Amid the national debate over the war in Gaza and the overall conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, those opposing the Jewish state have taken to some bizarre behavior while seemingly advocating for Gaza residents.
It seems that every week, there is another story in which pro-Hamas activists are blocking roads, disrupting people’s shopping, and engaging in other antics intended to annoy, frustrate, and intimidate regular folks.
Earlier this week, a pro-Hamas mob blocked the highway to JFK airport. This was not the first time they have impeded traffic in this area.
The pro-Hamas mob blocked the highway to JFK on one of the busiest travel days of the year because pissing off travelers will no doubt #FreePalestine
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) January 2, 2024
🎥 @ScooterCasterNYpic.twitter.com/d4zC1zEOxq
These individuals have been engaging in this behavior ostensibly to support the Palestinian cause. But the methods they are using raise an important question: Are they actually advocating for change, or is there something else at play here?
For starters, let’s take a look at the nature of these demonstrations. Each of these events follows a similar pattern: roads blocked, travelers stranded, and daily routines upended. The immediate impact is undeniable – it gets people’s attention, news outlets publish reports about it, members of the chattering class chime in en masse. But what happens after the fuss inevitably dies down and people go on to the next scandal of the day?
The answer: Absolutely nothing.
It is not as if people are flocking to the pro-Palestinian movement because of these protests. The anti-Israel lobby is not changing a single mind when they engage in this behavior. In fact, it seems more likely that they are driving people away. By employing these tactics, they are alienating those who might actually be open to their cause, as abhorrent as it is.
Taking this into consideration, then, it is difficult to believe these people are actually serious about helping Palestinian civilians or even the overall cause. These people are doing what progressives always do: Engaging in performative politics to pretend they are genuinely concerned by whichever group they seek to exploit in that moment.
If they truly wished to win people to their side, they would understand that pissing them off isn’t the way to do it. Nevertheless, the pro-Palestinian folks seem content with putting on a show, pretending as if they are genuinely fighting for the Palestinians. It is nothing more than an annoying virtue signal intended to put the spotlight on themselves.
Moreover, if these folks were authentic in their advocacy for the Palestinian people, they certainly would not be defending or propping up Hamas, which has terrorized the populace since taking power in 2007. As I’ve written before, the terrorist group, along with the Palestinian Authority, are the parties who are inflicting dreadful human rights abuses on Arabs living in Gaza and the West Bank.
Even now, they have taken to using Palestinian men, women, and children as human shields, hoping to get them killed so that they have another PR weapon against Israel. Why wouldn’t those claiming to be pro-Palestinian stop traffic while protesting against the terrorist group’s treatment of civilians?
They don’t care, that’s why.
The demonstrations occurring across the country are nothing more than a show. Indeed, their only objective is to perhaps smear Israel while getting attention.
Is it possible that these people erroneously believe they are making a difference? Maybe, for some. But I give them too much credit to think this applies to the majority of them. I don’t believe for a second that most of these individuals are braindead enough to actually believe that preventing people from traveling to work is actually making them want to join the pro-Palestinian movement. As always, progressives are all about the show but not about anything productive.
