The Democrats have a big problem
Pro-Hamas extremists threaten the party and could cost Biden re-election
The Democrats have a problem.
It’s coming from the extreme Left.
If not checked, it could grow into a destructive force similar to the one Donald Trump brought to the GOP. America will be left without a functioning political organization that could win the 2024 election and govern with the majority of Americans, who sit in the middle of the ideological spectrum, in mind.
The problem is the vocal anti-Israel minority of young super-liberals emerging as that nation responds to the October 7 attack by the radically violent Hamas terror group, which is based in Gaza. The Palestinian terrorists killed more than 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, and took more than 200 hostages. Although the toll is equivalent to seven 9/11s, too many left-wing extremists are standing with them
Having watched the Republican fringe cement control of the party under Donald Trump’s influence, Democrats must recognize they are threatened by the same dynamic. But so far, top leaders are acting as if this extremism doesn’t exist. This was precisely the mistake Republicans made as they allowed a vocal minority to push their party further and further to the Right. The result is a GOP in shambles, controlled by the cult of Trump.
I have noticed the pro-Hamas sentiment as I tour the country to talk about my new book, Renegade. Though small, some in the audiences I’m speaking to turn stone cold when I get animated describing my disdain for Hamas. It was a shock to see any support for those who killed men, women, and children in their homes, on the streets, and even at a music festival dedicated to peace.
Full-blown anti-Israel protests have been organized in cities like New York where 7,000 protesters jammed the Brooklyn Bridge. “Fuck Israel, Justice Palestine,” read a sign waved by one marcher. Anti-Israel demonstrations have also occurred on campuses across the country. At George Washington University students projected the pro-Hamas “Glory to our Martyrs,” onto campus buildings. These protests, coming after attacks that evoked the Holocaust, leave Jewish students feeling vulnerable as well as silenced. At Cooper Union in Manhattan Jewish students barricaded themselves in a library as a pro-Palestinian rally was conducted outside.
Similar radical expressions are being seen at sidewalk demonstrations like the one in Urbana, Illinois where a woman held a placard showing a figure tossing a Star of David into a trash can and a caption read, “KEEP THE world clean.” (This slogan has been seen elsewhere.)
Shocking as the protests have been, more concerning is the anti-Israel sentiment expressed by the most extreme Democrats in Congress. For example, Rashida Talib, of Michigan, has called for the U.S. government to suspend its support for Israel’s “apartheid government.” Others have been only lukewarm in expressing solidarity with Israel, emphasizing the casualties among the Palestinian people as Israel has tried to strike back at Hamas forces, which occupy a network of tunnels believed to be hundreds of miles long.
Israel has been unfairly criticized for its operations in Gaza where the civilian death toll now exceeds 8,000. No one would say that these deaths are deserved, but they must be put in context. First, it was Hamas that began the fighting with attacks throughout the area just across Gaza’s border with Israel. Its tactics resembled those used by the murderous military cult called ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) which seized vast swathes of territory before being all but destroyed by the U.S and allied forces.
Entitled to respond, Israel faced the daunting challenge of locating and attacking 40,000 Hamas militants hiding in densely populated areas. Given this task, the death toll from bombing could have easily exceeded ten times the current figure, had the Israelis not been so careful.
I’m not saying that civilians in Gaza deserve their suffering. However, they allowed Hamas to gain power. As they did this, they surely emboldened its leaders. Let me be clear. Civilians should be presumed innocent. But just like the Germans who stayed out of the Nazi Party, pro-peace Palestinians did far too little to oppose Hamas, letting this bloody crisis become an inevitability.
Here at home, the Democratic party must not commit the mistake of tolerating liberal extremists who fail to support Israel or, worse, march under an anti-Israel/pro-Hamas banner. They will be tempted to ignore it, in the hope that it will go away. This head-in-the-sand tactic was used by mainstream Republicans when asked to respond to Donald Trump’s hateful statements during the 2016 presidential campaign. He won, empowered the extremists in the GOP, and now our country’s democracy is under a real and credible threat.
Jeffries and the Democrats may think they have time to deal with their far-Left version of the dynamic that ruined the GOP. My message to them is simple: Time is running out. And in a country where Israel enjoys overwhelming support, failure to push the extremists aside will cost you the upcoming election.
