Before You Hate, Ask Yourself Why

In a world where information reaches us within seconds, one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is also one of the simplest: Why do I think the way I think? We often believe that our opinions are entirely our own, formed through personal experience, logic and independent judgement. But how much of what we believe has actually been shaped by the television we watch, the newspapers we read, the social-media platforms we use, the politicians we listen to and the information that algorithms decide to place in front of us every day?

This question becomes particularly important when we are talking about subjects that generate enormous emotion, such as the war in Gaza. People are exposed to images of death, destruction, suffering, political speeches and competing narratives almost constantly. The information can be overwhelming, and it can influence not only what we think about an event, but also who we believe is responsible and, ultimately, who we begin to hate. Yet very few people stop to ask whether they are being given the whole picture.

The media has enormous power to shape public perception. That does not necessarily mean that everything reported by the media is false, nor does it mean that there is one organisation secretly controlling everything people see. The reality is more complicated. Different media organisations have different owners, political perspectives, commercial interests, audiences and editorial choices. They decide which stories receive attention, which voices are interviewed, which images appear on our screens and which stories receive little or no coverage. Social-media companies add another layer, using algorithms designed to keep people engaged, often by showing them content that provokes strong emotional reactions. The result can be a very distorted understanding of reality.

A person can therefore spend hours every day consuming information that appears to confirm what they already believe. Eventually, opposing opinions can seem ridiculous, dangerous or even hateful. We begin to believe that everyone who disagrees with us must be ignorant, evil or manipulated, while assuming that we alone are thinking independently. That is precisely when we should become more curious, not less.

The situation surrounding Israel and Palestine demonstrates why this matters. It is possible to strongly condemn the killing of Palestinian civilians without hating Jewish people. It is possible to condemn Hamas and the murder of Israeli civilians without supporting every action taken by the Israeli government. It is possible to believe that Israel has a right to exist while also believing that Palestinians have a right to freedom, dignity and safety. These positions are not mutually exclusive, yet political debate increasingly tries to force people into opposing camps.

One of the most important voices that often gets overlooked is the voice of Jewish people who themselves oppose the killing and suffering of Palestinians. Jewish Israelis, Jewish activists, rabbis, academics and Jewish organisations around the world have publicly protested against Israeli government policies, demanded an end to the war and expressed solidarity with Palestinians. Some have described Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide, while others strongly reject that description but nevertheless oppose particular military actions and the suffering of civilians.

Groups such as B'Tselem have raised serious concerns about Israel's treatment of Palestinians, while Jewish organisations such as Jewish Voice for Peace have organised major demonstrations in the United States. There are also anti-Zionist Jewish groups such as Neturei Karta, whose members have publicly demonstrated alongside Palestinians and argued that their Jewish religious beliefs require them to oppose Zionism and the oppression of Palestinians. These organisations do not represent all Jewish people, and many Jewish people strongly disagree with them. But their existence demonstrates something that should be impossible to ignore: Jewish people do not all think alike.

That should make anyone who has developed hatred towards Jewish people because of the war stop and think.

Why blame an entire religious or ethnic community for the actions of a government? Why assume that a Jewish person in Britain, America or anywhere else supports the decisions of the Israeli government? Why assume that an Israeli citizen supports every military action carried out by their government? And why ignore the Jewish people who are themselves protesting against those actions?

The same principle must apply in the other direction. Palestinians should not be collectively blamed for the actions of Hamas, just as Jewish people should not be collectively blamed for the actions of the Israeli government. Ordinary people are not their governments. Children are not politicians. Civilians are not military commanders. A person's religion or ethnicity does not automatically tell you what they believe.

This is why we need to become much more conscious of how our opinions are formed. When you see a headline that makes you furious, ask yourself why it was written that way. When you see an image that makes you angry, ask what happened before and after the photograph was taken. When someone tells you that an entire group of people is responsible for something, ask whether that claim is actually justified. When every source you consume seems to agree with you, perhaps that is the moment to deliberately look for information that challenges your position.

Independent thinking does not mean believing the opposite of the mainstream. It does not mean assuming that governments always lie or that the media is always corrupt. It means refusing to surrender your ability to question information simply because it confirms what you already want to believe.

Perhaps the most important question we can ask ourselves is not “Who is right?”, but “How did I become convinced that I am right?”

Where did the belief come from? Who presented it to you? What information was included, and what was left out? Have you listened to people who genuinely disagree with you? Have you changed your mind about anything recently, or has every new piece of information simply strengthened what you already believed?

These questions are uncomfortable because they force us to examine ourselves rather than simply blaming someone else. But that is exactly why they matter.

Before you hate Jewish people because of Gaza, ask yourself whether you have actually separated Jewish people from the actions of the Israeli government. Before you hate Palestinians, ask yourself whether you have separated Palestinian civilians from Hamas. Before you condemn an entire group of people, ask yourself whether you would accept the same judgement being applied to your own community.

And before accepting any political narrative as unquestionable truth, stop for a moment and ask yourself the question that may be more important than all the others:

Is this really my thought, or have I been taught what to think?

We may never completely escape the influence of media, governments, culture or the people around us. But we can become more aware of that influence. We can question it. We can seek different perspectives. We can listen to people we disagree with. Most importantly, we can refuse to turn human beings into stereotypes.

Because once we stop seeing people as individuals and start seeing them only as members of a group, it becomes much easier to hate them.

And history has repeatedly shown us where that kind of thinking can lead.