What the hell is going on?

The U.S. taps Qatar to tap Hamas to build a humanitarian pier in Gaza, antisemitism goes medical, “Drag Show for Palestine,” and more!

By Joshua Hoffman, FUTURE OF JEWISH                                     24 March 2024

Editor’s Note: “What the hell is going on?” is a weekly series in which we bring you the most bizarre, outlandish, and surreal developments from around the Jewish world during the past week.

Footage out of Gaza this past week showed that the free international aid is being sold in outdoor markets throughout the strip. Palestinians do not even bother taking it out of the aid boxes. Thus, the Palestinians can congratulate themselves on another successful scam pulled against the gullible West.

Other footage showed Hamas terrorists taking control of aid trucks the moment they cross into Gaza, escorted by International Red Cross and UNRWA vehicles. One of these trucks even had an interesting portrayal of Israel on it.

credit: Kan – Israel Public Broadcasting on X

Still, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, blamed Israel last week for the entire humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying:

“The extent of Israel’s continued restrictions on entry of aid into Gaza, together with the manner in which it continues to conduct hostilities, may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war, which is a war crime.”

To no one’s surprise, hundreds of thousands of Gazans are trying to leave the strip, including thousands who are trying to raise money on the website Go Fund Me to bribe Egyptian officials into letting them into Egypt through the Rafah crossing. This is a story that Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, and many others do not want you to know.

They tell the world that Palestinians do not want to leave and staying in a war zone is a sign of sumud, Arabic for “steadfastness.” But no one is asking the people themselves what they want. It is another way that the media and “human rights” NGOs are failing Gazans who live in danger.1

We saw an interesting variety of “pro-Palestine” displays this past week, including a “Drag Show for Palestine.”

In Liège, Belgium, the famous Montagne de Bueren (a 374-step outdoor staircase) was painted in the Palestinian flag’s colors.

As one social media user commented, “Why would they do this instead of painting their own flag colours?” Another added: “Belgium, previously famous for chocolate and diamonds, but now associated with terrorism and Islamism. RIP Europe.”

On Monday, the presidency of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament was handed over to the Islamic Republic of Iran, a regime that kills its own people while racing to build nuclear weapons that will immediately threaten the entire Middle East.

But hey, everyone deserves a fair shake and a fair shot at the UN. Just ask the Palestinians.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel last Friday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and told him that a major group operation in Rafah risks “jeopardizing” Israel’s “long-term security and standing.”

Mind you, this operation is vital to destroying Hamas’ military and governing apparatus in Gaza, which obviously poses a short-term security threat to the Jewish state.

I am unsure which logic the U.S. Secretary of State follows, but the last time I checked, long-term security is irrelevant if short-term threats are left intact.

Antisemitism is now a full-blown crisis on college campuses, but it has not ended there: Similar hatred is increasingly widespread in the medical profession, where it is even more dangerous.2

Doctors, nurses, and medical students who are supposed to heal are instead promoting hate. According to a new report by the New York Post, many doctors and medical students have torn down posters of kidnapped Israelis. That includes a professor of medicine at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania.3

Medical professionals have also tried to justify the murder of Jews. One nurse publicly claimed that allegations of sexual violence committed by Hamas must be propaganda, since “ain’t no Muslim Palestinian resistant fighter touching your women.”

While some medical professionals have been fired for blatant antisemitism, countless others have not, raising the specter of Jew-hatred running riot in hospitals and doctor’s offices.

Speaking of antisemitism, a Harvard University event last Thursday titled “Islamophobia, Antisemitism, and Religious Literacy” had Halal food and “to-go containers” for Ramadan, but no kosher food.

While the moderator of a panel at the event published a horrific antisemitic cartoon last month, co-panelist Mafaz Al-Suwaidan regularly equates Zionism with Nazism and praises Arab terrorists.

Welcome to Harvard.

After the horrific terrorist attack in Russia last week, some folks took to social media with some commentary.

One wrote: “Interesting that the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the terrorist massacre in Russia and expressed his condolences to the Russian people, instead of lecturing them about how the attack didn’t happen in a vacuum.”4

Another added: “I’m calling on Russia to supply humanitarian aid to the terrorists and their families.”5

A parody account posted, “Breaking: UN Suggests Russia Considers Two-State Solution with ISIS.”6

The U.S. requested that Qatar finance the Americans’ humanitarian pier on the shores of Gaza. Qatar agreed — with the condition that it is built by a firm in Gaza named Al-Hisi, “a company controlled and sponsored by Hamas.”7

In other words: A humanitarian pier is being built by one of the most inhumane organizations in the world. I wonder what it will be used for.

At the same time, the U.S. has implemented a sanctions framework for those responsible for “settler violence” in the West Bank. But Biden’s administration will not apply it to Palestinian Authority officials who are paying people to shoot up civilian busses. In fact, they will only apply it to Jews. Who have not shot civilians.

What great foreign policy work.

California Governor Gavin Newsom published an open letter last week, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. He cited rising “Islamophobia” as one of the motivations behind his calculus.

The first line of his letter said, “California is a better place because of you — our Muslim, Palestinian American, and Arab American neighbors and friends who contribute so much to our state’s sense of faith and belonging.”

California is a better place because of them? Really?

Meanwhile, in Canada, the House of Commons decided to adopt an unprecedented and appalling pro-Hamas proposal that could assist the terror group in regaining power in Gaza and resuming terrorist activities, while empowering Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah.

The motion, introduced by the New Democratic Party (NDP), calls on Canada to pressure Israel into agreeing to an “immediate” ceasefire in its war with Hamas. Members of NDP were seen wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh (a head scarf), which is a symbol of radicalism.

Also in Canada last week:

• An antisemitic cartoon published by a Canadian website made international news.
• A Jewish film festival was cancelled due to “security concerns.”
• The government moved to ban kosher meats.
• Toronto police reported a 93-percent rise in antisemitic crime.

Meanwhile, in London, police have been investigating a hate crime after a man shouting antisemitic slogans set a house on fire. This is what those “Globalize the Intifada” chants really mean.

In Iran, someone hung a Palestinian flag on the mausoleum of Esther and Mordechai, the heroes of the Jewish holiday of Purim, which we celebrated. This is very ironic not least because the story of Purim includes the mass killing of a group of people who threatened the Jews.

And in Australia, an “activist” who doxxed 600 Australian Jewish creatives and said “their time was up” — prompting death threats against a 5-year-old — was hired by the Australian Human Rights Commission to deliver anti-racism training in primary schools.8

What the hell is going on?