In the week since I wrote about the terrorist attacks in Israel, many writers I respect have published similar pieces denouncing Hamas’ actions as evil and morally reprehensible.
Peggy Noonan wrote that those who say Israel deserves what happened are “a walking, talking moral void.”
Andrew Sullivan wrote that “there is no historical context – none – which can excuse or mitigate what Hamas did or what Hamas is. There is no oppression that justifies the murder of infants in their beds.”
Sam Harris wrote that “there are not many bright lines that divide good and evil in our world, but this is one of them.”
Connor Friedersdorf wrote that “one cannot cheer what Hamas did and retain moral high ground; nor can one declare solidarity with campaigns of civilian slaughter and remain in solidarity with liberal humanists, progressive wonks, or adherents of international human rights or the beloved community.”
Best of all was Robert Glazer’s Friday Forward newsletter from last week, in which he tried to articulate how he was feeling after the attacks:
“Surprised at the seeming unwillingness or struggle of so many people and organizations to state what should be obvious: that the targeted, premeditated murder and kidnapping of families, women, children and babies is inhumane, deplorable and beyond moral justification of any kind.
“In disbelief that many individuals and groups have chosen, in the aftermath of such depravity, to use their platforms to gaslight, rationalize, explain or justify these atrocities. In particular, pro-Hamas sentiment is spewing from elite universities, including Harvard, Stanford and NYU. Over 31 student groups at Harvard signed a statement saying Israel bore full responsibility for the attacks; the statement did not even mention Hamas.
“Repulsed at the number of celebratory events that have occurred. There have been events supporting last weekend’s massacre in London, Toronto, New York and Australia. Please, for a second, imagine parades in your community to celebrate 9/11, the ISIS attacks on Paris, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or George Floyd’s murder?”
It has been reassuring to see so many respected voices speak out against the terror attacks in Israel and the sick reactions they have inspired in the United States. It is has been even more reassuring to discover, in conversations with friends and family over the last two weeks, that most people feel similarly. If my local sample is any indication, the vast majority of Americans are capable of recognizing evil when they see it, regardless of how they feel about the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
I would love to dismiss the voices on Twitter and college campuses as a few crazy apples, but am finding it hard to do so. Given the chance to denounce Hamas and support the sovereign rights of Palestinians, these people are instead choosing to celebrate Hamas. The list of indignities by so called “activists” is long, but two in particular stand out:
- Students using the image of a paraglider – the same paragliders who flew into Israel and butchered innocent civilians – as a symbol of solidarity with the Palestinian cause
- Students tearing down posters of kidnapped Israelis and throwing them in the garbage
It makes me sad, it makes me sick, and it makes me angry to know that there are people out there who think either of those behaviors are morally justified. I can’t begin to imagine how Jewish-Americans must feel to see their fellow countrymen revel in the slaughter of their people.
Some have said that these few bad actors are a distraction from the far greater issue of war in the Middle East. And I don’t disagree. I hope for all of our sakes that our world leaders are not obsessing over these Ivy League students. They have bigger fish to fry.
For the rest of us, though, who cannot help to broker peace in the region, the only thing we can control is the moral compass we use to navigate these difficult times. And nowhere is the corruption of our country’s moral compass more evident than in the absurdity we’re seeing within our own borders.
That is worth caring about.
I’m not suggesting that we all pick up our phones and start arguing with these people on Twitter, nor am I suggesting that we all take to the streets in counter-protest. The folks shouting about intifada aren’t likely to change their minds, and that’s okay.
Instead, what we all can do is our part to stop these bad ideas from spreading. We can be allies to the Jewish people in our community who have had zero time to mourn events that are too disturbing to comprehend. We can confidently state things that should be obvious, like “Hamas and Israel are not morally equivalent,” and we can speak up when people we care about start to say otherwise.
The risk is not that we all start plastering paraglider bumper stickers on our cars. Rational people have more sense than that. Instead, the real risk is that we begin to excuse the subtle anti-Semitism of others in our communities, until statements we would have previously found morally repugnant become acceptable.
It is up to each of us to keep our collective moral compass pointing in the right direction.
– Emmett