The Direct Connection Between BLM and Hamas

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We Should not be Surprised When Revolutionaries Support Revolution

The first version of this article was first published at The Standing for Freedom Center out of Liberty University. It has been modified and expanded for American Reformer.

In the wake of the recent attacks by the Palestinian-backed terrorist organization Hamas on Israel, a disturbing trend has unmistakably emerged. Demonstrations in support of Palestine and Hamas have erupted on college campuses, particularly at Ivy League schools like Harvard and state colleges and universities. There have even been major pro-Palestinian (aka pro-Hamas) rallies in major cities like London and Washington, D.C.

This surge of support for a terrorist organization is deeply concerning to many onlookers.

Concerning? Yes. But for anyone who has been tracking the woke movement over the last decade, it shouldn’t be surprising

Why? Because support for Hamas on the “progressive” Left in both America and around the world is a logical outgrowth of their worldview, one that we’ve seen on clear display over the last decade in their support for other violent organizations, like Black Lives Matter (BLM). In fact, there is a clearly traceable, direct correlation between support for the Marxist BLM movement and support for the terrorists in Palestine.

But don’t take my word for it—take theirs. 

The Black Lives Matter Grassroots organization recently posted a lengthy statement on their social media defending the violence undertaken by Hamas as an “act of self-defense.” In their statement, they said:

“As the world is faced with deep questions about self-determination, as we all desire and pray for a world of peace, we must stand unwaveringly on the side of the oppressed. When a people have been subject to decades of apartheid and unimaginable violence, their resistance must not be condemned, but understood as a desperate act of self-defense.”

They go on to add:

“Black Lives Matter Grassroots stands in solidarity with our Palestinian family who are currently resisting 57 years of settler colonialism and apartheid. As Black people continue the fight to end militarism and mass incarcerations in our own communities, let us understand the resistance in Palestine as an attempt to tear down the gates of the world’s biggest open-air prison.

As a radical Black organization grounded in abolitionist ideals, we see clear parallels between Black and Palestinian people.”

This is what many conservatives have been warning about for years now. Black Lives Matter isn’t just some movement for “racial justice” or “racial reconciliation.” No, it’s a borderline domestic terrorist organization, built on lies, that finds common cause with the most violent actors around the globe. They are finally showing their true colors, and it is in the green and white of the Hamas flag.

Furthermore, it’s important to realize that these pro-Hamas demonstrations are not isolated cultural incidents. They are part and parcel of a larger movement that has taken root in our society, one that goes even beyond BLM, a movement characterized by ‘wokeness,’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and support for Marxist ideologies. This movement, which certainly includes groups like BLM, champions causes that are at direct odds with traditional American Christian values and principles.

They want to see the Western world burn. And they will set a match to anything that stands in their path.

Support for BLM and support for Hamas are, in the minds of their misguided adherents, driven by a desire to challenge the “status quo,” tear down all hierarchies, and destroy “whiteness.” Yes, these groups claim they are simply advocating for those they perceive as “oppressed.” However, this advocacy lacks any real understanding of the complex issues at play. In the case of the Israel-Palestine conflict, support for Hamas overlooks the group’s violent terrorist tactics and its recent, bloody invasion.

Writing for The Heritage Foundation, Mike Gonzalez explains that:

“BLM is transnational, just as co-founder Alicia Garza, donning a Palestinian keffiyeh no less, admitted in 2010 (three years before creating BLM) that Third World enemies of the United States had asked activists like her to set up entities that would help take the U.S. boot “off our neck.”

They also believe that ‘decolonization,’ a mantra of the movement, is to be carried out ‘by any means necessary.’

That’s an expression by the 1960s revolutionary Frantz Fanon, the New Left’s favorite Third World author, though it is often associated with Malcolm X because he, too, said it often.

It means that decolonization must be carried out with rape and carnage. Bloodlust is purifying. To fanatics, Hamas’s butchery of civilians is an integral part of revolution.”

From a Christian perspective, this should, of course, be rejected as wicked. The Bible teaches us to “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14). Supporting a group that engages in violence is not in line with these teachings.

It should also serve as a stark reminder that all of wokeness is like poison. It’s an acid. It’s a framework of thought that perverts true justice and manages to justify just about any act of violence if that violence serves its revolutionary ends.

Moreover, the Bible warns against false teachings and ideologies that can lead us astray. The Apostle Paul writes in Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

The “woke” movement, with its emphasis on subjective truth and its rejection of absolute moral standards, is one such deceptive philosophy. Christians are instructed that we can judge a tree by its fruit. Well, the fruit of BLM is support for Hamas, so the clear verdict is that this is a very sick tree indeed. 

But there is something else to consider here—and that is which political ideology is propagating these beliefs in its followers and where are they doing it? 

The answer is simple: The political Left is by far and away the most responsible for these violent fantasies of anti-Western revolution and they are mixing this foul brew all across university and college campuses, almost entirely unchecked and unchallenged. 

This flies in the face of much of the blame game played by the mainstream (or should I say, regime) media and the dominant narrative you might find logging into X. 

