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After the Hamas attack on Israel, which killed at least 1,400 Israelis, Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign in Gaza, killing at least 2,800 people. This response has led to anti-Israel sentiments among some on the progressive Left, who have yet to condemn the Hamas attacks.
Straight Arrow News contributor David Pakman agrees that it is possible to empathize with both the Israelis and the Palestinians at the same time. He adds, however, that a crucial first step for those on the Left is to unequivocally denounce the initial massacre carried out by Hamas on Oct. 7.
We’re talking about beheadings. We’re talking about the killing of just random people at music festivals and kibbutz — all over the place. It is a medieval massacre, and even hearing, never mind seeing the videos, is absolutely terrifying. And also, when you see the videos from Gaza, and you see kids covered in soot pulled out of rubble, that kid is innocent. Okay? In the future, that kid might believe … Okay — that kid is innocent right now.
So, as people on the Left, we have to be able to both say, this was a terrorist attack by Hamas, period, and I condemn it, and Hamas is a terrorist group, and they’re an impediment to peace. Full stop. No ifs, ands and buts. Period. We say that.
And we also say, as people on the Left, how can any of us say we like cutting off electricity, food, water to a Gaza that has this huge child population and tons of people that are innocent, beyond the fact that they nominally support Hamas, because does anyone really have a choice but to support Hamas? That doesn’t mean you’re equivocating, and the equivocation from some of my friends on the Left has been horrifying.
