This article first appeared in New English Review.
UC Irvine, October 7, 2024
As predicted, the one-year- anniversary of October 7th was met with pro-Palestian mobs commemorating the wrong victims (their own) if not outright celebrating the monstrous attacks carried out last October 7 by Hamas. These attacks involved murder, rape, torture, beheadings, infanticide, and kidnapping. Over 1,200 innocent civilians were murdered, and over 250 taken hostage into Gaza. It was horrific, and you would have thought that those in the West who support the Palestinian cause would have hung their heads in shame.
Not so.
This year, while Jews and the civilized world commemorated those slaughtered on October 7, 2023, the pro-Palestinian mobs used the date to double down and rub our noses in it. Instead of saying one word about the Jews who were murdered and taken hostage, these people chose to mourn their own dead as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas/Hezbollah. As for the Israeli victims of October 7, it was all "justifiable resistance against the oppressor".
Turin, Italy
And so, on October 7th, 2024, and in the days leading up to that date, the mobs turned out on the streets of US, Canadian, and European cities to wave their Palestinian flags and cover their faces with keffiyehs. On October 5 in Rome, there was a full-scale riot in which 30 police officers were injured.
And naturally, on American campuses, the fans of Hamas turned out in force to mark the date. While Jewish students and their supporters held quiet vigils in honor of the dead and those being held hostage, the other side turned out as well with varying degrees of loudness, if not vandalism and violence. The campus where I used to teach and attend countless events dedicated to the conflict from one side or the other, UC Irvine, was no exception though there were no disorders as far as I know. A few dozen students held a rally and chanted the same, tired old chants before marching around the campus with their bullhorns. Aside from Palestinian flags, there were also Lebanese and Yemeni flags. (At least there were no Iranian flags.) I was present and took pictures and videos. Some of the chants referred to "revolution" and "intifada". Once the crowd began their march around campus, I left. I couldn't stomach any more. I would also note that the National Lawyers Guild "legal observers" were also present as distinguished by their lime green baseball caps. Founded in the 1930s as a legal arm of the Communist Party USA, they are now standard fare for every pro-Palestinian protest or counter-protest, ever ready to document any transgression committed by police or pro-Israel supporters. I have encountered them many times just at UC Irvine alone.
You can bet that next October 7 and every year in the foreseeable future, while Jews and other civilized folks commemorate the victims of that awful day with orderly and respectful events, the pro-Palestinian side will mark the date to celebrate the "uprising" and pay tribute to their own dead, be they civilians or Hamas/Hezbollah terrorists. As always, we will note the difference in the tone of these events. The pro-Israel side will be orderly and wave both US and Israeli flags while the pro-Palestinian protests, if not violent, will be loud, threatening, and intimidating. No US flags will be featured, only Palestinian and the occasional flag from some other Middle East nation.
For Israelis, Jews, and those of us who support them, October 7 will live as a date in infamy, to be commemorated somberly, as we do December 7 and September 11. For the other side, it represents a victory, just as Al Qaida remembers September 11. They would do well to keep in mind that Al Qaida's victory was short-lived because the US responded appropriately, just as we did after Pearl Harbor. That is what Israel is doing today. Unfortunately, we will likely have to witness certain people waving their obnoxious Palestinian flags every October 7, but most of us will be joining with our fellow Jewish citizens to mourn the victims of October 7.
