The Oct 7 Massacre Was Horrific: What Came a Day Later May Have Been Worse
While Oct. 7, 2023, was a horrific moment for Israelis, Oct. 8, 2023, was in many ways far more worrisome for the entire world.
If the ghastly deeds of the previous day had provoked a universal cry of condemnation, then the world today would be in a far better place.
But that’s not what happened.
On the contrary, in a well-coordinated and aggressive campaign, “progressive” supporters of Hamas in the West cheered on the aggressors, tore down posters of the hostages, defended and denied Hamas’ deeds, called for globalizing the Intifada, and invaded campuses — the elite ones in particular — with aggressive anti-Zionist demonstrations.
And, although this demented “left” was only a fraction of those who considered themselves progressives, no one in their midst stood up for the victims.
Notably, in all previous cases of the red-green alliance protesting Israel, it had been in response to images of Palestinian victimization. It fit a progressive narrative of siding with the victimized underdog.
Now, suddenly, and with equal vigor, these same humanitarians were cheering on the most vicious, sadistic deeds imaginable.
All those progressives, who had either mouthed or believed the assurances from the “civil society” Palestinian camp about their sincere desire for peace and justice, chose to remain silent.
And all the Jews who had repeatedly compromised their “tribal” loyalties to their people in favor of their progressive colleagues, whom they believed acted in good faith, found themselves horribly isolated and abandoned.
For many, this meant realizing that the fondly held belief that progressives really were what they pretended to be — humane people who cared about victims and opposed oppressors — was desperately wrong.
Whether they knew it or not, Western progressives now openly sided with a genocidal movement with the most ferocious imperialism on the planet.
Many people did wake up on Oct. 8, and they looked at the savagery of the jihadis and the folly of the “left” and began to realize just how out of joint the West has become.
For some non-Jews, it was sharp and sudden.
For Danny Burmawi, who was raised in Muslim supremacism — he celebrated 9/11 — having converted to Christianity in Jordan, it was profoundly disturbing. Witnessing a demonstration in Chicago, he realized, “The fear that shaped the Middle East had crossed the ocean. The world I thought I left behind had arrived ahead of me.”
My fervent hope is that there are many Oct. 8 people out there — not just Jews, but also Christians, Muslims, ex-Muslims, and even atheists, progressives, and lovers of justice, who looked at what happened on Oct. 7 in Israel and on Oct. 8 throughout the West with quiet horror.
While a few fools cheered on these revolting deeds that sounded their own doom, a broader public could see clearly the barbarous hatreds of the world’s most savage religious imperialism.
They are permissive of global jihad, and they are useful infidels for the terrorists.
A wake-up call in the Western world has rung clear. Be on the lookout for those who excuse evil.
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