Liberal, Jewish, and Tired of the Moral Evasion

I’m a liberal. I believe in justice, dignity, and equal rights for all people. I support a future in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security. I’m pro-Israel and pro-Palestine — because I don’t believe one people’s liberation requires another’s destruction.

That’s exactly why I’m so deeply disheartened by what I’ve seen in the nearly two years since October 7, 2023. You’d think that after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust… after Hamas terrorists murdered civilians, raped women, burned entire families alive, and kidnapped children… the world would have at least some moral clarity. But far too many people didn’t just look away; they rationalized it. They celebrated it. They rebranded terror as “resistance” and treated Israeli lives as expendable… and today, almost two years later, the same people still refuse to condemn Hamas, still march with signs that call for Israel’s destruction, and still equate Zionism with racism — as if Jewish self-determination is the problem, not antisemitism.

This isn’t principled criticism of Israeli policy. It’s something darker. The anti-Israel rhetoric we see online, on college campuses, and in activist spaces isn’t just critical it’s openly antisemitic and it’s getting worse.

What’s also infuriating is the denial of Jewish history in the region. People talk as if Jews are foreign colonizers in a land we’ve been tied to for over 3,000 years. Israel isn’t just a political project, it is a homeland. That doesn’t erase Palestinian claims or suffering. Both peoples have deep and painful histories there. But erasing one side’s narrative to boost the other isn’t justice — it’s propaganda.

If you’re genuinely progressive, then be progressive for everyone. Stand up for Palestinian lives and condemn Hamas for destroying them too. Stand up for Israeli lives and stop excusing the violence committed against them.

Nearly two years after October 7, we should be having more honest conversations not fewer. Instead we’re watching so-called justice movements become echo chambers for antisemitism. I’m tired of pretending otherwise.

If your version of justice excludes Jews, it isn’t justice. It’s bigotry with a new mask.