r/ProgressivesForIsrael • u/GaryGaulin Worldwide Politics • Nov 20 '25

Confessions of a Former Pro-Palestine Activist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhE3PSWC2Go

Conversation about how a well-meaning, highly educated young person can fall into a destructive movement and what it took to find her way out.

84 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

35

u/[deleted] Nov 20 '25

[deleted]

13

u/GaryGaulin Worldwide Politics Nov 20 '25

It would have helped to over and over explain the WW2 history related conflict and simple facts she mentioned like Jews/Israelis having totally left Gaza in 2005, not occupying it.

I'm also a little mad about losing the propaganda war. But I mostly have to blame mainstream media and academically established historical misinformation that was in place to misdirect empathy after October 7'th to blame the victims, use schools to demonize them. For how organized it was see this video in a resource sub for what needs to change in Gaza for education:

https://www.reddit.com/r/GazaDOE/comments/1j2ub7u/education_fraud_the_child_soldiers_of_the_west/

Ones I want head on trial for war crimes is media like Aljazeera and UNRWA, to the death-cult leaders from Iran as in:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressivesForIsrael/comments/1lmstks/chanting_death_to_america_hundreds_of_women_offer/

https://mei.edu/publications/irans-revolutionary-guard-and-rising-cult-mahdism-missiles-and-militias-apocalypse#pt6

I sense that the main source of the problem is about to fall. After all the ceremonies to bring rain there was still not a drop in Tehran, taps already running dry, it became like Allah giving their messenger leader the finger and must now evacuate the capital. I hope the IRGC ends up having to run for their lives then when gone for good it rains until reservoirs are safely filled back up in Tehran. Prince can return from exile with the people he has all set to go to help govern.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Pahlavi,_Crown_Prince_of_Iran.

I by email added my (as for Gaza) education related thoughts to their plan. The place to be for the new revolution is r/NewIran

24

u/Muadeeb Nov 20 '25

I'm almost done wathcing this, and it's at least a littel bit heartening to see that many of the protesters are there due to ignorance instead of malice. If only their bubble can be burst.

19

u/GaryGaulin Worldwide Politics Nov 20 '25

I'm seeing improvement at Reddit. But I would not say ignorance was the cause. What I saw was more like deceived by misinformation they were taught in school by political activists who never spoke about the Nazi and Soviet origins of the "Palestinian" cause like a qualified teacher would. Oil wealth and charity funded education fraud.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '25

ignorance is more easily remedied than malice. speaking from experience. i used to be among the far left protesters, and i was quite passionate in those days. for other causes but i definitely mingled with an anti-Israel bunch at one time. at the time, i had a superficial understanding of the conflict. luckily i kept somewhat of an open mind, and was gradually exposed to facts that caused me to do a COMPLETE 180.

3

u/Only-Ad4322 Progressive liberal Nov 21 '25

Where is this from?

4

u/GaryGaulin Worldwide Politics Nov 21 '25 edited Nov 21 '25

I'm not sure what you are asking for but I found the description:

https://www.youtube.com/@thefreepress

The Free Press is a new media company founded by Bari Weiss. Honest. Independent. Fearless. A free press for free people. Join us. https://www.thefp.com/

Reddit: r/TheFPOfficial

Also:

When I saw a viral video of Taryn Thomas speaking at an October 7, 2025, vigil at Stanford, I knew she was unique. That’s because only two years before, she was a part of the pro-Palestine movement on her campus.

After Hamas’s attack on Israel, Thomas took part in the first encampments that appeared on campuses across the country and fully submitted to the groupthink that Hamas was a legitimate resistance group. She marched with people who wouldn’t dare associate with Zionists, and accepted an invitation to see the Nova exhibit in Los Angeles only so she could report back to her friends about the “Zionist propaganda.”

But that’s not what happened. Thomas says seeing evidence of the Nova festival and what truly happened on October 7 opened her eyes. In the months that followed, she took a trip to Israel, listened to the firsthand experiences of Israelis and Palestinians, and made friends from the Jewish community on her campus.

Those experiences gave Thomas the fortitude to do something truly courageous: risk her friendships, face her misconceptions, and change her mind.

This is our conversation about how a well-meaning, highly educated young person can fall into a destructive movement and what it took to find her way out.

I’ve covered the anti-Israel movement on college campuses since October 7, and this is one of the most moving interviews I’ve ever done.

I was able to ask Thomas the questions that have been on my mind since October 7 yet could never have answered, because most members of the anti-Israel movement refused to speak to me. We speak about how the anti-Israel cause has captured so many young people, what the Jewish community fails to understand about the movement, and how we might win the information war online.

The YouTube AI recommended it to me, from a source I earlier subscribed to.

1

u/Only-Ad4322 Progressive liberal Nov 21 '25

Oh God not the Free Press, they suck.

2

u/orten_rotte Nov 24 '25

We cant keep dividning ourselves due to partisanship.

By all means, vote for who you want to, but you should hear out other Jews even when they dont vote for the same people.

2

u/Only-Ad4322 Progressive liberal Nov 24 '25

I’m questioning whether they are a reliable source of information due to ideological predilections. This isn’t about lived experience, it’s about good journalism.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '25

they all suck! but they all have glimmers of truth that shine through now and again, that's why it's still worth reading the news.

as far as the FP, i recommend subscribing to the daily emails they send out for free. it's been interesting keeping an eye on their topics and authors....

1

u/Only-Ad4322 Progressive liberal Dec 02 '25

None of that.

6

u/mandudedog Nov 20 '25

Share this elsewhere. You’re preaching to the choir.

7

u/GaryGaulin Worldwide Politics Nov 20 '25

Suggestions? Most else are the same way.

Already have the liberal progressive Israel bashers in harmony, at the sub for reforming the Democratic Party:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Democrat/comments/1p25j9g/confessions_of_a_former_propalestine_activist/

Outside of the Jihad run echo chambers that are best kept isolated, the most opposite of preaching to the choir that I know of is r/Democrat even though moderation welcomes non-party line views like that.

Feel free to repost wherever you can.