After the Hamas attack that killed more than 1,300 Israelis on Oct. 7, many Americans were indignant to see academic and left-wing organizations issuing statements that excused or implicitly endorsed the massacre.
Such sentiments are not surprising, however, to anyone who follows the way Israel and Palestine have long been discussed in those quarters.
An idea widely accepted in a small ideological community has now been exposed to the view of the general public, revealing the deep estrangement between them.
The idea in this case is “settler colonialism,” a term that appears often in the pro-Hamas statements collected by the Anti-Defamation League.
Mondoweiss, an anti-Israel online publication, has called the Hamas attack “part of the Palestinians’ century-long struggle for liberation” from “Zionist/Israeli settler colonialism.”
Persons:
Mondoweiss, ”
Organizations:
Defamation, Democratic Socialists of America, “ Zionist
Locations:
Israel, Palestine