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Gaza Protests: A Turning Point or a Moment of Desperation?
Palestinians protest to demand an end to war, chanting anti-Hamas slogans, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, March 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
The people of Gaza are protesting — and that’s a good thing.
After nearly 18 months of destruction, in which entire neighborhoods have been leveled, infrastructure shattered, and thousands of lives and countless livelihoods lost, Gazans have finally found their voice in opposition to the leadership that brought them to this point. Their protests are directed at Hamas, the rulers who have led them into this disaster.
But we must be clear about what they are not protesting.
Many are not protesting the atrocities committed by Hamas and Gazan civilians on October 7, or the relentless rocket fire aimed at Israeli civilians for over two decades (since Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza in 2005). And there is currently no reason to believe that they are suddenly embracing values of peace, coexistence, and democracy.
On October 7, 2023, as Israel suffered the deadliest terror attack in its history – where men, women, and children were brutally murdered, tortured, and raped. In the streets of Gaza, these acts were celebrated.
But these were not acts of “resistance” — they were displays of unfiltered raw hatred, a hatred nurtured over generations, partly by the UN-funded schools operated by UNRWA.
And just recently, as hostages were released in macabre ceremonies, there were large crowds cheering as their misery was beamed live across the world, as if it was some kind of twisted victory celebration. No widespread protests then. No empathy for the innocent, grossly abused hostages. No disgust for what had been done to them.
The international community, including countries like Australia, has inadvertently contributed to this cycle.
Today, it appears that many Gazans are protesting not out of a moral change of heart, but out of sheer desperation. Perhaps some are realizing the harsh truth: when you initiate a war with the explicit goal of eradicating another nation and you fail, consequences follow.
This is not to say that all Gazans support Hamas or bear equal responsibility for its actions and perhaps. However, history shows that the prevailing sentiment in Gaza has not been one favoring peace.
There is also a glaring irony here. These protests against Hamas are only happening now because Israel has resumed its military campaign against the terror group after its refusal to release more hostages. If much of the world had its way, Israel would be expected to halt its operations, leaving Hamas in power and allowing the hostage crisis to continue indefinitely.
If those who claim to care about Palestinian civilians truly want to help, they should be calling for Hamas’ downfall and pursuing this end in a realistic and serious way. Simply saying Hamas should no longer rule Gaza while opposing all Israeli efforts to topple them is not statecraft but make-believe.
The same can be said of the belief that moving rapidly to establish a Palestinian state after the war is the solution to the Gaza problem, or the road to peace.
This fantastical belief ignores the reality that Gaza effectively was an independent Palestinian state in all but name since 2005 — and look where that lead to.
Hamas devoted all Gaza’s resources — including international aid — to turning every neighborhood into a terror base and to attacking Israel, leading to war after war, and eventually October 7.
And Hamas has endlessly indoctrinated the millions of Gaza citizens with endless hatred, antisemitism, and support for terrorism and “martyrdom”. Thus, the horrific scenes of October 7, when Gaza civilians both celebrated the slaughter of innocent people and partook in the atrocities, is almost certainly more representative of the radicalized Gaza population than the small protests we have seen.
The people of Gaza are protesting — and that’s undoubtedly a good sign, but that’s not a reason to forget the enormous amount that still needs to be done, in terms not only of removing Hamas from power, but demilitarization and deradicalization of the population and the implementation of a stable government before there can be any realistic prospect of peace and coexistence.
Justin Amler is a policy analyst at the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).
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Israeli Foreign Minister Says Not Ruling Out Diplomacy to Stop Iran Nuclear Weapon
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar attends a joint press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani (not pictured), in Rome, Italy, Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Israel is not ruling out a diplomatic path to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday, adding that there were signs that there could be indirect talks between Tehran and the United States.
“We don’t hold discussions with the Iranians, as you know, but they made it clear they are ready to an indirect negotiations with the US, and I will not be surprised if such negotiations will start.”
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, but Israel, the US, and several European countries have argued there is no civilian-use justification for the Iranian regime’s enriching large amounts of uranium to near weapons-grade levels.
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This Book on the Jewish Connection to Israel Is a Must Read
An aerial view of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
Ben M. Freeman’s The Jews: An Indigenous People deserves a spot on every Jewish person’s bookshelf, but especially Jews engaged in fighting the war in defense of Israel on campuses and elsewhere.
As the latest installment in his Jewish Pride trilogy, this book builds upon his previous explorations of Jewish identity and internalized anti-Jewishness, presenting a compelling argument for Jewish indigeneity to the Land of Israel — stressing this concept not only as essential to rebutting charges that Israel is a “settler-colonial” endeavor, but also as essential to Jewish identity and self-understanding.
The book is not only a historical analysis, but a call to action for Jews to reclaim their indigenous status with pride and conviction.
Freeman establishes his central thesis at the start: Jews are an indigenous people of the Land of Israel, and systematically dismantles the misconceptions that frame Jews solely as a religious group or as a people defined by exile and victimhood. Instead, he presents them as a distinct ethnonational group whose cultural, spiritual, and historical roots are deeply embedded in their ancestral homeland.
