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Will Hamas Meet the Same Fate that Pharaoh Did?
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
In his 1878 work Human, All Too Human, the provocative existential philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche coined the aphorism: “Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal.”
His words cut deep into one of the significant anomalies of the human condition — our tendency to confuse movement with progress and defiance with purpose. How often do we see people, caught up in the emotions of the moment, throw away their long-term best interests simply because they can’t bear to admit that the path they chose was the wrong one?
Just this week, Hamas once again rejected a ceasefire proposal that could have brought much-needed relief to the people of Gaza. The deal, shaped through ongoing talks in Cairo and backed by the United States, offered a 45-day truce, the phased release of Israeli hostages, and a significant increase in humanitarian aid. It was, by any reasonable standard, a serious offer. Hamas was also asked to agree to a phased disarmament — the most basic requirement for any long-term stability in Gaza and in the region.
But instead of engaging and looking out for the long-term best interests of the people they purport to represent, they walked away. For Hamas, even the faintest whiff of concession is anathema. They would rather watch Gaza burn than admit they’ve lost the war.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Al Jazeera Arabic that while the group was “open to all offers that alleviate the suffering of our people,” the latest Israeli proposal amounted to a “surrender.” He added: “Netanyahu is setting impossible conditions to sabotage the ceasefire agreement.”
This is classic Hamas messaging: an ever-shifting blame game that refuses to acknowledge any agency on their part. Every proposal is rigged. Every mediator is biased. Every path forward is dismissed as a trap. And meanwhile, a whole generation of Palestinians is being traumatized in real time — not just by the war, but by the insistence of their self-appointed guardians that war and suffering are the only way forward.
This isn’t a one-off. It’s a pattern that goes back years. After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 — evacuating every last settlement and removing every last soldier — the strip could have become a model for Palestinian autonomy.
Billions of dollars in aid poured in from around the world. The opportunity was there, and Hamas squandered it. They staged a violent coup against Fatah, turned Gaza into an armed enclave, and immediately got to work importing weapons, building tunnels, and exporting terror. Schools weren’t built. Jobs weren’t created. Infrastructure wasn’t developed.
Instead, the money was funneled into rocket launchers, explosives, and propaganda. Every truckload of cement was a chance to dig deeper — literally — expanding the tunnel network rather than building homes and civilian infrastructure. Every dollar of foreign aid simply became another line item in their war budget.
And now, nearly two decades later, the consequences are there for all to see. Tens of thousands of Gazans are dead — mostly combatants, but many civilians. Entire neighborhoods lie in ruins. The leadership of Hamas is either hiding underground or already dead. And the people of Gaza are trapped in a grinding, endless catastrophe.
What has Hamas achieved? Nothing. No political gains. No liberation. Not even regional sympathy. Arab leaders who once championed the Palestinian cause are losing patience. Egypt is now openly furious. The UAE and Bahrain — key signatories of the Abraham Accords — have little tolerance left for Hamas’s tired rejectionist rhetoric.
And Qatar, Hamas’s main financial patron, is finally being exposed not as a helpful intermediary but as a willing enabler of extremism, prolonging suffering under the pretense of support.
And still, Hamas refuses to budge. They posture. They release provocative videos. They demand total Israeli withdrawal and total immunity — all while holding hostages and offering nothing in return. This isn’t strength. It’s the delusion of strength. It’s the fantasy of resistance masquerading as victory, when in reality it’s a slow, agonizing suicide — not just for Hamas, but for every Palestinian they claim to fight for.
Truthfully, this kind of destructive defiance isn’t new. We’ve seen it before — in the Torah, of all places. Back in the day, Pharaoh was the most powerful man on earth. He ruled the only superpower of the ancient world, commanded the mightiest army, and had the unquestioned loyalty of a devoted empire.
So when Moses showed up — backed by God, no less — demanding he let the Israelite slaves go, Pharaoh had a choice. He could have made the smart move. He could have cut his losses and preserved Egypt’s dominance. But no. Pharaoh, drunk on his own Kool-Aid and unable to stomach the idea of yielding to reality, chose to resist.
It wasn’t just arrogance and pride, though they certainly played a role. It was also about ideological delusion. With each plague — blood, frogs, lice, hail, darkness, death — the evidence mounted that the God of Israel meant business.
But Pharaoh refused to see it. He doubled down. Hardened his heart. Clung to his narrative of dominance and refused to let go, even as his own people suffered and his country imploded. And in the end, it didn’t just cost him his pride.
It cost him his army, his empire, his firstborn, and Egypt’s standing in the world. The mighty civilization that built pyramids and monuments was brought to its knees — not by the Israelites, but by Pharaoh’s own refusal to act with humility and foresight.
Hamas, like Pharaoh, confuses stubbornness for strength. They believe that by refusing to compromise, by staring down the world and clinging to their maximalist demands, they’re showing courage. But they’re not. They’re marching their people into oblivion. Every offer rejected, every opportunity squandered, every tunnel dug — it’s one more step toward the total collapse not just of Hamas, but of whatever fragile future might still be possible for the people of Gaza.
