I don’t believe that any of the critics of Israel on the Forum are sympathetic to Hamas (though opinion polls suggests that support for Hamas is quite common among British Muslims). One or two contributors are anti-Zionists, an attitude which borders on anti-Semitism since it effectively denies Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. But for the most part the critics have unthinkingly adopted the Palestinian cause, holding Israel responsible for all the problems in the conflict. They selectively cite events which support this position (e.g. the naqba in 1948, the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the blockade of Gaza from 2005 and now the death of civilians) while ignoring all the evidence which contradicts their view (e.g. the attack on Israel in 1948 by the surrounding Arab states, the expulsion of Jews from Muslim countries, the militarisation of Gaza by Hamas, the rejection of Israel’s offer to withdraw from the West Bank in return for peace, the pogrom of 7 October, the support for Hamas in both Gaza and the West Bank). With this mindset they delegitimise every action taken by the Israelis to eliminate the threat from Hamas. So when the Israelis accidentally kill civilians, it’s a war crime, and when they move civilians out of harm’s way, it’s ethnic cleansing and still a war crime. And even when they kill Hamas militants, it’s Israel’s fault for having provoked Hamas in the first place.
Quite why the left (for it is mainly the left, typified by the ‘Guardian ‘ and the BBC) have adopted the Palestinian cause in such a one sided way is difficult to say. There may be some latent anti-Semitism, which was the case of Labour under Jeremy Corbyn. There is certainly a degree of anti-colonialism in that the Israelis are seen as European imperialists who have stolen land from the indigenous people. On university campuses there is also a problem of intimidation, whereby students find it easier to go along with the prevailing ethos rather risk being ostracised for attempting to defend Israel. And of course the conflict offers ample opportunities to individuals who wish to display their humanitarian sentiments, though, strangely, they don’t apply them to the war in Ukraine.
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