Nearly Impossible Task Faces Those Who Oppose Hamas And Israeli Policies
People of good will in Israel and the U.S. face a near impossible challenge: To express unassailable repugnance with the barbaric the war crimes of Hamas that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and to continue to oppose the horror of Israel’s apartheid occupation of Palestine and the treatment that has resulted in widespread poverty and despair.
Both points of view are not mutually exclusive. The elimination of Hamas must be accomplished and Israel must stop the injustices of Palestinians living on the Gaza strip. There is no other path. Unfortunately, a majority sentiment is that supporting the Palestinians is tantamount to capitulating to Hamas.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote about the question nearly six decades ago in his 1964 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” It rings true today.
“I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says, ‘I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can’t agree with your methods of direct action’; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by the myth of time; and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a ‘more convenient season.’”
Or consider this letter from the Gazan prison:
“I say to moderates in the United States and Europe that you have to go to the root of the problem in Palestine. Unfortunately, the world for decades didn’t care about the suffering, the genocide and the oppression of Palestinians. But just when Israel screamed, all the world suddenly awakened and started to talk as if the events started just on October 7.”
Those who deny the reality of Hamas ought to read the organization’s founding principles, which are no different than the aims of Hitler to eliminate Jews, as clearly outlined in his autobiographical screed, “Main Kampf.”
William L. Shirer, author of the acclaimed, “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” explained that “Not every German who bought a copy of Mein Kampf necessarily read it … But it might be argued that had more non-Nazi Germans read it before 1933 and had the foreign statesmen of the world perused it carefully while there was still time, both Germany and the world might have been saved from catastrophe.”
Here are the uncomfortable facts.
The United Nations classifies Israel as an occupier state over the Palestinian territories, whose occupations and annexations following the 1967 Six-Day War remain in violation of international law. Since 2007, Israel has imposed an air, land and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip to prevent Hamas attacks on the country.
The United Nations and international human rights groups have condemned the blockade, and have described Gaza as the “the world’s largest open-air prison.” Residents of Gaza are surrounded by concrete walls and barbed wire fences, and are unable to leave the territory without Israeli-approved permits.
Between 2008 and 2023, Israeli airstrikes killed 6,407 Palestinians in the occupied territories, 5,360 of whom were in Gaza, according to the U.N. Israel suffered 308 fatalities in that time period. Israel says its strikes targeted Hamas operatives, though they drew condemnation from the U.N. and other groups over reported high civilian casualty counts.
Half of Gaza’s population is under the age of 19 but faces dire economic prospects, after 16 years of Israel’s blockade and a ban on imports and exports. The unemployment rate in Gaza is above 40 percent, more than 65 percent of the population is under the poverty line, and 63 percent of Gazans are deemed food insecure, according to the U.N.
Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S., Japan, Australia, Israel, the European Union and many other countries. Hamas has received international backing from countries such as Turkey and Qatar, while Iran is known to be one of the group’s biggest benefactors.
Understanding the facts is daunting, ignoring the facts is inexcusable. Those who ignore the facts and have exploited the latest crisis for political ends are only inflaming the worsening conflagration that threatens to engulf all of the Middle East and beyond.
Former president trump, seeking reelection, said he would impose a draconian travel ban against Muslims, which is exactly what Hamas wants as it tries to convince the world that America is against them. Trump has ranted that undocumented immigrants “ poisoning the blood of our country,” easily referring to Muslims.
The Biden administration said they’ll begin chartering flights from Israel to destinations in Europe, to get Americans stranded in the war-ravaged country back home to the U.S. Once the travelers get from Israel to Europe they’ll be ferried home by US-based and other carriers.
But the right wing Daily Caller, founded by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, reported the false assertion that Biden “told those trapped in Israel by the genocidal invasion that they need to find their own flights home — in a tone not so dissimilar to his callousness during his failed Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021. Major airlines have canceled services out of Israel. It is unclear why Biden is choosing to strand Americans in a war zone. Again.”
Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, was incensed that Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who is a Palestinian American, flies a Palestinian flag outside her Washington D.C. office. Miller introduced a measure to ban any flag that is not that of the United States, one if its territories, or the POW/MIA flag, from being displayed in the Capitol building. Miller posted a photo of the flag at Tlaib’s office.
“The halls of Congress belong to America. They should be reserved for flags that embody our great nation,” Miller posted. “The Palestinian flag should not have a place here. That’s why I sponsored an appropriations amendment to end this silliness.”
Miller worked for trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and then was named a special assistant to the president. In June 2020, Miller was among the aides who accompanied trump on a controversial photo op at St. John’s Church. Miller praised trump as “the greatest POTUS (president of the United States) this country has ever had.” He also trump’s false claim that the 2020 presidential election was “rigged.”
The Palestinian flag has been hanging outside Tlaib’s office for several months. In January, near the start of the new congressional term, Tlaib posted a picture of her next to the flag on social media while criticizing the Israeli government.
