Israel is on another planet. I do not know to start deprogramming a population on that scale other than through shock.

A short story, because it has been on my brain a lot in the last 2 years. I have no way to verify this, but this interaction really rattled me when it happened. Many years ago, around 2008, I was at a festival in Germany and I sat down in line waiting for a meet and greet to start. The guy next to me sat down and had sort of a mental breakdown (?) about a girl and life in general. He said he had deserted from the IDF because he couldn't stand what he was being made to do, and ran to Germany because of a girl. He detailed a bit about it and how they had harassed children, etc. I can't remember all that he said but I was in shock. I think about that moment a lot and hope that that guy is ok, found some peace and learned to forgive himself. It really made me see Israel quite differently going forward. I was largely ignorant, a product of Catholic School and they are responsible for the majority of the Zionist slop, but I never really thought about it before then. That moment and the book School of the Americas by Leslie Gill are probably what radicalised me.