Israeli philosopher Yoram Hazony recently wrote a lengthy post defending leading right-wing figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump against the misplaced blame being laid at their feet for the outbreak of antisemitism and Hamas support, and rightly putting the responsibility where it belongs: On the Left.

Hazony explains:

“Musk is not an anti-Semite. Neither is Trump. Neither are most of the other conservatives who have been falsely accused of anti-Semitism by lefty organizations in America and Britain since 2016. 

These claims that major figures on the right are anti-Semites is a transparent dodge aimed a diverting attention from the obvious fact that the explosion of anti-Semitism in America, Britain, and other Western countries is taking place primarily on the progressive left—and that this explosion of anti-Semitism is being driven by the same alliance of ‘anti-racists’ that have been trying since 2016 to brand most conservatives and Christians as ‘racists.’”

Here Hazony puts his finger on the same connection that I’m trying to highlight, the same connection Gonzalez points out, and the same connection that should be apparent to anyone who cares to see it:

Anti-racists and anti-Semites in the Western world are just two sides of the same coin. While the organizations are not necessarily after the same ends, their worldwide supporters are, and they are violent ends indeed. 

In other words, if I see you marching in a BLM rally, I’m going to assume you side with Hamas. On most days, and most college campuses across America, that’s a bet that will pay off.

Hazony continues: 

“It is the anti-Semitic left that is flooding the campuses and the streets and inciting to violence throughout the West. Nothing remotely on this scale has been organized by anti-Semitic elements on the right in decades. 

I say this as someone who follows developments on the right with great care, and who knows much more about what is and isn’t happening on the right than most of the professional ‘experts’ on the subject. 

Anyone who is trying to pin ‘anti-Semitism’ on Musk or Trump or any other major conservative figure right now is playing the role of a ‘useful idiot’ of the anti-Semitic progressive left.  

If you actually want to see anti-Semitism defeated in America, Britain, and other Western countries, let’s see you direct your fire at the actual source of the danger and violence right now—which is two orders of magnitude greater on the Left than it is on the right.”

It’s an old adage, but it’s being proven true once again—those who claim to wear the mantle of “tolerance” are the most intolerant of all. This goes for the progressive Left in general, woke Christians, and every BLM supporter out there who is now finding common cause with terrorists, and do so loudly and proudly, as they are prone to do.

Again, as conservative Christians, we must remember that the recent demonstrations in support of Hamas are just the latest symptoms of the larger problem with the sinful ideology of the woke Left; it’s the latest symptom of the woke mind virus that has captured almost every major institution in our once great, once (and future) Christian nation. 

How can we stop it? As Hazony suggests, we must first train the fire of moral indignation at the right targets, which, in this case, are on the Left.

And for the evangelical Christians who got duped by “Hands Up Don’t Shoot” and bought a bad bill of goods from purveyors of untethered empathy in the form of “racial justice,” it begins with a wholesale and unapologetic rejection of BLM and everything it stands for.

Too many evangelical leaders got this wrong over the last decade. It’s fascinating to see Jewish scholars like Hazony see this more clearly than our own Christian leaders. 

But now, with BLM so publicly linking arms with Hamas, we have to ask: Will they finally get it right?


Image Credit: Unsplash

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William Wolfe

William Wolfe is the Executive Director of the Center for Baptist Leadership. He writes on Christian public ethics, national security, and the relationship between faith and politics. He previously served in the Trump Administration as a Director at the Department of State and then as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. He is a former Cotton Mather Fellow with American Reformer.

7 thoughts on “The Direct Connection Between BLM and Hamas

  1. While trying to write about how birds of a feather flock together, Wolfe demonstrates that he has trouble differentiating species let alone kinds of birds. To take a couple statements from a BLM site and attribute them to everyone in BLM and even to all who are woke does nothing more than promote the kind of thinking that bigotry and prejudice are based on.

    We should also note the context of the statements that Wolfe quoted. Note what Wolfe ignored in making his comments. He ignored the how the Palestinians are suffering from Israeli force and violence. And that is true both in the West Bank where Hamas is absent as well as Gaza where Israel is currently slaughtering thousands of civilians. All one has to do is to read what Wolfe quoted from the BLM site above. Better yet, click the link and read the whole statement for yourself.

    Wolfe is right in saying that Christians should reject and oppose the atrocities committed by Hamas. The BLM statement is partially right in saying that Hamas’s atrocities must be understood as a ‘desperate act of self-defense.’ But the BLM statement is wrong in saying that Hamas’s atrocities must not be condemned. The two thoughts are not contradictory.

    If Wolfe wants to insist that Wokeism supports Hamas, let him read my article on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After all, I am woke.

    https://flamingfundamentalist.blogspot.com/2023/11/another-article-on-israeli-palestinian.html

    1. “The BLM statement is partially right in saying that Hamas’s atrocities must be understood as a ‘desperate act of self-defense.’

      With all respect, the BLM statement is not even partially right. Desperate act of self-defense? What a strained way to put a righteous spin on Hamas’ actions. What took place on October 7 was a carefully planned, premeditated, evil act of murderous terror against the people of Israel, supported by other actors in the region. Period. If what happened on October 7 is Hamas’ idea of urging Israel to the negotiating table then the Palestinians may want to look for another diplomatic corp.

