Humor and New Terms: Israeled
The newly coined term “Got Israeled” is a new defining feature of the only democracy in the Middle East.
This term has recently emerged and is circulating on various social media platforms, such as X (formally known as Twitter) and Instagram. Pro-Palestinian users have found the definition of Israel in the online Urban Dictionary appealing, satisfactory, and ironic.
“Israeled” is defined as the act of stealing or appropriating property after asking someone to share it with you. Given the history of Israel in the Middle East, generations of Palestinians have praised the negative recognition Israel has drawn to itself after the Hamas Attack on October 7, 2023. Especially after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly stated they are at war with Hamas which equates to killing more Palestinian civilians, taking extreme measures of ethnic cleansing, and flattening populated plots of land.
The timing of the term is immaculate, given that people from all over the world have moved to social media to shed light on the grueling aggressions targeting Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
This new definition shows a positive shift in how narratives are constructed around the state of Israel, where there has been a breakage in the hegemony of Israeli PR and propaganda.
More people are starting to question the methods used by Israel which have resulted in massive protests across the globe. With prolonged discussions on social media regarding the humanitarian crisis and the genocide we have access to through our phones. What we are witnessing is the first Digital Genocide as Law Professor and Author, Khalid Beydoun lays it down in one of his recent articles.
With that, the 24/7 live footage that we scroll through daily has quadruplicated, and media users are evidently more engaged in creating content for both sides, the Israeli and Palestinian.
Of course, there is a striking difference in how both sides create content and portray themselves. We have the Israeli side that is comfortably partaking in trendy funny videos, based on mocking the suffering of Palestinians. These videos display outrageous stunts where Israelis are dressed as “Hamas people” often depicted in an orientalist manner. Which follows suit with previous colonizer's strategies to “decivilize” the colonized.
They also seem to have a distorted dystopian image of reality. Just recently an article from The Jerusalem Post, titled “How to use the stress from the Israel-Hamas war to lose weight” discusses methods in which Israeli citizens can stay fit while Palestinians just across the corner starve to death.
The language used in the article contains that same condescending mocking tone that most Israeli content creators have adopted, which is dubious given that they claim to be the victims.
On the contrary, Pro-Palestinian creators primarily focus on educating and sharing images, videos, infographics, and more. However, it appears that humorous content eludes the algorithm designed to reduce Palestinian visibility. Hence the usage of jokes, witty remarks, and terms like “Isrealed” are very Gen Z in nature.
Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef used these techniques in his interview with Piers Morgan, where he delivered unalloyed true statements concealed through witty humor.
Other content creators like Ahmed Al Qasimi (Instagram: @ahmed_alqasimi), Tony Vara ( Instagram: @itonyvara), Nicole Jenes (Tiktok: nicolejenesegy), and more, have also used humor in order to simplify the situation in Occupied Palestine to their followers. Most importantly this method is used by people regardless of their nationality and religion who are standing against genocide.
The aim is to share awareness and build a better understanding of what the situation in Palestine is like. If humor can be utilized to disseminate and reconstruct false narratives using them wisely is crucial, and who knows what other new terms will paint Israel in its true colors.
