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Defeating an Ideology Takes Time

(JNS) Irwin J. Mansdorf, Ph.D - As Israel continues its just war against Hamas, a psychological war is being fought by those who contend that destroying Hamas is a pipe dream. They hold that since Hamas is an idea, an ideology, it cannot be destroyed. This is patently incorrect. The ideology of Nazism was defeated. So was the ideology of imperial Japan. Communism in Europe was defeated. So was fascism in Spain and Italy. Segregation was a way of life in the southern U.S. for a century, as was apartheid in South Africa, but both were eventually relegated to history. ISIS and al-Qaeda, which once controlled vast territories, are nowhere near the threat they once were. The Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is an offshoot, once controlled Egypt but was ultimately toppled. Why should Hamas be any different? History proves evil ideologies can be defeated, but sometimes history demands time. The writer is a fellow at the Jerusalem Center of Public Affairs specializing in political psychology and a member of the emergency division of IDF Homefront Command.
2024-02-16 00:00:00
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