"Violence in Their DNA": Incitement Campaign Targeting Israelis Abroad and the Qatari Connection

A new video that has garnered more than half a million views in about a week claims that Israelis do not stop being "settlers" when they go abroad, but rather spread patterns of colonialism, violence, and disregard for the local population around the world.

The video, which is about 20 minutes long, was produced by Uncivilized — an anti-Israel media body that presents itself as an independent platform, but the company that operates it is registered in Doha and operates within the media ecosystem that Qatar cultivates.

The video opens with the sentence: "Israelis are not settlers only in Israel. They move and settle the world." It distinguishes between two groups: young people after service in the IDF who travel to India and Southeast Asia, and secular and liberal Israelis who seek to move to Europe following the political situation in Israel. According to the creators, both groups continue to carry the "Zionist worldview" with them even after they have left the country.

The video presents the "Hummus Trail" in India as an example of turning tourist destinations into Israeli enclaves, where businesses are allegedly operated without permits, local laws are violated, and residents are pushed aside. The creators link this to the Israeli fear of being a "sucker" and to the "success method" (shitat hamatzliach), and claim that the behavior reflects a broader culture of power, entitlement, and disregard for rules.

"Settler DNA"

Further on, initiatives to move Israelis to Italy, Greece, and Cyprus are presented, allegedly as an "attempt to export the colonial enterprise" outside of Israel. Even liberal Israelis who leave due to the political situation are described as those who "seek to preserve their Zionist privileges on other land."

The video even claims that Israel was founded on "extreme violence" and that violence is embedded in the "settler DNA."

Chen Mazig, a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute for Combating Antisemitism, told "Ha-Yom" that "there is a simple test that separates legitimate criticism from antisemitism: what can we do to change the object of the criticism? Real criticism will always come with an answer, because it is directed at actions or policies — and actions can be changed."

In contrast, Mazig explained, the film accuses even Israeli families who emigrated from Israel after demonstrating against the government and fearing for the future of democracy: "Not because of what they did, but because of where they were born. When the accusation moves from the act to the essence, no behavior can ever exonerate you."

Mazig compared this to the Third Reich propaganda in the film "The Eternal Jew," which presented the claim that Jews "carry a destructive essence in their bodies to every land that absorbs them."

He noted that about a month ago, the mayor of Varallo, a town in the Valsesia valley in northern Italy, received an envelope containing a bullet and a letter stating: "This is the last warning before we start shooting." In the letter, the mayor was accused of allowing a "settlement of Nazi-Zionists."

Mazig warned: "The moment violence is presented as an inherited trait and not as an act, the bullet no longer needs justification."

Interview with Mamdani before October 7

The new video fits into a consistent anti-Israel line. Among the videos published by the body, one can find "How the Israel Lobby Will Collapse," "How Israel Influences the USA," and "Why Trump is First and Foremost for Israel and Not for America." In other videos, Israel is presented as an enterprise of erasure, apartheid, and colonialism.

About a month before October 7, Uncivilized held an interview with a well-known figure in the anti-Israel space: Zohran Mamdani, who currently serves as a New York City Council member and was then a member of the New York State Assembly.

In the interview, socialism, Islam, and Palestine were presented as "three taboo subjects" in American politics. Mamdani said that those who grew up in the "Third World" understand the Palestinian struggle through "empathy and solidarity," and that the issue became central to his identity due to a "glaring contradiction": the USA preaches "freedom, justice, and self-determination," but excludes the Palestinians.

He attacked politicians who are "progressive except on the issue of Palestine," and stated that Americans have the responsibility "to put an end to these days of complicity" on the part of their country.

Alongside the anti-Israel messages, Uncivilized also promotes anti-American ideas. In the video "How Empires Collapse and Why the USA is Next," it is claimed that the American empire is crumbling and that American democracy is largely an illusion.

Additional videos bear the titles "How the USA Stole Latin America," "Why America is an Oligarchy," and "Who Bought the American Media." In them, the USA is presented as a corrupt and declining power that exercises its power through wars, coups, economic pressure, and control of information.

The company is registered in Doha

Behind the production stands Uncivilized, a body that presents itself as a "digital media network and production company" that brings the stories of people and places that are "unrepresented, silenced, or erased." On its LinkedIn page, it defines its activity as "activism-based entertainment" and declares that its goal is to challenge, disrupt, and even "dismantle" the media status quo.

However, contrary to the image of an independent activism platform, the company that operates Uncivilized is registered in Doha, and its headquarters is defined in the capital of Qatar. It operates within the framework of Media City Qatar, a center established by the Gulf state to attract media companies, promote content production, and expand Doha's status as an international media hub.

Media City Qatar grants companies operating within it licenses, infrastructure, assistance in establishing operations, and economic incentives. It also operates incubators and support programs for the media, film, and television sectors.

The connection is also evident in the identities of the body's founders. Salem Barahmeh, the founder and creative director, previously headed the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, served as an advisor to Hanan Ashrawi on the PLO Executive Committee, and worked at the Palestinian delegation in the USA. His partner, Tala Kaddoura, worked for several years as a journalist and producer at Al Jazeera.

The case of Uncivilized illustrates how the arena of influence has changed: political messages, especially those aimed at the younger generation, no longer come only from television under the symbol of a state network, but are distributed as polished videos on social networks, under an independent and activist image.

The body's integration into the Qatari media ecosystem places it within Doha's broad strategy of building content infrastructure with international reach — within which bodies that distribute harsh anti-Israel and anti-Western messages, adapted to the algorithm era, also operate.