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Source: https://forward.com/opinion/588680/hamas-pro-palestinian-activism-left/
Stop Apologizing for Hamas
(Forward) Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib - I grew up in Gaza City and became an American citizen 10 years ago, after having received political asylum in the U.S. due to specific threats by Hamas against a cultural exchange program that I participated in. I have been deeply alarmed by the new trend among pro-Palestinian activists of whitewashing Hamas' terrorism. If contemporary activists truly grappled with the horror Hamas inflicted on Oct. 7, and understood Hamas' history of corruption and exploitation of the Gazan people, they would see that Hamas must be abandoned entirely for pro-Palestinian activism to actually progress. Immediately after the attack, tens of thousands of overtly supportive social media posts, statements, protest signs and commentary expressed approval and enthusiasm for the attack, and praise for Hamas' ability to carry out such an elaborate offensive. Various activists, protesters and academics rationalized or "understood" the attack by attributing it to the injustices Palestinians have experienced. Some believed that the Oct. 7 attack only targeted military sites. Others were convinced that all Israeli civilian casualties were the result of mistaken IDF counter-fire. Nevertheless, overwhelming video and anecdotal evidence unequivocally and definitively prove the unspeakable scale of the atrocities committed against Israeli civilians, many of whom were in fact peace activists.