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Since its creation in 1948, Israel has enjoyed almost ironclad support from the US, particularly its politicians and, more importantly, from the American people themselves.

For most Americans, their knowledge of the challenges facing Israel has been defined by a one-sided pro-Israel propaganda campaign that has reached every level of the US media. From news coverage to Hollywood movies and best-selling novels, Israel has always been presented as the victim and Arabs portrayed as a sinister, dark force.

This media bias created a foundation of lies that became the driving force behind American political attitudes and US foreign policy toward Israel. Israel was defined as a creation based on Christian tradition in a nation that prided itself on its supposedly Christian morality.

The Arabs and the Palestinians never had a chance to break that perception. They failed to create powerful messages that could stop American attitudes from avoiding the facts and embracing the carefully crafted pro-Israel lies.

While pro-Israel sympathizers created hundreds of Hollywood movies, wrote novels, and ensured one-sided media reportage that cast Arabs as evil and Israelis as saints, the Arabs themselves produced little in response.

Arabs believed in the power of truth but failed to recognize America’s soft power when it comes to cinema. What Americans believed arguably defined what the rest of the world chose to believe.

Yet, despite this almost total failure to effectively counter Israel’s bloodlust-driven lies about Palestine and all of the wars that have taken place in the Middle East since 1948, the Israeli narrative is vulnerable to the reality of the truth, which has been disguised for more than 75 years but is now finally becoming apparent.

Americans are today seeing the cruelty of Israel’s government in the Gaza Strip.

A Gallup poll taken in March found only 46 percent of Americans expressed support for Israel.

Ray Hanania

When Israel imposed its narrative to gain an advantage, its actions relating to the Palestinians showed a relative level of restraint. That has clearly changed and a seismic shift in public attitudes is taking place, not just among Americans generally but even in the core foundations of Israeli support, including Jewish Americans.

A Gallup poll taken in March found only 46 percent of Americans expressed support for Israel. That is the lowest level in the 25 years of Gallup’s annual tracking. Worse for Israel is that 33 percent of respondents said they sympathized with the Palestinians, the highest level ever. Other polls have shown similar shifts against Israel and toward the Palestinians.

These changes are a direct result of the uninhibited and widespread violence inflicted on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip by Israel’s military. More than 52,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, women and children, have been killed — a number I believe is far lower than the actual toll from Israel’s carnage.

But Arabs have been killed in the past without shifting public perceptions. However, in the case of the ongoing Gaza war, the Israeli atrocities have been captured on thousands of videos, some posted online by cruel Israeli soldiers and others by international agencies of justice that are challenging Israel’s war crimes and its genocide.

When Israel controlled and limited its vengeance, it could get away with anything. Today, however, there appears to be no limit to the cruelty the world is seeing, including unrestrained racism, hatred and bigotry from Israeli soldiers, politicians, and segments of its population.

And yet, still the Arab world has failed to capitalize on this shift in perceptions that is now challenging Israel’s lies.

Arab activists are often driven by their emotions, fed by the cruelty and unfairness they see and experience. They react with anger and many even with violence. But while Arabs struggle to convey Israeli violence, Israel’s public relations machinery understands perfectly well how to exaggerate and weaponize Arab violence.

Instead of seeking revenge through violence — as Hamas did with its horrific Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel — the Arab world can win justice through truth and by strategically addressing and overcoming Israel’s lies. The polling shows that Israel is more vulnerable to this today than it ever has been.

Perception is reality in American eyes. The Arab world has the wealth to respond to the gross exaggerations of the pro-Israeli activists and return to a reality based on truth. But do Arabs have the will to overcome their anger and emotions to pursue justice through a strategic representation of the truth?

• Ray Hanania is an award-winning former Chicago City Hall political reporter and columnist. He can be reached on his personal website at www.Hanania.com. X: @RayHanania