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Blocking the Road Is Civil Terrorism

(Wall Street Journal) Tal Fortgang - The anti-Israel demonstrators who have blocked traffic in major cities know that there is little risk that the drivers who can't get to their jobs, families and other obligations will run them over, because those drivers are careful to avoid harming others and breaking the law - even as they face down people who flagrantly do both. It is no coincidence that only one side in the clash between Israel's friends and foes in the West behaves this way. Those who reacted to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack by doubling down on calls for Israel's elimination emulate Hamas by inflicting suffering on innocent people to achieve their political ends, albeit at a much smaller scale. Seeing their own cause as absolutely righteous, they are blind to the cruelty of their own actions. Why would anti-Israel activists think infuriating thousands of their fellow citizens with useless stunts will win allies for the cause? If the costs of continuing to support Israel are too high, they figure, Americans will start lobbying their elected officials to capitulate to terrorists at home and abroad. Law-abiding Americans can signal that such an outcome is impossible by raising the cost of future demonstrations by enforcing the law. The writer is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
2024-01-11 00:00:00
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