      I’m not naïve about the complexity of this issue, but none of us, BLM included, should be timid about calling evil, evil.

      Peace

      1. Chad,
        Are you aware of the 50+ years of the Occupation where Palestinians in the West Bank are subject to violent attacks, some of which are deadly, that are designed to simply harass or to interfere with Palestinians means of making a living or to take their property away. The Hamas atrocities occurred on Oct 7th. By Oct 19th, 60+ Palestinians were killed by Settlers with either the active or passive support of the IDF. And again, that occurred in the West Bank where Hamas is not present.

        In Gaza supplies of everything, even electricity and clean drinking water are on short supply. Gazans are subject to IDF attacks from the air as the IDF targets homes of suspected terrorists, such attacks are considered to be collective punishment and thus violate international law. During the largely peaceful Gaza protests that lasted for around 9 months from 2018 to 2019, IDF snipers shot over 6,000 Palestinians using rubber bullets for the most part. But of the 189 killed, 183 were killed with live ammunition. That included 35 children, a couple of journalists who wore clear markings on their clothes and a couple of medics who did the same. Poverty and unemployment rates are high and many children are suffering from PTSD because of the continued Israeli airstrikes–and that was before the Oct 7th atrocities.

        We are taught that the Occupation is a defensive act on the part of Israel? But if it is purely defensive, why the continued attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and the continued annexation of Palestinian land which involves evicting Palestinian families from their homes, have those home bulldozed, and then have new houses constructed for Jewish Settlers to move in. Think about 50+ years of that the treatment Palestinians receive from the Occupation without any end in sight. And btw, for the past 50+ years, the Occupation has been carefully planned by the Israeli gov’t.

        I was handing out literature outside of a CUFI conference one year and I got to talk to 2 Jewish Settlers from Israel and a woman who seemed present herself as being from Israel. The Jewish Settlers told me that they consider land where Palestinians live to be the Settlers’ inheritance. The woman told me that Israel should kill every Palestinian man, woman, and child because they are animals. Though not every Israeli agrees with the Settlers and certainly not every Israeli wants the genocide of the Palestinian people, Palestinians have to endure a treatment that is based on the attitude that the land that the Palestinians have been living on for centuries belongs to Israel including theJewish Settlers who come from other nations.

        A friend and fellow activist, who is Jewish btw, wrote the article linked to below. That article captures the Israeli side of the heart of the conflict even though it was written 2 decades ago:

        https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0310/S00067/guest-opinion-redeeming-the-promised-land.htm?from-mobile=bottom-link-01

        1. No disagreement on my part. As I noted in my previous post, I am well aware of the complexities of this issue. Who has a right to the land? Who is the terrorist and who is the terrorized? Who is the murderer and who is the victim? I could go on. The reality is that there are atrocities being committed on both sides. Both sides are fighting for their right to exist as a people, as a state. The Palestinians are fighting for what they believe to be theirs, and the Israelis are fighting to keep what they believe to be theirs.

          Hamas, while presumably having been duly elected by the Palestinian people, is not a legitimate government. The Palestinians are governed” by terrorists. Very sad. The Israeli government is certainly not above reproach, but since they are a US ally they tend to get the soft glove treatment.

          As you know, this struggle is ancient. There is IMO no simple answer. Not that we should give up trying to seek real solutions, but the path there…if there is such a path, will be complex. As for Hamas and what was perpetrated on October 7, I am not optimistic that such an act of terror will yield good results for the very people they claim to be fighting to liberate.

          Peace.

          1. Chad,
            The comment you first objected to included a condemnation of Hamas’s atrocities. Furthermore, Hamas’s goals are at odds with a peaceful and just solution. And while Hamas was legitimately elected, it ran on the platform of supporting democracy which it abruptly showed to be a lie. There hasn’t been an election in Gaza since Hamas took control.

            But we should note that the goals of the Occupation are simply a more palatable version of what Hamas wants. It is more palatable because of the ethnicity, including religion, of the participants involved. And it is more palatable because of the rights and form of gov’t that Israel employs even though Netanyahu is vying for a more authoritarian government.

            It isn’t that both sides are fighting for just the rights of their people only. The problem is that both sides are fighting to deny the rights of the people from the other side. That means that both sides are fighting for more than just rights, they are fighting for privileges for their people. And apparently, the side that portrays itself as a democracy is indignant over anyone from the outside judging its actions. If any individual person in society who displayed the same self-righteous resentfulness, we would assign a pathology to them. But Israel is not the only nation that refuses to let others to judge it. It is a common trait among all of the most powerful nations in the world–including the U.S.

  2. C’mon, it’s 2023 and you are too young to be grasping for the fake left/right boomer narrative. And dragging out BLM now? It’s not going to work.

    Bottom line is Americans are sick of funding and dying for Israel. The fact that Israel first operatives have any say in American political discourse is nuts. Supporting Israel or hamas is a false choice. Americans (outside of influential zios) just want to stay out of this stuff.

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