Protest movements against Israel's operations in Gaza have sparked a reexamination of the limits of freedom of expression in the United States. Efforts by pro-Israel groups to equate criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism have become organized and systematic. The campaign, conducted through advertisements in media outlets and lobbying activities in Congress, aimed to convey the message that crowds taking to the streets to defend Palestinian civilians were contributing to the rise of anti-Semitism. However, censorship applied by some of the world's leading universities to groups supporting Palestine, the fear of being labeled as anti-Semitic, and threats to withdraw support from influential donors demonstrated how the boundaries of academic freedom could be defined. The experience of a prominent figure losing their job or being marginalized due to their pro-Palestinian stance also illustrates how organized political forces can effectively use the trauma of anti-Semitism as a weapon.
Israel has been bombing the Gaza Strip for almost two months, killing more than 15,000 Palestinians, most of whom are innocent children and women. In spite of calls and criticism from international organizations, hundreds of millions of people around the world and more than a hundred governments, Israel keeps committing atrocities.
For the past ten days, President Biden has appeared indifferent to the gravity of the humanitarian crisis and outrage resulting from Israel's ongoing attacks. Israel's actions in Gaza, which leave civilians with no option but death, are considered war crimes. Biden's apparent indifference to this reality doesn't contribute to a solution but rather exacerbates the problem. While claiming to support Israel and acknowledge the importance of Gaza's civilians, attributing the responsibility for the hospital attack to the "other side" is a failure in Biden's policy.
In the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the ongoing Israeli retaliation, is there anything different in the U.S. government’s response this time around?
Since the very first moments of the latest Hamas attacks against Israel and the Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip, the global Western powers have declared their unconditional support for the Israeli security forces in the form of military, political, diplomatic and economic support. After the latest wave of the escalation of violence and tension in the Palestinian lands, the Israeli side and its Western allies started to blame and demonize Hamas and other Palestinian actors as the only responsible actors in the cycle of violence. As usual, no big Western power, namely the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, has tried to hold Israel responsible for the violence committed against innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip (or in the West Bank).