How Israel Uses Sex To Sell Zionism
Summary
TLDRThe video explores how Israel has historically used sexualized imagery and narratives to promote Zionism, from rebranding Jewish identity in the 19th century to the modern use of bikini diplomacy and social media influencers. It highlights how Zionist efforts to shape public perception have evolved, incorporating soldiers, media, and Birthright trips to present Israel as a desirable, liberal destination, while masking the realities of colonization and oppression. The strategy encourages the creation of Jewish families to secure Israel's demographic future, ultimately intertwining sex, aesthetics, and nationalism for political survival.
Takeaways
- 🌍 Israel has used sex and attractiveness to sell Zionism and promote the country as a desirable place, overshadowing its history of colonization and displacement of Palestinians.
- 🏋️♂️ The Zionist movement in the late 1800s created the concept of the 'new Jew,' who was strong, rugged, and muscular, countering old European stereotypes of Jews being weak and frail.
- 🌵 The term 'sabra,' which refers to prickly pear fruit native to Palestine, was appropriated to represent the tough yet sensitive new Jew, aligning with Zionist ideals.
- ⚔️ Early Zionists, despite lacking experience in manual labor, embraced ideals of land, liberty, and labor, and these new Jews formed militias that carried out mass displacement of Palestinians during the creation of Israel.
- 📸 In the early 2000s, Israel faced a PR problem with younger American men, leading to a 'bikini diplomacy' campaign to rebrand Israel as a modern, liberal country with beaches, attractive people, and a vibrant lifestyle.
- 🎯 Israeli soldiers, especially women, have been marketed on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram to promote a sexy, fun, and relatable image of military occupation.
- 🏳️🌈 The Israeli army has adopted liberal visuals like gay pride and feminist content to market itself as inclusive, though these values are not extended to Palestinians living under occupation.
- 🧳 The 'Birthright' program offers young Jews worldwide an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel, using emotional and physical connections with Israeli soldiers to foster Zionist loyalty and relationships, even marriages.
- 💑 Birthright trips intentionally encourage intimacy between participants and Israeli soldiers to promote Zionist reproduction and secure Israel’s demographic future.
- 👶 More Jewish babies and relationships are essential for maintaining Israel’s military and settler population, reinforcing the need for Zionist nation-building and continued colonization.
Q & A
What stereotypes about Jews existed in Europe before the creation of Israel?
-In Europe, Jews were stereotyped as weak, pale, and frail, which Zionists also came to see as undesirable qualities.
What concept did Zionists develop to counter the European stereotypes of Jews?
-Zionists developed the idea of 'muscular Judaism,' which promoted a new image of Jews as rugged, muscular, strong, and tanned.
What does the term 'subra' symbolize in Zionism?
-'Subra,' which refers to the prickly pear fruit, symbolizes the new Jew in Zionist ideology—hard and prickly on the outside but tenderhearted on the inside, representing strength and connection to the land.
How did the image of the new Jew evolve over time?
-Initially, the image focused on ruggedness and physical strength to support the goals of Zionism. Over time, this evolved into a broader visual image, including sex appeal, to market Israel as a modern, attractive country.
What was Israel's 'bikini diplomacy' strategy?
-In 2007, Israel launched a PR campaign using bikini-clad models in Maxim magazine to rebrand Israel as a modern, desirable destination with attractive people and beaches, especially targeting men aged 18-35.
How has social media influenced Israel’s PR efforts?
-With the rise of social media, Israel's PR adapted by using platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where Israeli soldiers post 'thirst traps' and other content to present the military occupation as fun, empowering, and relatable.
What is Birthright, and how is it related to Zionism?
-Birthright is a program offering young Jews worldwide a free trip to Israel. It aims to emotionally connect participants with Israel and encourages relationships between Jewish participants and Israeli soldiers, promoting Jewish reproduction and settlement.
Why are relationships and intimacy encouraged on Birthright trips?
-Relationships are encouraged to foster connections between Jewish participants and ensure Jewish reproduction, which supports Israel's goal of maintaining a Jewish demographic majority over Palestinians.
How does Israel use sex appeal in its nation-building narrative?
-Israel uses sex appeal through attractive imagery of soldiers, beaches, and nightlife to distract from the violence and colonization inherent in its nation-building efforts, making it seem more palatable and even desirable.
What is the ultimate goal of Israel’s use of sex appeal in its PR strategies?
-The goal is to secure the future of Israel by attracting settlers, encouraging reproduction, and whitewashing the reality of occupation and colonization through appealing visuals and narratives.
Outlines
📜 Israel's Use of Sex to Sell Zionism: Historical Context
The first paragraph explains how Israel has long used sexual imagery to promote Zionism, presenting itself as a vibrant and alluring destination. This contrasts with the underlying reality of the displacement and erasure of Palestinians. This strategy originated in the late 1800s when Zionist leaders wanted to reshape the image of Jews, moving away from the frail, weak stereotype to one of strength and masculinity. This led to the concept of the 'new Jew,' symbolized by a strong, rugged, tanned individual capable of building a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The visual identity of the 'new Jew' became tied to Israeli militias, who later formed the Israeli Army. Over time, the visual of strength was used as a marketing tool, evolving into a strategy to rebrand Israel in the face of a global PR problem.
