Gaza peace activist says campus demonstrators are “out in their tents because of a hatred of Jews and Israelis.”
By World Israel News Staff
A peace activist originally from the Gaza Strip, who was tortured and imprisoned by Hamas due to his criticism of the terror group, is speaking out against chaotic anti-Israel protests taking place on numerous college campuses throughout the U.S.
Hamza Howidy blasted the demonstrations, which have seen the rampant use of violent rhetoric towards Jewish and Israeli students, in an Op-Ed published in Newsweek.
“I cannot be silent about what I am seeing,” Howidy wrote. “The truth is that the manner in which many gather to voice their support for Palestinians does more to hurt our cause than help it.”
Chants promoting the intifada or calling for a free Palestine “from the river to the sea,” he said, reveal the true motivation behind the protests: antisemitism, not a desire to help the Palestinian people.
“The only conclusion that can be drawn from these demonstrators’ silence concerning Hamas’ atrocities and their antisemitic chanting is that they are not concerned with protecting Palestinians,” Howidy wrote. “They are out in their tents because of a hatred of Jews and Israelis.”
The activist noted that while the demonstrators are passionate about expressing their disapproval of Israeli military action in Gaza, they are not criticizing Hamas for its serious oppression of sexual minorities and women.
“I saw the LGBTQ flag frequently flown among people chanting lines from Hamas’s charter, and I initially wanted to… warn them that the group they are honoring would most likely toss them from the top of a building or murder them,” Howidy wrote.
“Hamas harasses women who don’t cover their heads. Hamas tortures those who demonstrate against their authoritarian rule, as they did me when I protested,” he added.
Howidy urged the protesters to partner with Israelis and Jews to work towards a lasting, just peace.
“I do not accept hateful speech or terrorist chants, and all of these foolish dreams about eradicating Israel are disgusting, and will never be achieved,” he said.
“Both of us — Palestinians and Israelis — are here to stay.