JEWISH WORLD

JEWISH WORLD • APRIL 12-18, 2024 21 Wake Up! continued from page 5 to the accidental killing of seven aid workers in Gaza, Biden’s threats and demands seemed to make it clear that he was prepared to do as leftist allies bid him. That means that if Israel contin- ues its necessary campaign to erad- icate Hamas and seeks to finish off the last terrorist strongholds in Ra- fah in the southernmost part of the Strip, as well as failing tomake even more dangerous concessions in the hostage ransom talks which Hamas has been emboldened to stonewall, Biden appears ready to punish it with a cutoff of military aid. On the other hand, if Netanyahu—buf- feted by criticism from home and abroad, and worried about whether his nation can stand alone—bows to these demands, then he will es- sentially be conceding defeat in the war begun by Hamas on Oct. 7 with the largest mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. And that is a decision that would guarantee even more horrors in the future from Is- rael’s array of regional enemies. It’s hard to imagine any Israeli government, no matter who led it, being willing to let Hamas win in this manner. Israelis elected Net- anyahu in November 2022 but are deeply divided about his continued hold on power. Nevertheless, they overwhelmingly support the war on Hamas and want their govern- ment to finish off the terrorists in Gaza, and then neutralize the threat from Hezbollah in Lebanon to the north by one means or another. But should the United States join the growing movement to isolate the Jewish state, it would be foolish to think that the consequences would be anything but dire. T his would seem to be the cue for the pro-Israel community to find its voice again. Yet outside of the usual staunch voices like that of the Zionist Organization of America, Jewish leadership is largely silent. Mainstream entities can be counted on to denounce antisemitism, as is their job; however, their leaders and likely many of their main politically liberal donors are too invested in support for Biden’s re-election campaign to be willing to speak out against the administration’s pivot away from its initial post-Oct. 7 po- sitions. Many Jewish liberals—always inclined to be critical, if not outright hostile to both Israel and Netanya- hu—have gone silent in the face of the deluge of biased coverage of the war from the corporate media. They either believe the claims that falsely depict Israel’s war efforts as “genocide,” accepting bogus Hamas claims about civilian ca- sualties and the plight of those in Gaza, or they are too fearful of go- ing against the political fashion of the day to challenge these lies. Or they are afraid to face increasingly violent groups of demonstrators. Still others, like the leftist Forward newspaper, have joined those demand- ing that thewar stop, even if that means that Hamas wins and the 100-plus Is- raeli hostages who are still in their hands continue to undergo torment. Under the circumstances, a re- peat of the mass turnout for another Washington rally seems unlikely, if not impossible. By the time of the Nov. 14 rally—already six weeks after the slaughter in southern Isra- el—much of the media had already flipped the narrative about the con- flict from one about the Oct. 7 po- groms and the orgy of murder, rape, torture, kidnapping and wanton de- struction that began the war to one about a “disproportionate” Israeli response. But things are worse to- day, with outlets like The New York Times , The Washington Post and MSNBC already mainstreaming Jews successfully countered pro-Palestinian activists outside the Bnai Yeshurun Synagogue in Teaneck, New Jersey, who sought to sabotage a program about ZAKA. Have the organizers of the massive ‘March for Israel’ considered what it means for U.S. Zionists to concede the streets and campuses to the haters? Evidently not. continued on page 25 Our team of professionals manage your tech so you can focus on what matters most. We handle everything from network security to software updates, freeing you to grow your business. Support, expert solutions, a ordable pricing. No client too large or small. Get a free on-site assessment and quote today! (212) 589-8189 WWW.PARKSLOPEIT.COM INFO PARKSLOPEIT.COM SERVING THE ENTIRE NY METRO AREA