This last week we saw events escalate in the Middle East, namely Israel. The Sunday news programs had many journalists postulate the violence was triggered by an eviction court case in East Jerusalem and police storming of Al Aqsa mosque. This narrative has been expanded with other themes like Palestinians are under Apartheid and Israel commits war crimes. Large protests against Israel were assembled in London, Brussels, Paris and other European cities. Meanwhile social media trended with hash tags like #GazaUnderAttack #PalestinianLivesMatter #IsraelTerrorist. Add tweets and statements from Progressive Democrats, like the squad (Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley), and the social justice movement was full bore Anti-Israel.
I don’t use the term Pro-Palestinian, as the focus is around justifying rocket barrages from Islamic Jihadist groups (i.e. Hamas and PIJ). While there has been unrest in Israel and the West Bank, the primary conflict is with sub-state actors in Gaza. Which leads me to the source of the violence. It’s about Hamas being angry at the Palestinian Authority for canceling elections and wanting to show they represent the Palestinians, not the largely divided Fatah Party. So Hamas used the opportunity to increase their standing/ popularity by creating unrest and violence against Israel.
So when people are vocal against Israel, I wonder if they realize who the other side is. Well, both Hamas and PIJ organizations are violent extremists that share philosophy with ISIS, Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda. They share the viewpoint that Jews have no rights in Palestine. Meaning Jews do not have the right to exist as a free and independent nation in our ancestral home. Forget that Israel has existed for 73 years, and is prosperous, stable and home to half the Jews in the world. Forget how they treat other minorities in the Middle East, like Christians, Yazidis, Kurds, Bahai and so on. Do people really back these terrorists?
With many American Jews being Democrats, I wonder what is our red line? As there are not many outspoken Democrats standing alongside us. Those few who speak up are harassed with no end. Just look at Alma Hernandez (D-AZ), Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Andrew Yang (running for Mayor of NYC). Hats off to them, as it is not easy being the target of visceral antisemitic hatred.