There is a difference between Hamas and the Palestinians. It's complicated. There were elections in 2006 and Hamas beat out the Fatah Party 44% to 41% but gained controlling seats in the government. The Fatah party was or is the PLO and they recognized Israel, Hamas, of course does not. Israel was moving settlers out of the occupied territories so there was a vacuum there and George Bush and Condaleeza Rice encouraged elections. They thought (good intentions) that democracy would win. The Palestinians were thinking they got a Unity Government but Hamas, surprise, surprise, broke the deal starting killing Fatah members and those who were still alive escaped to the West Bank.
There has not been an election in Gaza since 2006. Half the population is under 18 and weren't even alive when Hamas took over. They, of course, have grown up with Hamas propaganda. They have been under a 16 year blockage so everything for their daily lives comes in by truck and Hamas can say "look what we are providing for you , and all the other BS.
There are Palestinians living in Israel who are Israeli citizens. There are Israelis and Palestinians running businesses together, there is intermarriage. They share holy places, especially in Jerusalem. Palestinians were attacked in the temple during Ramadan as they were praying. That went on for several nights. There are Palestinians now being attacked in the West Bank.
Hamas is deadly, they are devoted to the removal of Israel and probably any Jew they can get their hands on. They must be eliminated. However, then what? There is no one that wants Palestinians removed from the earth than Benjamin Netanyahu.
As said, this is complicated. The problem is, people are putting this recent tragedy in a vacuum. They take sound bites from a moment in time and don't look any further. Young people have always demonstrated and I like their exuberance but they need to be better informed about what they are demonstrating for.
Rashida Tlaib is a Palestinian and I'm not a friend so have certainly never had a deep discussion with her about anything. She IS very far left and she is well aware of the Palestinian history and she is very emotional. I still have never gotten the feeling that she supports Hamas but the right likes to say that anyone who stands up for the Palestinians at any time or God forbid say ONE critical word against Israel is a terrorist. It's great politics.
So in the meantime, we have Israeli families burying their family members, people just going about their daily lives, young people at a festival, slaughtered by vile and evil people who should have been dealt with a long time ago.
Then, just a short distance away, we have the young doctor in Gaza, treating bleeding children at the hospital that is running out of supplies and room. He is treating his ten year old daughter. Their house was hit by an explosive. He is called to a room down the hall in that room there is the body of a six year old boy who has died from his wounds, and that boy is his son.
So, there is plenty of heartache to spread around. I'm sick and tired of it. It must be in our DNA, our lust for power, our indifference to the pain of others, the need to be right, they need to have things "our way". To try to get a handle of what is happening today you need to go back to 1948. Anyway you want to see it, it is a tragedy.
I'm not going to comment further on this subject , I've taken too much time already. I just pray it's over, Hamas will be destroyed and somehow clearer heads can prevail and Netanyahu is purges. A young Israeli girl who lost friends in the assault was asked how she felt about the retaliation. She said she wished for peace and was not going to live the rest of her life with hate in her heart.
This problem is as old and complex as man. Israel is certainly in a tough spot--seen by the Palestinians as invaders „gifted“ land by the British after WWII settled by them hundreds (or thousands) of years before much like the US „gifted“ land to white Americans once inhabited by our own native people. And civilians in Gaza perhaps „should“ speak out or act against Hamas much like Germans „should“ have, but not all people have the courage to risk death or worse at the hands of their government. That said, Israel is the victim of a terrorist attack, and anyone who defends that should be called out immediately and loudly. And yes, the dems need to make this message in a full throated manner.
As I see it, one of the main problems is that most Americans are ignorant of the history of the Jewish people, especially recent history (since WWII). This is a problem with so many issues today--there is a history behind why we do what we do and believe what we believe (for example, our relationship with guns and religion) but most don’t know what that history is and so fall back on tribalism. It‘s understandable that people shy away from the topic--even I couldn‘t watch the Ken Burns special on the Holocaust--it was just too much during Covid and all our political unrest. The critical thing is to remember that 1) all life is sacred 2) anyone who uses civilians as human shields are committing war crimes, 3) everyone has a right to live in peace and to defend themselves, and 4)anyone who supports, encourages or condones the invasion, murder or kidnapping of civilians needs to be called out for supporting terrorism.
Campuses are full of far left voices, most of which become much quieter a year or two after graduation when maturity and a taste of the real world becomes part of peoples lives. Sometimes an unpopular political view is the right thing to support (such as the fight against apartheid in the 1970‘s and 80‘s), but it‘s often just ignorance or kids rebelling against their parents. Either way, it needs to be discussed, thoughtful questions asked and answers thoughtfully and honestly given.