And just like Pharaoh, they’re not doing it alone. They’re being cheered on by a chorus of enablers — activists, influencers, academics, and state sponsors — who assure them that “resistance” is heroic, even when it leads only to ruin.
The tragedy — and the irony — is that Hamas couldn’t have done this alone. Their intransigence isn’t powered by courage; it’s powered by cash, by cameras, and by do-gooders cheering them on. From the lavish villas of Doha to the ivory towers of Western academia, the friends of Hamas keep feeding the fantasy.
Qatar is the worst of all. They’ve poured billions into Gaza under the guise of humanitarian aid, all while knowingly bankrolling a terrorist regime. The supporters of Hamas might think they’re standing up for justice, but in reality, they’re giving Hamas the strength to do what Israel never could: destroy Palestinian hopes for a positive future — permanently.
Frankly, I don’t mind. Because just as Pharaoh’s demise was not only his downfall but the platform for the Israelites’ greatest triumph, so too, Hamas is playing the long game of annihilation — and losing. The only question left is how much devastation their delusion will leave in its wake, and how many will be dragged down with them.
In the end, it’s the tragedy Nietzsche warned us about: Hamas is stubborn in pursuit of the path they’ve chosen — but utterly blind to the goal their people so desperately need.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
The post Will Hamas Meet the Same Fate that Pharaoh Did? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s Sharaa Says Talks With Israel Could Yield Results ‘In Coming Days’
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks at the opening ceremony of the 62nd Damascus International Fair, the first edition held since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, in Damascus, Syria, Aug. 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could lead to results “in the coming days.”
He told reporters in Damascus the security pact was a “necessity” and that it would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.
Syria and Israel are in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.
Reuters reported this week that Washington was pressuring Syria to reach a deal before world leaders gather next week for the UN General Assembly in New York.
But Sharaa, in a briefing with journalists including Reuters ahead of his expected trip to New York to attend the meeting, denied the US was putting any pressure on Syria and said instead that it was playing a mediating role.
He said Israel had carried out more than 1,000 strikes on Syria and conducted more than 400 ground incursions since Dec. 8, when the rebel offensive he led toppled former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Sharaa said Israel’s actions were contradicting the stated American policy of a stable and unified Syria, which he said was “very dangerous.”
He said Damascus was seeking a deal similar to a 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria that created a demilitarized zone between the two countries.
He said Syria sought the withdrawal of Israeli troops but that Israel wanted to remain at strategic locations it seized after Dec. 8, including Mount Hermon. Israeli ministers have publicly said Israel intends to keep control of the sites.
He said if the security pact succeeds, other agreements could be reached. He did not provide details, but said a peace agreement or normalization deal like the US-mediated Abraham Accords, under which several Muslim-majority countries agreed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel, was not currently on the table.
He also said it was too early to discuss the fate of the Golan Heights because it was “a big deal.”
Reuters reported this week that Israel had ruled out handing back the zone, which Donald Trump unilaterally recognized as Israeli during his first term as US president.
“It’s a difficult case – you have negotiations between a Damascene and a Jew,” Sharaa told reporters, smiling.
SECURITY PACT DERAILED IN JULY
Sharaa also said Syria and Israel had been just “four to five days” away from reaching the basis of a security pact in July, but that developments in the southern province of Sweida had derailed those discussions.
Syrian troops were deployed to Sweida in July to quell fighting between Druze armed factions and Bedouin fighters. But the violence worsened, with Syrian forces accused of execution-style killings and Israel striking southern Syria, the defense ministry in Damascus and near the presidential palace.
Sharaa on Wednesday described the strikes near the presidential palace as “not a message, but a declaration of war,” and said Syria had still refrained from responding militarily to preserve the negotiations.
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Anti-Israel Activists Gear Up to ‘Flood’ UN General Assembly
US Capitol Police and NYPD officers clash with anti-Israel demonstrators, on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, DC, July 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Anti-Israel groups are planning a wave of raucous protests in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) over the next several days, prompting concerns that the demonstrations could descend into antisemitic rhetoric and intimidation.
A coalition of anti-Israel activists is organizing the protests in and around UN headquarters to coincide with speeches from Middle Eastern leaders and appearances by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The demonstrations are expected to draw large crowds and feature prominent pro-Palestinian voices, some of whom have been criticized for trafficking in antisemitic tropes, in addition to calling for the destruction of Israe.
Organizers of the demonstrations have promoted the coordinated events on social media as an opportunity to pressure world leaders to hold Israel accountable for its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, with some messaging framed in sharply hostile terms.
On Sunday, for example, activists shouted at Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon.
“Zionism is terrorism. All you guys are terrorists committing ethnic cleansing and genocide in Gaza and Palestine. Shame on you, Zionist animals,” they shouted.
BREAKING: PRO-PALESTINE PROTESTORS CONFRONT “ISRAELI” AMBASSADOR DANNY DANON AT THE UNITED NATIONS
1/5 pic.twitter.com/4G1VYEMGzV
— Within Our Lifetime (@WOLPalestine) September 14, 2025
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), warned on its website that the scale and tone of the planned demonstrations risk crossing the line from political protest into hate speech, arguing that anti-Israel activists are attempting to hijack the UN gathering to spread antisemitism and delegitimize the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Outside the UN last week, masked protesters belonging to the activist group INDECLINE kicked a realistic replica of Netanyahu’s decapitated head as though it were a soccer ball.
US activist group plays soccer with Bibi’s mock decapitated HEAD right outside NYC UN HQ
Peep shot at 00:40
Footage posted by INDECLINE collective just as UN General Assembly about to kick off
‘Following the game, ball was donated to Palestinian Genocide Museum’ pic.twitter.com/TQ84sgZhKr
— RT (@RT_com) September 9, 2025
Within Our Lifetime (WOL), a radical anti-Israel activist group, has vowed to “flood” the UNGA on behalf of the pro-Palestine movement.
WOL, one of the most prolific anti-Israel activist groups, came under immense fire after it organized a protest against an exhibition to honor the victims of the Oct. 7 massacre at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. During the event, the group chanted “resistance is justified when people are occupied!” and “Israel, go to hell!”
“We will be there to confront them with the truth: Their silence and inaction enable genocide. The world cannot continue as if Gaza does not exist,” WOL said of its planned demonstrations in New York. “This is the time to make our voices impossible to ignore. Come to New York by any means necessary, to stand, to march, to demand the UN act and end the siege.”
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), two other anti-Israel organizations that have helped organize widespread demonstrations against the Jewish state during the war in Gaza, also announced they are planning a march from Times Square to the UN headquarters on Friday.
“The time is now for each and every UN member state to uphold their duty under international law: sanction Israel and end the genocide,” the groups said in a statement.
JVP, an organization that purports to fight for “Palestinian liberation,” has positioned itself as a staunch adversary of the Jewish state. The group argued in a 2021 booklet that Jews should not write Hebrew liturgy because hearing the language would be “deeply traumatizing” to Palestinians. JVP has repeatedly defended the Oct. 7 massacre of roughly 1,200 people in southern Israel by Hamas as a justified “resistance.” Chapters of the organization have urged other self-described “progressives” to throw their support behind Hamas and other terrorist groups against Israel
Similarly, PYM, another radical anti-Israel group, has repeatedly defended terrorism and violence against the Jewish state. PYM has organized many anti-Israel protests in the two years following the Oct. 7 attacks in the Jewish state. Recently, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) called for a federal investigation into the organization after Aisha Nizar, one of the group’s leaders, urged supporters to sabotage the US supply chain for the F-35 fighter jet, one of the most advanced US military assets and a critical component of Israel’s defense.
The UN General Assembly has historically been a flashpoint for heated debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Previous gatherings have seen dueling demonstrations outside the Manhattan venue, with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups both seeking to influence the international spotlight.
While warning about the demonstrations, CAM noted it recently launched a new mobile app, Report It, that allows users worldwide to quickly and securely report antisemitic incidents in real time.
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Nina Davidson Presses Universities to Back Words With Action as Jewish Students Return to Campus Amid Antisemitism Crisis
Nina Davidson on The Algemeiner’s ‘J100’ podcast. Photo: Screenshot
Philanthropist Nina Davidson, who served on the board of Barnard College, has called on universities to pair tough rhetoric on combatting antisemitism with enforcement as Jewish students returned to campuses for the new academic year.
“Years ago, The Algemeiner had published a list ranking the most antisemitic colleges in the country. And number one was Columbia,” Davidson recalled on a recent episode of The Algemeiner‘s “J100” podcast. “As a board member and as someone who was representing the institution, it really upset me … At the board meeting, I brought it up and I said, ‘What are we going to do about this?’”
Host David Cohen, chief executive officer of The Algemeiner, explained he had revisited Davidson’s remarks while she was being honored for her work at The Algemeiner‘s 8th annual J100 gala, held in October 2021, noting their continued relevance.
“It could have been the same speech in 2025,” he said, underscoring how longstanding concerns about campus antisemitism, while having intensified in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, are not new.
Davidson argued that universities already possess the tools to protect students – codes of conduct, time-place-manner rules, and consequences for threats or targeted harassment – but too often fail to apply them evenly. “Statements are not enough,” she said, arguing that institutions need to enforce their rules and set a precedent that there will be consequences for individuals who refuse to follow them.
She also said that stakeholders – alumni, parents, and donors – are reassessing their relationships with schools that, in their view, have not safeguarded Jewish students. While supportive of open debate, Davidson distinguished between protest and intimidation, calling for leadership that protects expression while ensuring campus safety.
The episode surveyed specific pressure points that administrators will face this fall: repeat anti-Israel encampments, disruptions of Jewish programming, and the challenge of distinguishing political speech from conduct that violates university rules. “Unless schools draw those lines now,” Davidson warned, “they’ll be scrambling once the next crisis hits.”
Cohen closed by framing the discussion as a test of institutional credibility, asking whether universities will “turn policy into protection” in real time. Davidson agreed, pointing to students who “need to know the rules aren’t just on paper.”
The full conversation is available on The Algemeiner’s “J100” podcast.