Ryan, I actually think this could be a real patch, probably made by an individual for private use and in no way official. I say this b/c I have seen other patches being worn that were clearly not official that had for example the word "Mashiach" (messiah in Hebrew) on them.
Now what would this patch symbolize ? - Well there are some in Israeli society (a small minority) that believe the Israelites should reclaim the land promised to them in the bible. This is a pipe dream and obviously not sustainable and unlikely to happen. But I think it is likely that whoever wore this patch subscribes to that POV and wanted to have this on display. My 2c. I could be wrong (FWIW - i'm usually not).
This is a possibility. But having boots on the ground and knowing how Israelis appreciate the peace with Jordan, Egypt, working towards it with Saudi Arabi, I dont think even an individual would spend the time to design such a patch. Its true though that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. One thing though is a certainty that is what it means when someone chants from the river to the sea.
Seems to me that the inhabited part of the ‘middle east’ during the biblical era was much smaller and basically located where human sustainable resources were deemed plentiful.
I feel that the ‘promised land’ might likely have included present day Israel, along with some bit of the surrounding territory, but not anywhere near what is depicted on the patch in question.
Now then...
There may well be a faction within the Israeli population that might have caused such a patch to be created.
Any individual might attach a patch to an old military issued shirt in order to express one’s opinion.
However...
It is relatively easy and inexpensive these days to fabricate patches from scanned drawings or images.
So it is not inconceivable that the patch shown was a ‘one off’ that was intended to become the basis of a ‘mis-information’ campaign as described by Ryan.
Great research Ryan. I agree with you that the fact it only exists in this one photo, and only after June 2024, makes it highly sus.
I’d just add one more point against it being authentic tho. Whoever made it can’t write Hebrew properly.
“The Promised” should be
“ המובטחת “
starting with the letter “hey — ה ” a soft H sound. But they used the guttural letter “chet — ח ”. That little space between the horizontal and the left vertical is essential to differentiate the two letters and their distinct sounds.
But even being generous and allowing for thread spread on the “hey”, that doesn’t explain the 2nd to last letter. It is indeed supposed to be a “chet — ח” but there is no such letter in the Hebrew alphabet that is rounded like an inverted U.
And don’t even get me started on those ridiculous excuses for the letter “aleph — א “. It’s the first letter of the alphabet and any student of Hebrew, even the most novice like me, knows how to write it. They made it look like an N with a crooked upper right arm.
I totally understand. Your skill set, which is awesome and I am constantly impressed by, esp the cigars 😂, lies elsewhere. Like I said, my Hebrew skills are basic from having lived there as a teen during the Yom Kippur war and for a few years after. If you have any Israeli colleagues it might be interesting to get their insight.
Thanks to bloggers like you Ryan, I think we're getting better educated as to how to spot disinformation. Also that there is still a core of decency in counter-intelligence, which after Snowden and Assange some of us had begun to doubt. Personally the world does seem a bit apocalyptic right now and it's good to hear some 'reasonable' .
The term "the promised land" is actually is in use, so I'll give em that. The lines drawn are probably meant to ride on the Russian threat to eastern Europe after Ukraine and tries to make Russia=Israel. I'd think that makes it 50/50 if it's Russian or Arab in origin.
What very much kills it though is the lines make zero sense...what are they actually representing? Ancient Mesopotamia? There are certain crazies that claim the east side of the river Jordan but the map looks more like someone painted on too small a map or a screenshot from google and ended up with that huge line at the bottom.
In the end of the day if Israel had the means or intent to conquer all that we wouldn't have trouble with a bunch of Iranian backed rats with explosives. But guess who did try to do it? Remember the "Pan Arab State"?
I left a note on the Youtube version. I've certainly heard the "Greater Israel" libel before, supposedly that the map above the Knesset shows it. I never saw it.
