Police arrested more than 50 pro-Hamas protesters in Chicago on Tuesday night after a group of 200 tried to break through a police line in front of the Israeli Consulate.
Chicago Police superintendent Larry Snelling described the rogue group as “intent on committing acts of violence [and] vandalism,” telling journalists:
We did everything we could to de-escalate that situation. We declared mass arrests after our officers were physically confronted and attacked. We were not the initiators of violence.
The clash comes two days after the start of the “March on the DNC 2024 [Democratic National Convention],” a four-day series of protests castigating Democrat representatives for supporting “genocide” against Palestinians.
In preparation, law enforcement brought in hundreds of extra officers, conducted special training sessions and erected multiple rows of no-scale fencing. The governor of Illinois, J.B. Pritzker, called 250 national guardsmen to be “on standby”. Earlier this week, several downtown business owners even boarded up their windows.
The pro-Hamas movement’s destructive and violent reputation, it seems, has proceeded its latest event.
Peaceful protests require causes compatible with peace. But the pro-Hamas movement sprung up in defense of a heinously violent event — the terror group’s slaughter of 1,200 Israeli civilians in October.
As you’d expect, violent events beget violent protests
In its official statement, the Coalition to March on the DNC uses Hamas’ operational code name, “Al Aqsa Flood,” for the massacre, calling it the moment “when Palestinians broke out of the Gaza prison walls.”
By portraying Hamas’ unprompted attack as a prison break, the Coalition attempts to justify the terrorist’s violence as the righteous anger of an “oppressed people.” In turn, the Coalition can justify its own violent and destructive protests as a defense of the less fortunate.
But Israel isn’t oppressing or “occupying” Gaza. In his book Should Christians Support Israel?, