Immediately after the horrendous October 7, 2023 massacre by Hamas, mass demonstrations in support of the Palestinian people commenced. Even bBefore the Israeli military had launched its full-scale operation against Gaza, demonstrators took to the streets accusing Israel of genocide, refusing to acknowledge the gravity of what took place to Israeli civilians and even celebrating the massacre as an act of legitimate resistance.
This was the first strategic folly by the “pro-Palestine” movement after October 7, beginning a series of missteps and disastrous actions. There was no willingness to acknowledge the humanity of Israeli victims, who were quickly dismissed as unworthy of empathy and compassion. This dehumanization accelerated the devolution of the discourse, wasting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drum up support for the Palestinian cause and move the needle in a way that actually serves the Palestinian people.
This ineffective activism is not new to the diaspora-based “pro-Palestine” movement, which has long struggled to gain broad and sustainable support beyond young people, radicals, and generally powerless constituencies. “Pro-Palestine” sentiments, especially after the horrific war on Gaza, spread within grassroots settings but have not risen to pragmatically build power or influence decision-makers on Israel and Palestine policy.
A demonstrator holds a placard with the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”
ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images
After October 7, overt support for Hamas and the armed resistance narrative became normalized as mainstream views within the “pro-Palestine” movement. From student groups and established organizations to questionable entities, no one was willing to condemn Hamas on an ethical basis or realize the disaster that the terror group had unleashed upon Gaza.
Social media, protests, and other spaces quickly filled up with pro “resistance” symbolism that was deeply hurtful to Jews and Israelis who had just experienced the worst single-day massacre since the Holocaust. Incendiary rhetoric became the norm, and the word Zionist became a slur meaninglessly thrown around to denigrate anyone who remotely cared about Jewish safety or Israel’s right to exist.
I was horrified that the taking of innocent civilians as hostages was dismissed and celebrated. People who know nothing about Hamas and its vile Islamist ideology and failed governance jumped on the bandwagon, cheering on the group’s supposed resistance.
Initially, as millions of people around the world started protesting against the war and for Palestinian rights, I was inspired and hopeful. People who had never paid attention to the Palestinian issue were engaged like never before. I believed that this broad international interest would help to build a coalition in pursuit of Palestinian rights and peace between Palestinians and Israelis based on the concept of two states.
But my optimism eroded as I observed the proliferation of radical voices and narratives that promulgated reductionist, simplistic, and harmful positions, ensuring the failure of these demonstrations. It was challenging to observe how prospective Jewish allies were rejected and dismissed with insults and accusations of being complicit in genocide. The idea that freedom and sovereignty for the Palestinian people can be achieved without partnership with Jewish allies across the political spectrum is nonsensical.
This would come up repeatedly, including when the unprecedented wave of university encampments spread rapidly last spring. At the time, I went on national television, cautioning that these encampments didn’t have a compelling or actionable message or agenda. I pleaded with students to build a broad tent and use this opportunity to engage new constituencies. Instead, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) released a maximalist and radical manifesto that set preconditions for joining their “movement.” They promoted armed resistance as an indisputable legitimate right and excluded those who believed in Israel’s right to exist, proving that nobody could join pro-Gaza solidarity unless they held these extremist and maximalist views.
To add to the series of disastrous mistakes, non-Palestinian “allies” joined this unhelpful discourse, inflaming tensions and empowering extremist voices within the “pro-Palestine” movement. These groups and individuals often adopted contradictory ideologies and political beliefs, including leftists, Islamists, and even white nationalists. They were all strangely united in using Gaza as a vehicle to grow their platforms and posture as allies of the Palestinian people.
Not all pro-Palestine activism is pro-Hamas; the problem is that extremists have gone unchallenged by most pro-Palestine Arab and Muslim organizations and voices. This dereliction of duty by people and institutions is a dangerous abdication of the movement to a radical minority that has hijacked the Palestinian cause. Pragmatism, mutual humanity, and empathy are often considered treasonous or cowardly. Anyone who deviates from the script dictated by this pro “resistance” crowd is immediately attacked and delegitimized as a “Zionist sell-out,” instilling fear in many to keep quiet lest they face the onslaught of threats, attacks, and risks to their safety.
The harassment and threats I have received in the past year are something that most people could not withstand. However, the more I am attacked, the more I am determined to speak out and never back down—because I love my people and believe in the justice and urgency of the Palestinian cause.
It should not be controversial to condemn an Islamist terror organization that has tortured its people, and criticism of Hamas should not be equated to supporting the Israeli war in Gaza or siding with Israeli policies.
Empathy for Israeli victims of terrorism does not take away from the horror taking place in Gaza. Numerous Israelis and diaspora Jews have been steadfast and sincere allies throughout this past year, especially when I lost dozens of my family members in Israeli airstrikes.
There is still time to adjust course and build bridges with diverse communities to achieve a pragmatic outcome that serves the Palestinian people while acknowledging Jewish and Israeli rights and grievances.
It’s time for a new way that breaks the entrenchment of the two sides’ narratives and cuts across the divisive rhetoric that has destroyed this discourse.
Palestinians are tired of being perpetual victims.
Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib is a resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and writes extensively on Gaza’s political and humanitarian affairs.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