Hi Ryan, I have some theology help for you. The promised land covenant was given to Abram (Abram's name was later changed to Abraham by God) in Genesis 15:18. At that time, according to the Bible, Abram had no children.
Long story short, God made several more promises to Abraham, and Abraham fathered many children. Israel is descended from Issac, and other nations are descended from the other children of Abraham.
It could be argued (indeed, it is argued) that the promised land belongs to all of the nations fathered by Abraham, or it could be argued that the promised land belongs to Israel, the nation fathered by Jacob through Issac, the inheritors of the promise, which is consistent with other mentions of the promised land in the book of Exodus.
For a brief yet mostly complete explanation, check out the Wikipedia page about the promised land: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promised_Land. It covers the biblical statements about the promised land, later commentaries on its borders, and the current points of view of the different religions.
One final note, the opinions of mainstream biblical scholars do not always match the beliefs held by religious followers. For example, the default point of view of biblical scholars is that most if not all of the Bible was written after the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon. But most Christians who are not scholars believe the Bible was written down much earlier and preserved through the exile.
Glad someone else linked that. I was gonna point out that the borders on the patch didn’t really line up with any reasonable interpretation, unless you go in with an absolute maximalist view that the entire length of rivers mentioned are a border. Even then, it cites the desert as a border, not its territory.
If just about everything has to be misinformation regarding Israel. Is it safe to begin to assume the Palestinian cause and the world needs brainwashed individuals in order to make just about all of ‘causes’ narratives real?
Judging by the picture via the Substack app, it looks like the negative space of the alleged patch feels less flowing with the rest of the fibers. It feels like a generative AI that then went through photoshop attempts of obscuring the AI hallmark errors, like fine patterns and the macro trivial, but micro critical, elements to sensing the visual veracity of an object with the eye.
The wear and tear, if real, suggests it’s less worn and is more recent addition to this uniform compared to the patch positioned above it.
Ryan, I actually think this could be a real patch, probably made by an individual for private use and in no way official. I say this b/c I have seen other patches being worn that were clearly not official that had for example the word "Mashiach" (messiah in Hebrew) on them.
Now what would this patch symbolize ? - Well there are some in Israeli society (a small minority) that believe the Israelites should reclaim the land promised to them in the bible. This is a pipe dream and obviously not sustainable and unlikely to happen. But I think it is likely that whoever wore this patch subscribes to that POV and wanted to have this on display. My 2c. I could be wrong (FWIW - i'm usually not).
This is a possibility. But having boots on the ground and knowing how Israelis appreciate the peace with Jordan, Egypt, working towards it with Saudi Arabi, I dont think even an individual would spend the time to design such a patch. Its true though that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. One thing though is a certainty that is what it means when someone chants from the river to the sea.
Greetings....
Seems to me that the inhabited part of the ‘middle east’ during the biblical era was much smaller and basically located where human sustainable resources were deemed plentiful.
I feel that the ‘promised land’ might likely have included present day Israel, along with some bit of the surrounding territory, but not anywhere near what is depicted on the patch in question.
Now then...
There may well be a faction within the Israeli population that might have caused such a patch to be created.
Any individual might attach a patch to an old military issued shirt in order to express one’s opinion.
However...
It is relatively easy and inexpensive these days to fabricate patches from scanned drawings or images.
So it is not inconceivable that the patch shown was a ‘one off’ that was intended to become the basis of a ‘mis-information’ campaign as described by Ryan.
Stay Well...
Great research Ryan. I agree with you that the fact it only exists in this one photo, and only after June 2024, makes it highly sus.
I’d just add one more point against it being authentic tho. Whoever made it can’t write Hebrew properly.
“The Promised” should be
“ המובטחת “
starting with the letter “hey — ה ” a soft H sound. But they used the guttural letter “chet — ח ”. That little space between the horizontal and the left vertical is essential to differentiate the two letters and their distinct sounds.
