'The View' Host Sunny Hostin Forced to Do Mental Gymnastics to Defend Hamas Against Israel
On Wednesday’s episode of “The View,” resident lawyer and co-host Sunny Hostin made as convoluted an argument as anyone has yet heard in regard to the war between Israel and Hamas.
While discussing Israel’s bombardment of Palestinian-held Gaza, Hostin put on her “legal hat” and suggested a possible war crime.
“When you look at international human rights law — I’m just putting my legal hat on; this is not the Sunny hat; I understand the anger — but when you decide to retaliate collectively against a people, that is also in violation of human rights law,” Hostin said.
People of good faith might disagree about the wisdom or likely consequences of Israel’s retaliation against Hamas in Gaza. Civilian “collateral damage” — to use that ghastly phrase — always includes innocents.
Moreover, this is not the place to judge each side’s historical grievances, and in any case I am not qualified to adjudicate them.
Of all the objections one could raise against Israel, however, surely Hostin’s makes the least sense.
To see why, we must understand the context of her “international human rights law” comment.
In the lead-up to that comment, Hostin explained that political circumstances among Palestinians required special consideration.
“We need to also recognize that the Palestinians that are there now, that are descendants of refugees, have not had a democratic election since 2007,” Hostin said.
Hamas, Hostin thus implied, does not represent the will of the Palestinian people.
Nicholas Fondacaro of the Media Research Center posted a clip of Hostin’s comments Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter.
Sunny Hostin falsely claims the people of Gaza “did not” vote in Hamas to be their leaders.
She goes on to spew Hamas talking points that Israel’s military is violating “international human rights law” when they “retaliate collectively.”
The panel pushes back noting human shields pic.twitter.com/WJueaacA2a— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) October 11, 2023
Among Palestinians in Gaza, enthusiasm for Hamas no doubt fluctuates.
To Hostin’s central point, however, the question of Palestinian support for Hamas makes little real difference.
Imagine, for instance, the perspective of an Allied bomber pilot during World War II.
The pilot receives orders to drop his deadly payload over a German industrial center. At some point, from sheer empathy, perhaps he cannot help but think of the civilians his mission will kill. Those dead civilians almost certainly will haunt his postwar nightmares.
In that moment, however, does he protest the order on account of Germany’s internal political circumstances? Does he say to his commanding officer, “But sir, the Germans have not had a truly democratic election since 1932”?
One can scarcely imagine a more nonsensical train of thought.
None of this obviates concern for the rights and welfare of anti-Hamas Palestinian non-combatants.
Neither, however, does that humanitarian concern diminish the palpable absurdity of Hostin’s comment.
In sum, by her reasoning, a nation may only conduct a Gaza-like operation against a democratically-elected enemy.
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