“Palestinians may be banned from flying their flag under an apartheid government, but we can still proudly do it at my office,” Tlaib wrote. “I’m proud to be a Palestinian American and I want the Palestinian people to know that not all Americans support apartheid. No one can erase our existence.”
Hamas makes its intentions clear in its 1988 Hamas Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement.
“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it,” says the covenant. “The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews.” (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).”
The Herculean challenge facing progressives was demonstrated at a pro-Palestinian rally held last Sunday in Times Square. The rally was endorsed by the city chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Many of the nation’s leading socialists later decried the demonstration for having conflated support for Hamas and the invasion of Israel with Israeli policies that have led to widespread poverty in the occupied Gaza territory.
The Democratic Socialists of America is the largest socialist organization in the United States, with more than 92,000 members and chapters in all 50 states. Members use a variety of tactics, from legislative to direct action, to fight for reforms that empower working people.
“We want a democracy powered by everyday people. The capitalist class tells us we are powerless, but together we can take back control,” says the socialist credo.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has been the most notable member of Democratic Socialists of America. The organization has been vocal critics of Israel.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Oct. 10, the organization’s new York chapter said its members believe in “peace, equality, and freedom for all Palestinians and Israelis. We deeply mourn the loss of life in the region and unequivocally condemn all hatred and the killing of all civilians.”
The statement said that in anticipation of increasing violence, the organization tweeted a promotion of the rally “in solidarity with the people of Palestine.” It said the organization understands “why many, including our allies, were shocked by the timing and the tone of this message in a moment of profound fear and grief. We are sorry for the confusion our post caused and for not making our values explicit.”
The statement said that members are concerned that the rally did not focus on “the root causes of violence in the region.” They include the “far-right” policies of the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government’s “escalating human rights violations and explicitly genocidal rhetoric, and the dehumanization of the Palestinian people.”
The statement said that an immediate cease-fire, an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the end of the 16-year siege “on the open-air prison that is the Gaza Strip and the end of U.S. military aid for occupation and apartheid” are the “only pathway to safety and peace for all in the region.”
Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., is among many socialist representatives in Congress who have decried the rally and support for Hamas.
“After the brutal terrorist attacks on Israel, which included the indiscriminate murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent men, women, and children, I can no longer associate with an organization unwilling to call out terrorism in all its forms,” the statement reads. “Sunday’s hate filled and antisemitic rally in New York City, promoted by the NYC-DSA, makes it impossible for me to continue my affiliation. I stand with Israel and it’s right to defend itself. There is no place for moral equivocation in the face of unadulterated evil as we have seen from Hamas.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a member of the so-called “Squad” of progressive Democrats, and an outspoken socialist member of Congress, also refuted the rally in strong words. The Squad is an informal group of eight Democratic members of the . House. It includes Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Jamaal Bowman of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri, Greg Casar of Texas and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania.
“It should not be hard to shut down hatred and antisemitism where we see it. That is a core tenet of solidarity,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “The bigotry and callousness expressed in Times Square on Sunday were unacceptable and harmful in this devastating moment. It also did not speak for the thousands of New Yorkers who are capable of rejecting both Hamas’ horrifying attacks against innocent civilians as well as the grave injustices and violence Palestinians face under occupation.”
Democratic progressives, socialists and others on the left, have called for the U.S. to take in some of the expected 1 million Gaza refugees forced to leave their homes in advance of an expected Israeli invasion.
“Fifty percent of the population in Gaza are children. The international community as well as the United States should be prepared to welcome refugees from Palestine while being very careful to vet and not allow members of Hamas,” said Rep. Bowman.
Republicans in Congress said they were completely against resettlement of Gaza refugees in the U.S.
An estimated 170,000 Palestinians live in the United States. One is Rep. Tlaib. After the Hamas attacks, Tlaib and Rep. Bush released statements where they called Israel an apartheid state.
“I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day. I am determined as ever to fight for a just future where everyone can live in peace, without fear and with true freedom, equal rights, and human dignity,” said Tlaib. “The path to that future must include lifting the blockade, ending the occupation, and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating, dehumanizing conditions that can lead to resistance. The failure to recognize the violent reality of living under siege, occupation, and apartheid makes no one safer. No person, no child anywhere should have to suffer or live in fear of violence. We cannot ignore the humanity in each other.”
Tlaib ended her statement with, “As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.”
Bush said she was “heartbroken” with the loss of lives and called for an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation.
“Violations of human rights do not justify more violations of human rights, and a military response will only exacerbate the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis alike,” Bush said.
The congresswoman said the path to a lasting peace will only come “by ending U.S. government support for Israeli military occupation and apartheid.”
Rep. Omar said that Israel’s warning to evacuate northern Gaza in only 24 hours amounted to “ethnic cleansing,” that she said will cause “an unspeakable humanitarian crisis.”
