The deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust was on October 7, 2023. Over 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were massacred by Hamas terrorists who infiltrated southern Israeli communities. The terrorists slaughtered people in the most harrowing ways, igniting a war and making Israel the least safe place for Jews that day.
Anti-Israel protests erupted outside Israel before the first bomb hit Gaza, with some exhibiting antisemitic sentiments. Western cities, social media, and campuses saw people supporting Hamas’s jihadi terror, with some expressing Jew-hate and Israel-hate prevalent in the Muslim world.
A Canadian woman justified Hamas’s actions as legitimate expressions of pursuit of Palestinian self-determination, reflecting the widespread rhetoric in anti-Israel circles. National Students for Justice in Palestine also glorified terror and called the massacre a historic victory for the Palestinian resistance.
Western progressives, influenced by a flawed moral calculus, sympathize with Hamas despite its atrocious acts of terrorism against civilians. Some anti-Israel protesters chanted “Gas the Jews” and “Allahu Akbar” outside the Opera House in Sydney, demonstrating a particular focus on Jews.
The support for Hamas and jihad in progressive circles extends beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and antisemitism into a broader anti-Western context. While genuine issues of systemic discrimination need addressing, supporting terror is not the way forward.
The progressive movement must acknowledge the dangerous trend of supporting Hamas and jihad, emphasizing security and autonomy for both sides as a genuine solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
