I watched a show which I knew I shouldn't. I knew it would make me either depressed or fearful and that it was unlikely to tell me anything I didn't already know or offer any hope - yet I watched it. It was called, Blaming the Jews.
It was, to summarise it as I saw it, a programme which looked at how traditional Christian anti-Semitism, the kind that we have seen throughout Europe for millenia, is now informing Middle Eastern Muslim anti-Semitism which, of course is focused on anti-Zionism or anti-Israel. It left me feeling that of course we can not trust Arabs - they hate us and look at all the evidence. It showed the issue only from a Jewish perspective and therefore it felt a lot like propaganda, particularly propaganda against the peace process. And, after it was over, I did feel persecuted. I felt scared and hated. I felt like there's nothing that can be done but maybe face inwards, turn to other persecuted Jews and build up our defences.
This is how propaganda works - always. It makes you feel scared, like you're in danger personally and imminently, so you want to come out fighting. It works that way on all sides. Every side does it - make the enemy less than rational, more base, more able to commit atrocities than ourselves so that we in turn may commit atrocities in our 'defence'. And it works.