(JNS) Ben Cohen - For all the incompetence and corruption of their leaders, the Palestinians have long been adept at exploiting guilt over colonialism and the long tradition of antisemitism in Western countries. Large numbers of Palestinians thumb their noses at the values our civilizations represent, from the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 massacre, when many danced in the streets and handed out candy in celebration, to the pogrom of Oct. 7. As pro-Israel advocates note, America's streets are empty of protesters when blood is shed in Ukraine or Sudan, but as soon as an Israel Defense Forces missile strikes a Hamas command center in Gaza City or Rafah, they pour out like rats from a sewer. The Taliban has just announced that women are forbidden from going to work or to school and are banned from speaking in public spaces; can only use public transport when accompanied by a male chaperone; and must fully cover their faces and bodies when in public. Yet the millions of people who have attended pro-Hamas demonstrations around the world don't give a damn. In Western policy circles, the Taliban's monstrous law is barely discussed. You wonder in vain why a Hamas rapist who gets what he deserves is reinvented as an innocent civilian murdered in a "genocide," while women in Afghanistan are transformed into slaves, and the silence around that is deafening. The writer is a senior analyst with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
2024-09-17 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive