Hamas is deliberately misusing Holocaust memory when releasing hostages
On January 25, 2025, Naama Levy, Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag, and Karina Ariev were released by Hamas terrorists after being held for over one year as hostages by their captors. The four soldiers were originally seized by Hamas at the Nahal Oz base near the Israel-Gaza border on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack that killed over 1200 people, while at the same time around 250 people were taken hostage. The four women were brought out, lined up on a stage, and made to participate in a propaganda ceremony instituted by the Hamas terrorist organization. What may have gone unnoticed by some people were the words hanging behind the four brave women who were about to be handed over to the Red Cross. Behind the stage was a giant banner that read, “Palestine – The victory of the oppressed people vs the Nazi Zionism.” The goal of Hamas was simple: to portray the Jewish state as Nazis.
The following week, a similar message was projected. On February 1, 2025, three male hostages were released. One of those hostages was the Israeli – American citizen Keith Siegel. As Hamas brought the hostage out to be released, he stood on a stage with a banner that read, “Nazi Zionism will not win.” Again, Zionism was associated with the Nazis.
It is probably not surprising to most people that Hamas would associate Zionism with Nazi Germany, but one must ask what the deeper meaning is of using Holocaust memory to further the terrorist organization’s overall agenda while releasing the hostages? Clearly antisemitism has proliferated on the left end of the political spectrum since the terrorist attacks of October 7. Social media platforms have had an increase in posts comparing Israel with Nazi Germany, and platforms have made changes to content policies due to the increase in antisemitic rhetoric. For example, TikTok and Facebook announced they would recognize content used as hate speech that used the word “Zionist.” It seems Hamas knows who supports their cause and is signaling to the world that Israel is behaving like Nazi Germany.
According to the French sociologist Maurice Halbwachs, collective memory is the result of a social group shaping and restructuring the past into the present, and he is generally considered to be the founding father of the field of memory studies. Collective memory is how a social group uses past events in the present, and social groups shape memory to be used as a way to make sense of current events. In the case of Hamas, Holocaust memory is being used to shape the political narrative and convince those who support the terrorist organization’s actions that Hamas are victims of Israel. The best way to do this is to use Holocaust memory because everyone is familiar with what happened during the Holocaust. Everyone knows that the Nazis are the bad guys.
Collective memory of the Holocaust has changed from an historically situated event to an event that is frequently used by different groups for a multitude of purposes. The Holocaust was often compared to mask mandates, and vaccine passports by protesters during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Holocaust memory is used by politicians and politically motivated groups in many different countries for political purposes. Recently, the Holocaust has been used by far-left protesters on college campuses and protests to frame Israel as being similar to Nazi Germany. Holocaust memory has become a global memory that is constantly adapted to present events. It can be used during crisis events, used as political rhetoric, or as an educational tool. However, the memory of the Holocaust is being misused more and more as we enter into this global information era.
While it is well known that Hamas has used cruel psychological warfare throughout the time the hostages have been in captivity, it seems Hamas is trying to send a message to the world as they go through these ceremonies when releasing the hostages. The use of Holocaust memory on the banners behind the hostages, associating the Nazi Party with Zionism, and the oppressed victims as being the Palestinians, is a clear misuse of Holocaust memory. Hamas is making an attempt to change the historical record, as of course, it was the Jews who were the victims of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany when the Holocaust took place across the whole of Europe. Hamas is using the memory of the Holocaust to situate themselves as being like the Jews and placing Israel into the role of the Nazis.
Hamas will likely continue to use these tactics in the future to gain support from those who lean to the political left, and those who have accepted this new form of Holocaust memory. For those of us who are aware of the misuse of Holocaust memory, it is important to make our voices heard to combat the trivialization of Holocaust memory. It would be wise for us to be aware of how Hamas is misusing Holocaust memory as more hostages are released and the full extent of what evil and terrible things Hamas has done are revealed.