the zeitgeist, but challenging its moral distortions. This isn’t about denying Palestinian suffering. It’s about refusing to allow that suffering to be weaponized by an organization that deliberately creates it.

Illustration of the original picture in Jewish Journal A view of a humanitarian aid warehouse in Al-Arish, near the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2025 in Arish, Egypt. (The original Photo taken by Ali Moustafa/Getty Images)