The scenes are becoming as familiar as the images of war themselves.
Around the globe, hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters have taken to the streets of major cities, shouting slogans that, at best, call for an immediate Israeli ceasefire in its actions in Gaza and often include the Palestinian mantra, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and an assortment of antisemitic chants.
Members of the liberal Left often join in these rallies, waving Palestinian flags and wrapping themselves in keffiyehs. Identifying themselves as the guardians of democratic and humane values, these are today’s useful idiots.
The mass demonstrations never call for Hamas to stop firing rockets at Israelis and never plead for the immediate release of the captives abducted by Hamas and being held captive in Gaza – the two steps that Hamas could take to bring about a ceasefire.
What they do is call for the destruction of the Jewish state, the State of Israel. The chants aren’t against the nonexistent genocide in Gaza but for the genocide of Israel.
There is no excuse for this in 2023
These mass protests are reminiscent of the rallies seen in 2014, when Israel was fighting Hamas aggression in Gaza. This was when the Israeli comparison between Hamas and ISIS was first heard, but the world failed to make the connection.
In 2023, there is no excuse. The utter barbarity of the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7 showed that the Islamist terrorist organization based in Gaza had studied Islamic State atrocities and taken them a step further. Entire families were tied up and set on fire, people were beheaded, women were raped, and there were terrible signs of torture and mutilation of the victims.
Those supporting Hamas-run Gaza should ask themselves what it is they are defending.
Governments, too, need to internalize what these rallies in their streets really mean.
Freedom of expression and the freedom to demonstrate are cherished values – values that do not exist under Hamas and are being exploited. In the name of freedom of speech, would a protest of thousands supporting ISIS have been allowed on these same streets?
Hateful demonstrators are being prioritized over Jewish citizens
The situation is out of control.
Take Sydney, for example. Australian authorities have apologized for the events seen earlier this month when a pro-Palestinian rally near the Opera House was the scene of particularly ugly anti-Israel and anti-Jewish chants, including “Gas the Jews.” The solution at the time? To warn Jews that it wasn’t safe for them to go near the site.
Let that sink in for a moment: In the name of freedom of expression for those supporting an Islamist regime, Jews were denied not only freedom of movement but a basic sense of security.
A recent pro-Palestinian demonstration in London was attended by an estimated 100,000 people, some of whom chanted similar antisemitic obscenities and threats. In a particularly ugly incident, a London Underground driver used his microphone to lead the protesters riding in his train in chants of “Free Palestine.”
Aerial footage of a mass protest in London on Saturday showed tens of thousands of demonstrators crowding the streets demanding British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insist on an Israeli ceasefire. Again, not an end to terrorism – an end to the operation aimed at destroying the terrorists’ capabilities.
Similar scenes have been seen in other European cities including Paris, Copenhagen, Rome, and Stockholm, as well as in cities and on campuses across North America.
In 2023, Jews around the world are wondering whether they are safe. And this is the distress signal that Western governments need to understand and address. The West, as journalist Melanie Phillips has noted, is “staring at a civilizational crisis.”
Western leaders need to tread a delicate line. Many are wary of being accused of Islamophobia. Nevertheless, for the sake of their own countries, they need to recognize and crack down on the expressions of support for Islamism. Jihadist terrorism threatens “the other,” whoever they might be, including Jews, Christians, and Muslims who object to their radical theology.
History has shown us that when the Jews aren’t safe, no one is safe. Israel and Jews are the primary targets of Hamas, but not of the Islamist, jihadist ideology upon which it is founded.