Killings of Israeli Jews

*Why are some of the left celebrating the killings of Israeli Jews?*

When people bitterly condemn an injustice, for valid reasons, and are stymied in trying to do anything to reduce it, that condemnation can fester and develop into irrational hatred of the "side" that carries out the injustice. In this way, condemnation of the many unjust Israeli occupation policies that add up to oppression of Palestinians (one form in the West Bank, another form in Gaza) can develop into hatred of Israelis, even hatred of Jews in general.

I think that is what has happened. How sad it will be if those who oppose injustice to Palestinians turn into irrational haters instead of champions of justice. They will be unable to persuade people of the validity of their cause if their cause is antisemitic hatred. They could gain their goal only by deploying the bigger force and the more powerful cruelty.

As Naomi Klein writes, by adopting antisemitism they will give violent Zionists a justification to point to for their violence.

But worst of all, by letting their sense of justice morph into hatred and celebration of death, they will move from the side of good to the side of another kind of evil.

Just as we should not let condemnation of the occupation's injustice against the Palestinians lead us to excuse murderous antisemitism, we should also not let condemnation of HAMAS for its murderous antisemitism blind us to injustices of the occupation of Palestine.