Some would think that Hamas has failed in what it supposedly intended by its surprise murderous terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas said they wished to anchor a force teamed with other Iranian-backed militias – Hezbollah, Houthis and Syrian gangs – supported by Iran itself to permanently destroy Israel and take over the region “from the river to the sea.” They may not have reached that goal, but did they accomplish another goal just as destructive to Israel’s future?
It did not take long for the Israel haters to turn on Israel for defending itself against the many attacks by the Iranian surrogates. We would expect supporters of Israel to step up and defend its right to self-defense. Israel was under attack from the day they vacated Gaza and turned it over to the residents for self-rule in 2005. The Israel detractors forget the “innocent” Palestinians voted to put in charge the group called “Hamas” whose reason to exist is annihilating the Jewish state.
The laundry list of Jew-hating organizations continued their lines of attack. It is the quasi-supportive groups that are changing this dynamic. The Democratic Party was formerly solidly in support of Israel, but no longer. They hide behind the claim they don’t like the government headed by Bibi Netanyahu. Would any other government act differently with terrorism against their citizens?
Is it possible they have succeeded in turning one principal American political party against Israel? In April, 40 of 47 Democratic senators voted to block arms to Israel led by 10 Jewish senators. When elected Jews are voting to disarm Israel, you can argue Hamas has a major win by dividing Israel’s closest ally.
They receive cover from groups like J Street, ostensibly a Jewish supporter of Israel. They recently issued a statement that counters the vote to stop arms sales to Israel, claiming it does more harm than good. They stated: “J Street continues to believe that joint cooperative tech programs must have proper guardrails similar to those for the sales of weapons to ensure weapons provided are used in a manner consistent with U.S. law, international law and U.S. policy goals.” They assert again that Israel needs to follow U.S. laws, implying they haven’t been for the past 50-plus years. Adding that “Israel should be in compliance with international law” smacks of discrimination, since every international body (starting with the United Nations) harbors deep antagonism towards Israel and Jews.
This is evidenced by William Galston’s column in The Wall Street Journal, “Netanyahu Has Lost Middle America.” Galston comes from the “nonpartisan” Brookings Institute but has a long history of affiliation with Democratic administrations. He cites that 61% of Americans believe Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza.
That is no surprise when they hear a constant drumbeat of lies about supposed Israeli government activities like withholding food supplies from Gazans despite ample photo evidence of well-fed Gazans. The recent blood libel in The New York Times perpetrated by Nicholas Kristof stating Israelis forced Palestinian prisoners into sex with dogs has been proven impossible by animal experts.
Israel will apparently be having elections this fall. I have advocated for a change in the top leadership because of my adherence to the George Washington principle that people should step aside in a democracy as no leader is or should be indispensable. Yet, I don’t envision a sea change from the Democrats and their cohorts in the press.
Unless Israel simply stops defending itself, the people who blame Netanyahu will argue against the next government as well — as if the Palestinian people controlled by Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran will abandon their desire to destroy the Jewish homeland.
Maybe the American people will see that the false information for which they have fallen since Oct. 7 is just using Netanyahu as a straw man. In the meantime, the Hamas supporters have managed at least for now to turn American elected officials and a large portion of the American population against one of its foremost allies. We may conclude that although Hamas lost the war, they will have won the peace.
Bruce L. Bialosky is a former presidential appointee to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.
