The Cowardice of Supporting Hezbollah: Israel’s Fight for Democracy and the World’s Silence

For nearly a year now, Hezbollah’s rockets have pummeled Israel’s northern territories, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Lives have been shattered by a terrorist group whose only purpose is to serve the brutal ambitions of the Iranian regime. Yet, amid all this suffering, the silence is deafening. The media, ever more detached from reality, spares hardly a word for the victims of these attacks. Instead, they continue their well-worn script, casting Israel as the villain and lavishing moral cover on Hezbollah, an organization dedicated to the destruction of democracy itself.

Israel, as it so often does, endures the impossible. Withstanding a merciless barrage from a foe unburdened by any of the constraints of morality, it has drawn on its own resilience to carry on. But this is not just a fight for Israel’s survival. This is a fight for democracy in the Middle East. The bitter irony, of course, is that while Israel fights for the values that underpin the West, those same democratic nations are busy bending over backward to justify Hezbollah’s atrocities.

One might reasonably assume that the sight of a democratic nation defending itself from a terrorist onslaught would stir something—anything—within the West’s defenders of liberty. But where is their outrage at Hezbollah’s attacks? Where is their horror at the civilians forced to flee in terror? Where is their condemnation of the violence? Nowhere to be found. Instead, the media—never missing a chance to distort reality—turns its fire on Israel, the one democracy in the region that shares their supposed values of freedom and human rights.

This isn’t mere negligence; it is complicity. For nearly a year, Hezbollah, under Tehran’s orders, has bombarded Israel with rockets, while Iran openly calls for the Jewish state’s annihilation. And yet, much of the media and political class continue to frame the conflict as if Hezbollah’s actions were somehow justifiable, and Israel’s efforts to defend itself were the real problem. Let’s not mince words: Hezbollah is not misunderstood. It is a terrorist organisation, recognised as such by the UK, the US, and the EU. Its mission is not peace, but the total destruction of Israel.

Yet none of this stops the Western media from painting Israel as the aggressor. This grotesque distortion of reality would almost be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous. While Hezbollah’s rockets rain down on civilians, the media’s attention remains fixated on Israel’s responses, casting its right to self-defence as “disproportionate” or “unjust.” How easily the world forgets the thousands of Israelis displaced from their homes, fleeing the constant barrage of rocket fire. Where is their justice? Where is the world’s compassion for them?

But this is the pattern, isn’t it? The moment Israel exercises its basic right to self-defence, the narrative shifts. The aggressor is transformed into the victim, the terrorist into a “resistance fighter,” and the democratic state is rebranded as an occupier. This perverse inversion of reality is no accident—it is the product of decades of learned antizionism, a modern iteration of the same antisemitism that has haunted the Jewish people for centuries. And it has thoroughly poisoned the very institutions that should, by all rights, be defending Israel—the media, academia, and, increasingly, the political establishment.

Let’s set aside the delusions. Hezbollah is not a “resistance” movement, nor some noble defender of the oppressed. It is an armed proxy of Iran’s theocratic regime, with a blood-soaked history of bombings, kidnappings, and the persecution of minorities. Yet, somehow, many in the West are determined to extend an indulgence to this violent organisation, acting as if it is worthy of sympathy and understanding.

How did we get to this? How did a group responsible for killing not just Israelis, but Americans, Europeans, and Lebanese, become the recipient of Western compassion? The answer, as David Stone lays out in his incisive book Antisemitism in the Arab-Israeli Conflict, lies in the evolution of antisemitism into its modern form: antizionism. Stone traces antisemitism from its medieval roots to the present, showing how what was once overt hatred of Jews has now been rebranded as opposition to Israel. Over time, this hostility has been cloaked in the language of human rights, allowing what is fundamentally the same ancient prejudice to flourish unchecked.

Stone’s thesis sheds light on the bizarre cognitive dissonance we now witness. The intellectual elites who rush to criticise Israel seem curiously reluctant to apply the same standards to Israel’s enemies. Antizionism, particularly in academia and the media, has allowed all manner of absurd conspiracy theories—chief among them the notion that Israel is to blame for the Middle East’s instability—to gain traction in public discourse. What we are seeing is an old lie, repackaged as a “righteous” struggle against Zionism.

Hezbollah’s record speaks for itself. The group seeks not peace, but Israel’s eradication. Its patrons in Tehran openly call for the destruction of the Jewish state, and yet, cloaked in humanitarian concern, much of the West sides with this genocidal organisation. The intellectual dishonesty is breathtaking.

But this is not just intellectual cowardice. It’s worse than that. What we are witnessing is a grotesque moral inversion. The victims of terror are ignored, while sympathy is lavished on the perpetrators. Hezbollah has brutalised Christians, Jews, and fellow Muslims for years. Iran uses Hezbollah as its weapon of choice, exporting terror far beyond Lebanon’s borders. Yet, the narrative persists: Hezbollah’s actions are somehow understandable, a consequence of regional tensions.

This deluded sympathy plays directly into Tehran’s hands. Iran, the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, uses Hezbollah as its proxy to wage war on Israel. And by failing to confront Hezbollah, the West has become complicit in this campaign of terror.

The West’s surrender to antizionism has enabled this grotesque distortion. Overt antisemitism may no longer be fashionable, but demonising Israel is not only acceptable—it is encouraged. In the name of human rights, antisemites now operate freely, co-opting Western institutions into supporting the very forces that threaten regional stability.

But where, I ask, is the concern for Israeli citizens under constant threat from Hezbollah’s rockets? Where is the outrage for the Lebanese people, held hostage by this terrorist group? The silence is deafening.

It is time to reject this false equivalence. Hezbollah is not a misunderstood victim of circumstance. It is a terrorist organisation, showing nothing but contempt for human life. Offering it sympathy is not only an intellectual failure—it is a moral one.

Israel has endured a relentless barrage of rockets, hostile international press, and the quiet complicity of the world’s political class. Yet it stands firm, not just for its own survival, but for the survival of the values the West purports to cherish. Israel’s fight against Hezbollah is not merely a fight against terror—it is a fight for the future of democracy in the Middle East.

The West’s response has been nothing short of shameful. Instead of standing with Israel, many have chosen the side of terror, turning a blind eye to Hezbollah’s atrocities and condemning Israel for defending itself. This is not just intellectual cowardice; it is moral bankruptcy. In the face of evil, the West has chosen appeasement.

We are witnessing a failure of leadership, a failure of principle, and, most damningly, a failure of resolve. Israel’s fight is not just its own—it is a fight for all who believe in democracy and justice. If the West cannot summon the courage to stand with Israel, it won’t just be Israel’s fate at stake, but our own as well.