Combat Antisemitism Movement CEO discusses attacks against Israel
Combat Antisemitism Movement CEO Sacha Roytman Dratwa discussed the growing antisemitism that could emerge from the Israel-Gaza war with Fox News Digital.
It seems incomprehensible that in the face of terrorists burning the elderly alive, raping women next to the bodies of their murdered friends, and decapitating innocent babies, an alarming number of so-called Progressive Democrats are siding with terrorists.
The antisemitism and flat-out hatred of Jews in this country should terrify those who understand where this is inevitably headed.
After the terrorist group Hamas attacked innocent Israelis by land, air and sea, Progressive Democrats and Palestinians who came to the U.S. for a better and freer life, took to the streets in celebration. While most outlets portrayed them as "pro-Palestinian" rallies, it’s more accurate to call them "Pro-Hamas" rallies. I should know: I attended one near Seattle.
Demonstrators attend an "emergency rally for Gaza" outside the Israeli Consulate in New York City on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)
Radicals chanted, "Long live the intifada," "We don’t want a two-state, we want 1948," and "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." It’s easy to understand their meaning: they don’t believe Israel should exist.
I'M A PROUD DEMOCRAT. MY PARTY HAS AN ANTISEMITISM PROBLEM
By comparison, a terrorist-sympathizing rally in New York was almost too outrageous to believe.
After learning that terrorists used hang gliders to storm a musical festival near the border with Gaza, Eugene Puryear from the Party for Socialism and Liberation mocked the innocent Israelis who were systematically slaughtered.
"And as you might have seen, there was some sort of rave or desert party where they were having a great time, until the resistance came in electrified hang gliders and took at least several dozen hipsters," he said to an impressed crowd, reveling in the Israeli blood that was spilled.
According to a new YouGov poll, only 32% of adults 18-29 believe Hamas is deliberately targeting Israeli civilians. How could this be? Do the rest believe the soulless terrorists mistakenly came upon a kibbutz and, out of boredom, started slaughtering innocent Jews? Did they accidentally kidnap a Holocaust survivor or murder parents in front of their children, or children in front of their parents?
Perhaps they’re learning this from radical academics indoctrinating them to view Israel as the oppressor and Hamas as the oppressed. Thirty Harvard student organizations signed onto a statement claiming Israel was "entirely responsible for all unfolding violence." The statement shocked the conscience, though not enough for Harvard’s president, who stumbled through two statements to address the blatant antisemitism, without criticizing the students directly.
At the University of Washington, a student club called Students United for Palestinian Equality and Return celebrated Hamas terrorism, referring to them as "Palestinian resistance fighters" and "martyrs." Though this is a school where students claim speech they disagree with is "violence," the school’s president, Ana Mari Cauce, offered no criticism.
MORE THAN 40 DEMS TURN ON ‘SQUAD’ MEMBER FOR ISRAEL CRITICISM: ‘DANGEROUS AND ANTISEMITIC’
In fact, she may agree with the sentiment. In a statement released only after we learned that UW alum Hayim Katsman was one of the Americans murdered in Israel, Cauce couldn’t gin up enough courage to call Hamas "terrorists." Instead, she called them "Hamas gunmen," before decrying the loss of life in Gaza, and recognizing "Palestine" as an official state.
It would be a mistake to dismiss these pro-Hamas activists as just a few bad apples within a larger political movement. They represent a growing share of the Progressive base, which explains why so few Democrat politicians are willing to call them out. Elected officials representing that base don’t hide their antisemitism.
Squad member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., refused to condemn Hamas decapitating babies. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., won’t stop condemning Israel for defending itself. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., won’t call what happened a terrorist attack, instead calling it "an ongoing issue in the Middle East."
While a handful of Democrat lawmakers have spoken out, most Jewish, the caucus has been overwhelmingly silent.
As an American Jew, the trend from the Left that views Israel as a terrorist state is almost too hard to fathom. But the Democrat party is fomenting these hate-mongers, doing next to nothing to criticize their own members who openly seek Israel’s destruction.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION
Quite the opposite, they amplify these people, even standing up for them when they’re removed from a committee for their Jew hatred.
American Jews better face the reality that we’re increasingly seen as enemies. It should be a wake-up call to Jewish Democrats, in particular. Is this the party you feel comfortable in?
Those who celebrated the Hamas attacks by rallying nationwide are our neighbors, retail clerks, teachers, lawyers, doctors and bosses. And they weren’t Republicans. How do we process this? I’m legitimately unsure. The idea that my literal neighbor might be cheering on "resistance fighters" who tried to commit genocide is a bit too much for me to handle right now.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
More importantly, how do we not see them as a direct threat? God willing, Israel is about to eradicate every Hamas terrorist from the face of this Earth. I imagine that will only engender more hate from our enemies in this country. And history proves that when our neighbors turn on Jews, not seeing us as human to the point where they celebrate our slaughter, it doesn’t work out in the end.
After the Holocaust, we warned people to "never forget." But over the last few days, it’s impossible to forget the fact that so many Americans seem to think Jews brought this slaughter on themselves.
Best of Opinion
Get the recap of top opinion commentary and original content throughout the week.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.