Adam Bowler, Trump's special envoy for hostage issues I said it publicly Two things that are not allowed on Sunday mornings.
Speaking about the direct negotiations between CNN's Jake Tapper and the US and Hamas, Boehler explained: They are actually like us. They are pretty good people. ”
He then went further: “We are the United States. We are not Israeli agents. We have a certain interest.” Until late afternoon, the bowler published. explanation“We post on social media that Hamas is a terrorist organization that has killed thousands of innocent people. They are, by definition, bad people.”
It wasn't enough. Recent Reports He suggests he was sidelined from negotiations.
For 17 months, Americans and Israeli policymakers have described the war in Gaza and the protest against it in a language rooted in twin fiction. The first fiction is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not complicated. Hamas members, as Tapper said, are “an anti-Semite killers by definition,” but Israel is a democracy that fights for its survival.
The second fiction is that pro-Palestinian protests are anti-Semitic.Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. “Differences can occur, but these explanations tend to snap back. Anti-war rally The Jewish Voice for Peaceis considered “frightening support.” Currently, students related to the Palestinian parent protests appear to be rounded up. President Trump said Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia graduate student, was a green card holder and had not committed any identifiable crimes.The first of many people. ”
This type of messaging supports a unique, bipartisan US policy in its language and behavior. Other countries do not receive as much US support or unconditional support as Israel. As this support increases, so does the efforts to police speeches that would undermine it.
Just as Doge tried to dismantle much of the federal government in the first 40 days of the new Trump administration, the US commit Israel's aid amounted to nearly $12 billion. That's about $300 million a day. Many of them are permitted in emergency powers to avoid the need for Congressional approval. Meanwhile, former defenders of freedom of speech, At the academia and In public officeblurs what should be a very sharp line between criticism of Israel's policy and criticism of Jews.
This message also aims to undermine critical thinking that has long been lacking in this topic.
Hamas was a dangerous, authoritarian organisation and committed serious terrorist acts. These actions should be condemned and the group should have no place in Palestinian governance.
However, Hamas is anti-Semitic and does not fight Israel. As The group founder put it down Shortly before the assassination in 2004, he said, “We hate Jews and we will not fight them because they are Jews. …But if my brother, who has the same religion and parents as me, takes me out of my land, I will fight him. So when the Jews take me out of my house, I will fight him too. …We just want them to give us our rights.”
This is not Hamas' defense. That's an explanation of why Hamas fights.
There are also unpleasant truths about Israel. The country is considered a democracy in the West, but its democracy is strictly limited. Israeli Arab citizens can vote, but they don't have it All the same rights As a Jew. In the West Bank and Gaza, Israel is dictatorial. Jewish settlers vote and live under civil law. Palestinians cannot live by voting under military law. The conviction rate is 95%. Freedom of movement in Palestine is under control, and Palestinian homes are routinely demolished.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, b'tselem (Israel's leading human rights organization) and others describe this as “apartheid.” Unfortunately, they are right.
A week before Bowler's CNN interview, Israel once again All humanitarian assistance to Gaza has been suspended. Interview itself is Israel's Day Turn off the lights in Gaza. This was triggered by at least tens of thousands of people killed, more than 100,000 people were injured, millions were evacuated, and the destruction of Gaza infrastructure.
It all reminds me of another interview. If he were Palestinian, look back at what he did, Barak I made a comment“I was [once] If I were born Palestinian, I would probably have joined one of the terrorist organizations. ”
Barak had no horns growing from his head, but he understood not only what came from it, but the types of tragedy that led to terrorism. To prevent both types, speeches on difficult topics need to be encouraged and protected, not threatened or policed.
Seth Canty is an associate professor of politics and is director of the Middle East and South Asian Studies Program at Washington and Lee University.