But even being generous and allowing for thread spread on the “hey”, that doesn’t explain the 2nd to last letter. It is indeed supposed to be a “chet — ח” but there is no such letter in the Hebrew alphabet that is rounded like an inverted U.
And don’t even get me started on those ridiculous excuses for the letter “aleph — א “. It’s the first letter of the alphabet and any student of Hebrew, even the most novice like me, knows how to write it. They made it look like an N with a crooked upper right arm.
unfortunately, that is where things break down. I can't do the kind of language evaluations you just did.
I totally understand. Your skill set, which is awesome and I am constantly impressed by, esp the cigars 😂, lies elsewhere. Like I said, my Hebrew skills are basic from having lived there as a teen during the Yom Kippur war and for a few years after. If you have any Israeli colleagues it might be interesting to get their insight.
Thanks to bloggers like you Ryan, I think we're getting better educated as to how to spot disinformation. Also that there is still a core of decency in counter-intelligence, which after Snowden and Assange some of us had begun to doubt. Personally the world does seem a bit apocalyptic right now and it's good to hear some 'reasonable' .
The term "the promised land" is actually is in use, so I'll give em that. The lines drawn are probably meant to ride on the Russian threat to eastern Europe after Ukraine and tries to make Russia=Israel. I'd think that makes it 50/50 if it's Russian or Arab in origin.
What very much kills it though is the lines make zero sense...what are they actually representing? Ancient Mesopotamia? There are certain crazies that claim the east side of the river Jordan but the map looks more like someone painted on too small a map or a screenshot from google and ended up with that huge line at the bottom.
In the end of the day if Israel had the means or intent to conquer all that we wouldn't have trouble with a bunch of Iranian backed rats with explosives. But guess who did try to do it? Remember the "Pan Arab State"?
I left a note on the Youtube version. I've certainly heard the "Greater Israel" libel before, supposedly that the map above the Knesset shows it. I never saw it.
Ive been trying to verify that map story for years. You would think there would be a Google image of it if it really exists.
Hi Ryan, I have some theology help for you. The promised land covenant was given to Abram (Abram's name was later changed to Abraham by God) in Genesis 15:18. At that time, according to the Bible, Abram had no children.
Long story short, God made several more promises to Abraham, and Abraham fathered many children. Israel is descended from Issac, and other nations are descended from the other children of Abraham.
It could be argued (indeed, it is argued) that the promised land belongs to all of the nations fathered by Abraham, or it could be argued that the promised land belongs to Israel, the nation fathered by Jacob through Issac, the inheritors of the promise, which is consistent with other mentions of the promised land in the book of Exodus.
For a brief yet mostly complete explanation, check out the Wikipedia page about the promised land: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promised_Land. It covers the biblical statements about the promised land, later commentaries on its borders, and the current points of view of the different religions.
One final note, the opinions of mainstream biblical scholars do not always match the beliefs held by religious followers. For example, the default point of view of biblical scholars is that most if not all of the Bible was written after the Jewish exiles returned from Babylon. But most Christians who are not scholars believe the Bible was written down much earlier and preserved through the exile.
Glad someone else linked that. I was gonna point out that the borders on the patch didn’t really line up with any reasonable interpretation, unless you go in with an absolute maximalist view that the entire length of rivers mentioned are a border. Even then, it cites the desert as a border, not its territory.
If just about everything has to be misinformation regarding Israel. Is it safe to begin to assume the Palestinian cause and the world needs brainwashed individuals in order to make just about all of ‘causes’ narratives real?
Judging by the picture via the Substack app, it looks like the negative space of the alleged patch feels less flowing with the rest of the fibers. It feels like a generative AI that then went through photoshop attempts of obscuring the AI hallmark errors, like fine patterns and the macro trivial, but micro critical, elements to sensing the visual veracity of an object with the eye.
The wear and tear, if real, suggests it’s less worn and is more recent addition to this uniform compared to the patch positioned above it.
I like what you do, thanks.