🌴 Rebranding Israel: From Conflict Zone to Tourist Paradise
The second paragraph details Israel’s rebranding efforts in the early 2000s, specifically targeting young men in the U.S. who saw Israel as merely a conflict zone. Israel began promoting a new image of a liberal, fun-loving country with beaches, beautiful women, and a vibrant nightlife. This marketing was labeled 'bikini diplomacy,' notably through a photo spread in Maxim magazine. The strategy painted Israel as a carefree, liberal paradise, positioning Palestinians as a nuisance rather than a colonized people. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram also became tools, with Israeli soldiers participating in viral trends to sell a more appealing image of Israel’s occupation forces.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Zionism
💡Muscular Judaism
💡Sabra
💡Nakba
💡Bikini Diplomacy
💡Birthright
💡Colonialism
💡Thirst Traps
💡Ethnocracy
💡Hasbara
Highlights
Israel uses sex as a tactic to sell Zionism, presenting itself as a hot, modern fantasy instead of a settler colony built on the displacement of Palestinians.
The concept of the 'New Jew' was invented in the late 1800s to counter stereotypes of Jews as weak, promoting an image of rugged, muscular, and strong individuals.
The term 'Sabra' symbolizes the new Jewish identity, representing a person who is hard on the outside but tender on the inside, similar to the prickly pear fruit.
Early Zionists used the image of strong, capable Jews to support the creation of militias that led to the displacement and killing of Palestinians, laying the groundwork for the modern Israeli Army.
In the early 2000s, Israel faced a PR problem with young men who saw the country as a conflict zone. The solution was to rebrand Israel with 'bikini diplomacy,' using models and beach imagery to market the nation as a fun destination.
A 2007 Maxim magazine spread was part of Israel’s rebranding, portraying Israel as a modern country with beaches, nightlife, and attractive people to distract from its military occupation.
Social media has adapted the strategy of bikini diplomacy, with Israeli soldiers posting 'thirst traps' and participating in trendy videos to market military service as appealing and fun.
Israeli soldiers and social media agencies, like Alpha Gun Angels, promote military occupation as a glamorous and exciting lifestyle, often using attractive women in military uniforms to gain attention.
Israel uses TikTok and Instagram to sell the image of a liberal, free society while ignoring the realities of occupation that Palestinians face.
Birthright trips offer young Jewish adults an all-expenses-paid journey to Israel, aiming to connect them emotionally with the country and encourage Jewish-Zionist relationships and marriages.
Birthright trips include interactions with attractive Israeli soldiers, arranged outings, and intimate settings, which foster quick romantic connections among participants.
The integration of Israeli soldiers into Birthright trips is intentional, aiming to create emotional bonds and encourage Jewish procreation, crucial for maintaining a demographic majority in Israel.
Birthright co-founder Charles Bronfman emphasized the importance of romantic encounters during trips to combat high rates of intermarriage among Jews, reinforcing the creation of a Jewish ethnocracy.
The narrative sold by Israel is one of fun, beaches, and an active nightlife, which is strategically used to distract from its occupation, military actions, and the violence faced by Palestinians.
Israel’s use of sex, aesthetics, and fun as marketing tools aims to attract settlers, promote immigration, and support the military infrastructure essential to its national vision.
Transcripts
for a long time Israel has used sex to
sell Zionism to convince people that
Israel is a hot fantasy being realized
by hot people not a racist settler
Colony built on the killing displacement
and Erasure of the indigenous
Palestinians this is intentional and
there are three reasons why they involve
Israel's invention in the past cover up
in the present and survival for the
future and this all started when
zionists first started plotting for the
cre creation of a Jewish homeland in the
late
1800s for centuries in Europe
stereotypes of Jews were that they were
weak pale and frail and the Zionist
movement came to see it this way too
widely criticizing the weak old Jew in
1898 at the second Zionist Congress in
Switzerland the co-founder of the
Congress Max Nordo called for a new
Judaism a muscular Judaism and invented
the idea of the new Jew this Jew would
be rugged muscular strong and tanned and
would have the mental and physical
strength to realize the goals of Zionism
and colonize
Palestine they called themselves subra
the prickly pair fruits in Hebrew to
represent what they saw this new Jew to
be hard and prickly on the outside but
tenderhearted and sensitive on the
inside and of course native to the land
of course the sub as it's called in
Arabic is a fruit indigenous to
Palestine appropriated for the Zionist
fantasy of indigen but anyway the men
who came out to found this colony had
never handled a plow but they were
possessed by three ideals land Liberty
and labor it is these new Jews that
created the Zionist militias that
planned and orchestrated the neba the
mass scale killing and displacement of
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians
ending with the creation of
Israel and those same militias would
become the Israeli Army the violent
occupying Force overseeing the
colonization of Palestine today
and it's through this Army that the
visual of the new Jew lives on but then
with time this visual became the only
visual of Israel this was a
problem in the early 2000s surveys in
the US were showing that Israel had a
big PR problem with men aged 18 to 35
who just saw Israel as a conflict Zone
and weren't interested so another
Rebrand was due and the solution this
time was bikinis in 2007 the foreign
