TWO TYPES OF ARGUMENTS
Jews famously like to argue...a lot. But the old adage, “one Jew, three opinions,” is more than just a stereotype. Debate, discourse, and difference of opinion are deeply valued in Judaism and Jewish culture.
Pirkei Avot distinguishes between two types of arguments:
- Arguments for the sake of heaven, or good faith arguments, in which are constructive, principled, and entered with the goal of seeking the truth.
- Arguments that are not for the sake of heaven, or bad faith arguments, which are driven by ego, power, or a desire to “win.”
As the toxic dialogue on Israel-Palestine increasingly becomes toxic dialogue pertaining to Jewish identity, Jewish customs, and Jewish history, I’d like to share my experience in helping you identify telltale signs that an argument is not being entered in good faith. My recommendation is not to waste your time with bad faith arguments.
THE STRAW MAN ARGUMENT
A straw man argument is a logical fallacy in which, while creating the impression of refuting an argument, the real subject of the argument is not addressed or refuted, but instead, is replaced with a different argument.
PERSON A: I support Jewish self-determination.
PERSON B: Why do you support the genocide of Palestinians?
Person B, while creating the impression that they’ve responded to Person A’s argument, is actually arguing something else entirely.
This is an example of a strawman argument. Van Jones is not arguing that brown people overseas should be murdered for being homophobic.
THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT
The Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which a person with a small amount of knowledge or skill in a particular area drastically overestimates their expertise in that area.
PERSON: This war didn’t start on October 7. It started in 1948, with the Nakba.
This person may have learned about the Nakba – likely from a Palestinian perspective – but they’re overestimating their knowledge on the conflict, because they don’t know about the long series of events that culminated in the 1948 War and the dispossession of Palestinian Arabs.
THE AD HOMINEM ATTACK
An ad hominem attack is a logical fallacy in which, instead of responding to an opponent’s argument, a person attacks the opponent’s character or motives.
PERSON A: The war in Gaza is a response to the October 7 massacre.
PERSON B: Of course you would say that, you genocidal Zionist. Hope that $7k was worth it!
Person B is not responding to Person A’s argument. Instead, they are attacking them personally, demonizing their character and motivations.
Instead of addressing Jackie’s argument – that it’s ironic for an American to say this – Rosedark is attacking Jackie’s character.
THE APPEAL TO AUTHORITY
An appeal to authority is a logical fallacy in which a person believes something only based on the fact that an authority figure said it was so. Sometimes the authority figure promotes a view that is not the consensus within the field, has their own bias, and/or is a figure of authority in an unrelated field.
PERSON: The International Association of Genocide Scholars has confirmed that the war in Gaza is a genocide.
Anyone can join the International Association of Genocide Scholars for a fee.
REDUCTIO AD HITLERUM
(Yes, this really is a logical fallacy!). Reductio ad hitlerum is a type of logical fallacy known as an association fallacy in which someone’s argument is discredited solely based on the fact that Adolf Hitler or the Nazis held the same view, even if it’s a “benign” view (e.g. Hitler was known as a dog lover, so if you love dogs, you’re just like Hitler).
The term was coined by a Jewish philosopher named Leo Strauss in 1953, based on the term “reductio ad absurdum” (reduction to the absurd).
PERSON: The Haavara Agreement proves the Nazis and the Zionists were ideologically aligned.
The fact that both the Nazis and the Zionists (and the Jews in general) both had an interest in getting the Jews out of Germany does not demonstrate the two were ideologically aligned, especially because their reasoning was very different.
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