Columnist Bret Stephens argues that criticism of Israel has mutated into a conspiratorial hatred that damages the West more than the Jewish state. He distinguishes valid policy objections from a toxic belief that Israelis are inherently bloodthirsty and that Israel alone is a global injustice source.

He cites discredited media narratives—like the Muhammad al-Durrah shooting, the Jenin 'massacre,' and the Gaza hospital strike—that falsely portrayed Israeli forces as deliberately targeting civilians. These stories, he contends, consistently advance an ideological agenda rather than pursue factual accuracy.

This obsession, Stephens writes, inflicts three key harms: it steeled Israelis against legitimate criticism, distracted from Palestinian governance failures under Hamas and the PA, and corrupted Western institutions. Groups like Amnesty International and academia, he says, now prioritize anti-Israel invective over reasoned analysis, undermining their own credibility and distracting from other regional tyrannies.

The result is a mind-warping prejudice that simplifies the Middle East's complex problems into a single, obsessive focus on Israel. This not only distorts public understanding but also warps the judgment of those who propagate it, ultimately weakening the moral and intellectual foundations of Western societies.