A filtered lens blinds people from reality
JVL Introduction
Joseph Finlay (writing in mid October) outlines what it means to look at the world through a lens that can only see how things affect Jews – or rather Israeli Jews. It is a lens that reduces people who are not Jews to bit players or, at best, supporting actors. It is a lens that shows no context for October 7th and that there cannot be truth in the stories of death and destruction in Gaza and even the failure to produce all the bodies of the dead hostages can, therefore, only be explained as being Hamas propaganda that can only be prompted by antisemitism to make Israel and Jews as a whole look bad.
Clearly there is nothing wrong with Jews looking out for the wellbeing and safety of other Jews but it cannot mean that only Jewish lives and experience matters; Jews are not, and should not be, the centre of the universe. Finlay suggests changing the “dramatic metaphors” ….Jews are not the “protagonists having to tread a perilous path, surrounded by antagonists at every turn”. He advocates a more ensemble approach where it is enough to have minor role and to play it well.
LL
This article was originally published by Torat Albion on Tue 21 Oct 2025. Read the original here.
Our Main Character Syndrome
Seeing Jews and Israel as being at the centre of things causes us to misunderstand reality
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I like this article a lot. It seems to me fair, measured and accurate. I think it should increase the understanding of everyone who is interested, from whatever point of view, in this conflict.
On the whole a very informative article for a non Jew to read.
One point I query: “None of this is to condone October 7th which represented a deeply unethical and unacceptable targeting of civilians.”. Who were the ones targeting the civilians? Hamas or the IDF? Obviously there has been no independent investigation and initially a pack of lies from the Israelis about mass rape and beheaded/roasted babies. Do we hold the oppressed to a higher standard than the oppressor?
Great analysis, thank you JVL for publishing Joseph’s writing more widely (as does Vashti’s The Pickle).
His perfectly placed barbs also make us laugh, highly necessary at this time.