Importantly, his approach aligns with the framework actually used by global indigenous movements everywhere else, which assert indigeneity based on historical continuity, cultural persistence, and connection to the land, among other factors. Without the double standards that are all too frequently applied to the Jews, the case for Jewish indigeneity is actually quite cut and dry.
In particular, Freeman dedicates significant attention to the United Nations’ criteria for indigeneity, demonstrating how Jews meet these standards nearly perfectly. I say “nearly” because of the seven key criteria, one does fail to apply — namely the criterion that the “indigenous” people must be a minority in that land. But, as he rightly points out, this criterion is absurd: should an indigenous people who manage to reclaim their land suddenly no longer count as indigenous?
One wonders — although the book does not address this — if that criterion was adopted specifically to exclude Jewish indigeneity to the Land of Israel.
Freeman backs up his argument with historical discussions that are both thorough and accessible. He takes the reader on a journey through Jewish history, from the early origins of the Israelites in the land that would become Israel, through the ancient Jewish kingdoms, the destruction of the Second Temple, and the subsequent diasporic experiences. His discussion of the Hasmonean period and the Bar Kokhba revolt highlights the Jews’ continuous struggle to maintain sovereignty over their homeland. This history directly refutes the Anti-Zionists’ claim that Jewish connection to Israel is a modern political construct rather than an intrinsic and ancient reality.
And this isn’t just a history book. Freeman demonstrates how the denial of Jewish indigeneity fuels contemporary Jew-hate. He critiques the ways in which colonial frameworks have been misapplied to Israel and Zionism, showing how anti-Zionist rhetoric relies on distortions of Jewish history. He argues that rejecting Jewish indigeneity is not only intellectually dishonest, but also serves to weaken Jewish identity and agency.
Through this analysis, he makes a compelling case that reclaiming Jewish indigeneity is an act of empowerment and resistance against anti-Jewish erasure. This is one of the book’s most powerful contributions: it does not simply present historical facts, but actively seeks to reshape Jewish consciousness and self-perception.
Freeman’s writing is both scholarly and deeply personal. He weaves personal anecdotes and reflections into the broader historical and political discussion, grounding the text in a lived Jewish experience. Most originally (and refreshingly), he closes the book with a half-dozen personal interviews of people with quite varied Jewish identities, ultimately reinforcing his main theoretical points. The book’s balance of scholarship and emotional resonance means it has something to offer to scholars and laypersons alike. It fills a crucial gap in Jewish discourse, providing Jews with the language and framework to articulate their identity in a world that often seeks to erase or distort it.
At a time when Jewish history and rights are under increasing scrutiny and attack, The Jews: An Indigenous People offers a powerful and necessary response. Every Jew should read it, and every Jewish university student should have it in their toolkit.
Andrew Pessin is a philosophy professor and author, most recently, of Israel Breathes, World Condemns: The Trajectory of Campus Antisemitism to October 7, and the Aftermath. More information about him and his work is available at www.andrewpessin.com.
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How the Red Cross Is Facilitating Palestinian ‘Pay-for-Slay’
Palestinian terrorists and members of the Red Cross gather near vehicles on the day Hamas hands over deceased hostages Oded Lifschitz, Shiri Bibas, and her two children Kfir and Ariel Bibas, seized during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack, to the Red Cross, as part of a ceasefire and hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
The International Committee of the Red Cross continues to facilitate rewards to imprisoned Palestinian terrorists, thus playing a central role in providing an “economic incentive” for terrorism.
Last week, the PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs alerted families of Palestinian terrorist prisoners about the need to obtain Red Cross documentation to prove the terrorists’ eligibility for Pay-for-Slay salaries.
What is shocking is that when the terrorists’ families approach the Red Cross for the document, the Red Cross knows that the sole purpose of this document is to enable the terrorists to receive their terror rewards. And yet the Red Cross cooperates.
The following is the announcement that the Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs posted on its Facebook page:
Posted text: “The period of financial aid for the prisoners [i.e., terrorists] whose names appear below ends in March 2025.
The families of the detainees among them must bring a document from the [Red] Cross or the most recent court session for those who have not been issued a Red Cross document.
As for the administrative detainees, they must bring the administrative extension together with the [Red] Cross document, if it was issued.
This is [to be done] by April 5, 2025 at the latest.
[PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, Facebook page, March 20, 2025]
Over a year ago, Palestinian Media Watch exposed that PLO Prisoners’ Affairs Commission Director Qadura Fares said that the Red Cross document is “the document that we established in our [prisoners’ law] as a main document [to confirm salary eligibility]” [Official PA TV, January 31, 2024].
Since the Red Cross plays such a central role for the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its terrorists, the Red Cross has great leverage. It could certainly condition its assistance to the PA’s terrorist prisoners on having the PA/Hamas permit it to visit the Israeli hostages. This should be a fundamental Red Cross demand and condition to the PA, as well as a basic demand by Israel to the Red Cross.
Itamar Marcus is Palestinian Media Watch (PMW)’s Founder and Director. Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch. A version of this article originally appeared at PMW.
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