“The UN has already said this is ‘impossible’ and will have ‘devastating humanitarian consequences,’” the congresswoman said. “We have to stop ignoring the thousands of Palestinian lives lost and millions at stake! We must use all diplomatic tools stop this.”
Ethnic cleansing is defined by the UN as “… a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.”
“The mass expulsion of over a million civilians is a grave violation of international law, and not justified under any circumstances. Our common humanity demands we stop it,” Omar said. “We need to call for deescalation and ceasefire.”
Hamas controls Gaza, and is one of two major political forces in the Palestinian territories. The other is the rival Fatah, previously known as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. Fatah controls the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank.
Founded in 1987 and led by Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, or the “Islamic Resistance Movement.” It was created as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood. Its three concerns are religion, charity and the fight against Israel.
The group’s spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, said that since it was founded, Hamas was dedicated “to extinguishing the existence of the state of Israel.”
The armed wing of Hamas is known as the Izz ad-Din al Qassam brigades [al-Qassam brigades], which has consistently used terror tactics against Israel, carrying out their first suicide bombing in 1993 in conjunction with Islamic Jihad. Hamas has become a substantial, well-armed and well-trained paramilitary force.
The movement attracts substantial popular support, as it includes teachers, surgeons, urban planners and police in its civil administration of Gaza. Hamas runs Gaza’s health services and its schools. It has been known to break the bones of children caught wearing scarfs signalling family affiliation with the rival Fatah movement. Its forces also abducted, tortured and murdered Palestinians accused of “collaborating” with Israel and others.
The exact number of Hamas fighter is unclear and disputed, but is believed to total several tens of thousands under arms including small boat forces, combat divers, a new paraglider force and drone operators.
The turning point for Hamas came in 2007. It followed a period of deadly anarchy in Gaza, after the 2006 Palestinian elections in which Hamas-backed candidates won the largest share of the vote, it seized power by force.
The 1988 Hamas Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement, says that “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.”
“The Islamic Resistance Movement emerged to carry out its role through striving for the sake of its Creator, its arms intertwined with those of all the fighters for the liberation of Palestine.”
“Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious. It needs all sincere efforts. It is a step that inevitably should be followed by other steps. The Movement is but one squadron that should be supported by more and more squadrons from this vast Arab and Islamic world, until the enemy is vanquished and Allah’s victory is realised,” the covenant says.
“Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Abusing any part of Palestine is abuse directed against part of religion. Nationalism of the Islamic Resistance Movement is part of its religion. Its members have been fed on that. For the sake of hoisting the banner of Allah over their homeland they fight. Allah will be prominent, but most people do not know.”
“There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. The Palestinian people know better than to consent to having their future, rights and fate toyed with.”
“I swear by the holder of Mohammed’s soul that I would like to invade and be killed for the sake of Allah, then invade and be killed, and then invade again and be killed.”
“The Islamic spirit is what should prevail in every Moslem society. The society that confronts a vicious enemy which acts in a way similar to Nazism, making no differentiation between man and woman, between children and old people — such a society is entitled to this Islamic spirit. Our enemy relies on the methods of collective punishment.
“He has deprived people of their homeland and properties, pursued them in their places of exile and gathering, breaking bones, shooting at women, children and old people, with or without a reason. The enemy has opened detention camps where thousands and thousands of people are thrown and kept under sub-human conditions. Added to this, are the demolition of houses, rendering children orphans, meting cruel sentences against thousands of young people, and causing them to spend the best years of their lives in the dungeons of prisons.
“For a long time, the enemies have been planning, skillfully and with precision, for the achievement of what they have attained. They strived to amass great and substantive material wealth which they devoted to the realisation of their dream. With their money, they took control of the world media, news agencies, the press, publishing houses, broadcasting stations, and others.
“With their money they stirred revolutions in various parts of the world with the purpose of achieving their interests and reaping the fruit therein. They were behind the French Revolution, the Communist revolution and most of the revolutions we heard and hear about, here and there.
“With their money they formed secret societies, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, the Lions and others in different parts of the world for the purpose of sabotaging societies and achieving Zionist interests.
“They were behind World War I, when they were able to destroy the Islamic Caliphate, making financial gains and controlling resources. They obtained the Balfour Declaration, formed the League of Nations through which they could rule the world. They were behind World War II, through which they made huge financial gains by trading in armaments, and paved the way for the establishment of their state. It was they who instigated the replacement of the League of Nations with the United Nations and the Security Council to enable them to rule the world through them.
“We should not forget to remind every Moslem that when the Jews conquered the Holy City in 1967, they stood on the threshold of the Aqsa Mosque and proclaimed that “Mohammed is dead, and his descendants are all women.”
“The Islamic Resistance Movement consider itself to be the spearhead of the circle of struggle with world Zionism and a step on the road. The Movement adds its efforts to the efforts of all those who are active in the Palestinian arena. Arab and Islamic Peoples should augment by further steps on their part; Islamic groupings all over the Arab world should also do the same, since all of these are the best-equipped for the future role in the fight with the warmongering Jews.”