Since much antipathy towards Israel is not so much a viewpoint as a toxic cloud of emotion and ideology, combating it with reason is futile.

But for those willing to debate, sometimes the best response is simply to point out what is happening in the country. As we reveal this week, enrolment in Israeli national service programmes has surged by 650 per cent over the past six years.

Equally encouraging is that members of an Arab civil service delegation who met President Reuven Rivlin earlier this month told him of their loyalty and attachment to the state of Israel.

Granted, a proportion of the Arabs signing up are Christians and Bedouin, groups that have a history of better ties with the Jewish state - but among them is a sizable contingent from occupied East Jerusalem.

For those who know Israel, this is not surprising. Across the country, every day, thousands of Jews and Arabs come together in hospitals and universities, on building sites and social projects, where they cooperate and make friends. In small, quiet steps, the process towards peace is happening on the ground, all under the supervision of the "Zionist entity".

This is the unpalatable truth for those who need a Jewish nation-state bogeyman to help them make sense of a complex world.