What happens when ideology becomes more important than the people? - opinion

An educational tour to Area C in the West Bank unexpectedly entered an Arab village. A resident asked the convoy to turn around; a crowd gathered and rocks were thrown. The author reflects on the competing narratives from the right and left, and questions what happens when ideology becomes more important than the people who experienced the event.

Golda Daphna, an accidental hasbara content creator, describes an educational tour to Area C in the West Bank that took an unexpected turn. She was invited to see what she was told were Palestinian Authority mansions being built in Area C, with an experienced field coordinator who had IDF approval. Instead, the convoy of three cars entered an Arab village. A resident asked them to turn around. Daphna did not hear the conversation but saw frantic gesticulations and felt fear. A crowd surrounded the vehicles, and rocks were thrown, missing her car window by centimeters. The incident went viral, with a Knesset candidate portrayed as a victim of aggression. Daphna reflects on the competing narratives: the right said she deserved it for calling it the West Bank, the left said she deserved it for agreeing to go. She questions what happens when ideology becomes more important than the people who experienced the event, and draws a parallel to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin 31 years earlier by a Jew who opposed the peace process.