The Deadly Lie Behind ‘Free Palestine’

A Calculated Act of Hate

Late Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., a gunman murdered two Israeli embassy employees as they exited an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee at the city’s Jewish Museum.

Eyewitnesses and video footage confirm the suspect shouted, "Free Palestine! There’s only one solution - Intifada revolution!" He wore a keffiyeh and appeared to identify with the popular iconography of modern pro-Palestinian radicalism. While it is doubtful the killer knew they were Israeli embassy staffers, he seemingly saw two young Jews leaving a Jewish event at a Jewish venue and that, for him, was enough. We now also know he didn’t just shoot the victims - Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim - he executed them, chasing the mortally wounded woman and shooting her multiple times until he ran out of bullets as she desperately tried to crawl away.

As American leaders scrambled to condemn the attack, and rightfully so, they may have missed the harder truth: this was not just another Antisemitic hate crime. It was the logical outcome of years of violent ideological rot infecting Western discourse under the banner of “Free Palestine.” What we are witnessing is no mere protest movement, it is a societal cancer. And like any cancer, it will spread and grow until it is expunged. And we must do this not just for the sake of Jews or Israelis, or the betterment of the lives of actual Palestinians, but for the very health of Western civilization itself.

Antisemitism’s Explosive Surge

Let’s get the numbers out of the way. Antisemitism is surging - violent Antisemitic incidents are at historic highs:

And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Jews represent less than 2% of the U.S. population, under 1% in the U.K., Canada, and Australia. And yet, Antisemitic attacks account for the majority of religiously motivated hate crimes in all of these countries. I don’t recall Russian, Chinese, Syrian, Sudanese, Yemeni, or other groups being marginalized, harassed and violently attacked because of the supposed human rights abuses of their home country or country of ethnic origin - only Israel, only Jews.

So no, this isn’t just another wave of protest. This is hardly “about Israel.” This is not “highly passionate human rights advocacy.” This is the result of a well-coordinated and patient assault on the pillars of Western civilization with Jews as the easy first target.

The Radicalization of “Free Palestine”

Something new is happening. Unlike past attacks rooted in far-right extremism or tensions and violent assaults in urban Black-Jewish communities, today’s hate comes dressed in progressive jargon, carrying Free Palestine, BLM or Antifa flags, demanding green energy, waving Che Guevara posters, and wearing Harvard sweatshirts. What we’re facing is a toxic fusion of far-left antisemitism, Islamist ideology, and post-colonial messianism - a radicalized coalition high on invented grievance, low on coherence, and ever-ready to play revolutionary cosplay with other people’s lives.

Let’s be clear: there is a critical difference between legitimate advocacy for Palestinian rights and the "Free Palestine" movement. One deserves our attention, engagement, and even respect; the other demands our objection and now its cancellation.

There was a time when advocating for Palestinian rights might have meant something constructive: peace negotiations, humanitarian aid for Gaza, and justified criticism of certain Israeli policies. Such activism, whether or not one agrees with it, was conducted in a civilized manner and part of a constructive and democratic discourse.

Today’s "Free Palestine" movement is none of that. It’s a messianic death cult, driven by a bizarre marriage of woke virtue-signaling, inherited Soviet propaganda, and borrowed Islamist theology. The recent introduction of “woke right” antisemites only adds to the mix, second guessing if Hitler was the real villain of WWII, and why the US should be supporting a supposed ally’s “genocide”.

Defeating the Death Cult

We must confront this honestly. The “Free Palestine” movement must be recognized for what it is. It was never a human rights movement. The calls for ceasefire were always disingenuous. We are not witnessing a protest for peace. We are witnessing a crusade to dehumanize and destroy. A "religion" that seeks a futile salvation through sacrificing Israel and the Jews as scapegoats of western sins. It must be treated as such, not only for the sake of Jews, but for the sake of Palestinians and for the soul of Western society.

Because here is the tragic irony: Palestinians will never be free until this death cult is defeated. Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and their Western enablers have done more to entrench Palestinian suffering than any Israeli policy. They need war. They need blood. They need to keep Palestinians trapped in permanent victimhood, because peace would mean they’re no longer needed.

If you care about peace, about the Palestinians, we must dismantle the “Free Palestine” movement. If you care about Jews, confront antisemitism with clarity, not euphemism. And if you care about Western civilization - pluralism, democracy, reason, dignity - understand this is your fight. Because what happened in Washington wasn’t an isolated tragedy. It was a warning.

And the question now is: will we hear it? Or will we keep pretending this cancer is a cause?

Dan Feferman

Chairman of Sharaka | Co-Founder of MiddleEast24

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