Ministry and the min his of Tourism
arranged for a photo spread in Maxim
magazine one of the most popular men's
lifestyle magazines at the time the
burns behind this initiative at the
Israeli Consulate in New York said the
models were quote a trojan horse to
present Israel as a modern country with
nice beaches and pretty women this video
is from the official Israel in New York
YouTube channel so you should come to
Israel we have a beautiful country a
great food great culture come to Israel
beautiful girls as well see you at the
the party this strategy also called
bikini diplomacy has been seen all over
since with Israel constantly selling the
image of a liberal free country where
it's always summer where the days are
full of beaches bikinis and chiseled
bodies and the nights are spent in an
incredible nightlife scene open to
anyone and everyone in the face of this
fantasy Palestinians come off like a
backwards pesky nuisance trying to
disrupt this liberal orgy Utopia not
like colonized people looking for
freedom and
dignity but that was in a time before
social media where only the powerful had
access to a platform times have changed
and so the sexy offensive has had to
adapt all over Tik Tok and Instagram you
can find videos of Israeli soldiers
posting thirst traps or dancing videos
some of them act independently While
others are part of a concerted effort
putting attractive women in the
occupation forces in the public eye like
the women at Alpha gun angels a gun
modeling and social media marketing
agency who sell being a colonial foot
soldier as a sexy lifestyle but listen
I've been in the
Army thirst traps aren't only reserved
for women but for weapons as
well and Beyond selling sex they're
selling Colonial occupation as fun
relatable and empowering they love Gay
Pride content girl boss content and
jumping on Tik Tok trends of course the
great irony is that none of these
liberal values are extended to
Palestinians they live under occupation
regardless of what they identify as in
that colonialism does not
discriminate when the Palestinian
reality started reaching people around
the world the strategy had to change
whereas the goal before might have been
to Rebrand and repackage Israel the goal
now is to distract and whitewash so
bikinis were traded in for military
uniforms fine military occupation is a
part of the reality
but it's not what you think it's
empowering and fun and sexy do you
really think people this fun young and
free would have it in them to commit war
crimes the public perception of Israel
is essential to its survival but so is
something else that there are enough
settlers there to keep up the colonizing
that brings us to the final reason
Israel uses sex to sell Zionism so
Jewish zionists have more kids with
other Jewish
zionists have you ever heard of
Birthright it's an all expenses paid
trip to Israel that young Jews across
the world are eligible for as long as
they're between 18 and 26 thousands of
Birthright Israel participants filling
the SE show with Endless Smiles Scholars
accents and 10 bodies I didn't really
have a connection to the Homeland and it
came here and just everybody's so great
and I'm just like overcome with like
connection it's like you're high on
Zionism I am really high right now the
trip is sold as a journey home for young
Jews to connect with Israel on an
emotional and adventurous 10-day
itinerary where they're accompanied by
Israeli soldiers that's not a
coincidence in the early days of
Birthright the billionaire co-founder
Charles bronfman said quote he was
bothered that the kids on those early
trips weren't bonding with their Israeli
peers his answer was developing the
mefos the encounter between Jewish
Israeli teens and their diaspora
counterparts these encounters move very
fast to what we call hormonal measham
things happen countless romances from
the trips have blossomed into serious
relationships and even marriages it
looks like these boys and girls like
each other a lot I mean you might have a
lot of Jewish babies coming out of this
trip eventually a lot of marriages a lot
of relationships is that part of it yeah
it doesn't have to be eventually it's
going be tonight it's not a coincidence
that intimacy is a part of the trip
participants spend the whole trip with
Israeli soldiers intentionally chosen to
be attractive they're taken out for
nights of drinking and dancing and some
even spend a night in a fake bed in tent
quote where participants sleep crowded
together a setup conducive to First
kisses I remember even on the trip that
I attended there were two Israeli
soldiers who clearly were into each
other like they were they very much had
a Vibe and someone made a joke on the
trip and you have to save yourselves for
the Americans basically clarifying that
they were there to seduce us so why is
coupling so encouraged on these trips
while the originator of the idea for
Birthright said one of his main goals
was to quote create a situation whereby
spouses are available because at the
time intermarriage between Jews and
non-jews was at a high which isn't great
when you're trying to build an
ethnocracy to maintain a demographic
majority over Palestinians Israel needs
Jews to make more Jews so what better
way to encourage through production and
immigration than through a Coming of Age
euphoric emotional and adventurous
trip the reality of Israel's
nation-building story is violence
displacement dispossession colonization
and settlement that's not a great brand
in order to get settlers invested in the
vision and try to secure the future sex
is a great tool Beauty anesthetics and
fun are great marketing tactics and they
have tangible outcomes like more babies
more babies means more people to get
conscripted to the occupation forces and
maintain the oppressive military
infrastructure necessary for Israel to
exist and what better way to convince
people to at least look the other way
and at most participate then by making
it sexy
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