Hamas glorification is part of a worrying rise in antisemitism, warns Jake Thrupp
We have also seen disgusting displays of anti-Semitic behaviour across the Western world - from the burning of the Israeli flag on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, to chants of "From the River to the Sea" in London, to the attempted storming of two synagogues in Paris. The examples are endless.
How can people take to the streets to glorify Hamas? asks political commentator Jake Thrupp
As General David Petraeus famously remarked in 2003 during the Iraq War, “Tell me how this ends?”
Well may we ask ourselves the same question in relation to Israel’s counterattack in Gaza.
Thanks to America’s prolonged campaign in Afghanistan, which ended disastrously, there is little appetite around the globe for entering ‘forever wars’.
But that said, Israel absolutely has a right to defend itself after the coordinated October 7 attacks.
Imagine sirens going off at 6.30am, paragliders flying into a field and gunmen arriving in trucks, only to murder 260 young festival goers, then taking roughly 240 hostages, including children, from towns along the border - it was barbaric and a casus belli for the conflict we see today.
These surprise attacks have been described as “9/11 plus Pearl Harbour in one”.
What I struggle to comprehend is that there are some living among us who feel it is acceptable to take to the streets to glorify Hamas.
We have also seen disgusting displays of anti-Semitic behaviour across the Western world - from the burning of the Israeli flag on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House, to chants of “From the River to the Sea” in London, to the attempted storming of two synagogues in Paris. The examples are endless.
Surely the line has been crossed on free speech and the responsibilities which come with it when we have a situation where people can openly celebrate mass murderers.
A civil and tolerant nation cannot allow itself to be suffused by such hatred and division. If so, community cohesion is at risk. Unfortunately, this seems to be in motion.
But forget the ceasefire for a moment which Hamas needed and, indeed, are now trying to extend. The greatest concern now, across the Western world, is the rise in anti-Israel sentiment and hate crimes against Jews.
And the question must be asked - have politicians been strong enough in their condemnation of it?
Too often they pussyfoot around uncomfortable realities. Well, transparent and widespread antisemitism is now one of them.
We are in the shocking situation where Jewish people are too frightened to leave their homes, fearing for their safety. This is a blight on any liberal democratic nation.
Figures from the Metropolitan Police towards the end of October showed a 1,350 percent increase in hate crimes towards Jewish people in London. What will it be for the month of November?
Contributing to this, no doubt, is the narrative of the conflict. Every war has a narrative, and Israel appears to be up against it.