There’s an astounding level of double standards and intellectual dishonesty in the way people talk about Israel and Palestine. And let’s not pretend it’s a coincidence. Much of it mirrors the language of 3,000 years of antisemitism, now dressed up as activism, and it aligns neatly with today’s broader “anti-West” obsession.
Let’s be honest: the so-called “pro-Palestine” marches regularly feature open support for terrorism, chants celebrating the murder of Jews and Israelis, graphic antisemitism - swastikas, people dressed as Holocaust victims, banners calling for Israel’s eradication - and a complete absence of any empathy for the hostages still held by Hamas.
This isn’t fringe - it’s been a repeated feature at every major march, and it coincides with the worst surge in antisemitism since the 1930s. I am so, so, so tired of people denying this.
It insults the intelligence of everyone when you call these “peaceful marches.” If that were true, we’d hear calls for Hamas to surrender, or for hostages to be released. But those voices are either attacked, drowned out, or in some countries, even arrested. The silence is deafening - and telling.
Now contrast that with pro-Israel demonstrations: they actually are peaceful. You don’t see chants for death, terror glorification, racist iconography, or mobs gathered outside mosques to intimidate Muslims. Even if some attendees oppose a Palestinian state, they’re not chanting it in the streets or turning it into a campaign of public harassment. That’s the difference.
And the fact that so many people refuse to see this speaks volumes.
Beyond the marches, there is again so much objective dishonesty here that I am really amazed people try and get away with it.
I have no doubt many Israelis are not good people - same as everywhere else. I am sure some politicians are supremacists or complete bastards - same as everywhere else. I imagine many Israelis don't want a Palestinian state. I imagine many Israelis are racist or bigoted - the same as anywhere else. I also imagine a lot of Israelis are very fucking pissed off with people murdering them, and have probably lost interest in trying to make peace.
But the comparison between Palestinian hatred of Jews and Israeli sentiment toward Palestinians is utterly absurd. It’s not two sides of the same coin - it’s a false equivalence pushed by people desperate to flatten the moral landscape.
In Israel, there was entire networks of Jewish Israelis who risk their lives to help Palestinians:
– Lawyers offering free legal aid to Palestinians in court
– Volunteers who drive sick Palestinians to Israeli hospitals for treatment
– Hospitals that treat Palestinian children, including relatives of terrorists or terrorists themselves!
– Businesses that employ Palestinians, even during times of heightened tension
Now show me the equivalent in the Palestinian territories?
You can’t - because it doesn’t exist. Jews cannot even enter Palestinian cities without risking lynching. There are no networks of Palestinians helping Jews. There are no Palestinians who helped Israelis on October 7. Not a single one has helped the hostages.
Instead, what you get is:
– Schoolbooks glorifying terrorists and teaching that Jews are subhuman
– Public squares and summer camps named after murderers
– Songs and TV shows praising stabbing attacks
– A society where the more Jews you kill, the more you're celebrated as a hero
There are no laws in Israel that say you get paid money if you blow up a Palestinian school bus - in fact you would go to prison and be universally condemned if you did that.
For all the criticism of the IDF, do you see them dragging a body back and having Israelis celebrate in the street and spit on the corpses?
Do you see them murdering people and televising it as a parade where children cheer?
NO!
Not even the worst, most hateful, most racist, vile Israeli you can think of would actually ever condone those acts. So that’s not a “both sides” situation That’s one society maintaining a basic level of humanity, and another that has institutionalised hatred and murder as a virtue.
Now I add here that I am certain all children in Gaza are completely innocent, they are victims more than anybody. And certainly there will be large numbers of the Gazan population who don't participate in any of this and who don't want to murder anyone - but what we are talking about here is a culture of hate versus a culture of peace.
Israel has extremists on the fringes - the other has extremists running the curriculum, the airwaves, and the government. And the refusal to acknowledge this difference is either ignorance - or wilful complicity. More than anything because those who refuse to acknowledge this are really cursing the innocent children to 80 more years of this.