Cheeky protest: Israelis mock NYT on social media for article with negative portrayal of country
Story highlights
Israelis are posting pictures with the hashtag 'sad, sad Israel' to mock the article by the New York-based American daily newspaper
People in Israel have started a social media campaign against 'The New York Times' that portrayed them as 'angry' and displeased.'
They are posting pictures with the hashtag 'sad, sad Israel' to mock the article by the New York-based American daily newspaper.
The @nytimes has portrayed Israelis in their latest article as angry and displeased.
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) November 2, 2021
If we put aside the fact that Israel was ranked the 12th happiest country in the world, they are right, we are sad sad, look at my face. 😂 #SadSadIsrael pic.twitter.com/sXzWUBgT74
Calling Israel a ''divided'' land, the article that provoked many Israelis talks about ''incompatible factions'' and grievances of the people living in the country.
Some folks, like @PatrickKingsley of @nytimes, choose to see only the negative in #Israel. They come here with set preconceptions and refuse to take off their blinkers. Suggest open your eyes, talk to people, get out of your comfort zone. #SadSadIsrael pic.twitter.com/SgjDzyJqMn
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) November 2, 2021
Just two sad sad Israelis in the middle of a war, getting engaged. Look how sad we are!
— Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר (@emilykschrader) November 2, 2021
I guess @nytimes and @PatrickKingsley hate this since they want to portray Israelis as sad miserable people in their latest absurd article.#SadSadIsrael @YosephHaddad pic.twitter.com/luubozRqFH
The @nytimes published an article that portrayed Israel as a polarized state whose citizens are resentful and angry. To my delight, social media is full of Israelis proving otherwise. Even if there are things to fix, we love our country 🇮🇱
— יוסף חדאד - Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) November 2, 2021
#SadSadIsrael
@PatrickKingsley pic.twitter.com/7gZJ1v5Qo9
The article had also highlighted how many Arab Israelis were increasingly asserting their Palestinian identity.
Israelis have criticised the negative outlook of NYT and have lambasted its preconceptions. They have also highlighted that Israel was ranked the 12th happiest country in the world.
.@nytimes we're sooo sad#SadSadIsrael pic.twitter.com/Oev7JZ6dGP
— Israel ישראל (@Israel) November 2, 2021
We stay out all night and swim in warm sea water, or argue with our friends on crowded corners, or drink whiskey until sunrise or dance until our feet hurt and then stop for a minute and keep on dancing… we chose life with our arms and eyes wide open. #SadSadIsrael pic.twitter.com/HXSxWL4aQO
— (((TuttleSinger))) سارا تاتل سينجر שרה טאטל-סינגר (@TuttleSinger) November 2, 2021
The country's Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had become the first leader to include an independent Arab party in its coalition.
It comes as Palestinians facing eviction from the flashpoint East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah rejected a deal that would have seen them accept the temporary ownership of their homes by an Israeli settler organisation.
The long-running legal battle over the evictions helped trigger an 11-day war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, and the case has been a regular source of tension across East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.
Seeking a compromise, Israel's Supreme Court in October proposed a deal that would have seen four Palestinian families remain in their homes for 15 years as "protected tenants" while paying rent to settlers who claim the land.
The deal would have required the Palestinians to recognise the settlers' ownership claims on land their families have lived on for generations - a condition they have long rejected. It also would have granted them the right to prove ownership in the future.
Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, occupying and later annexing it. It regards the entire city as its undivided capital - a status not recognised internationally.
Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the West Bank and Gaza.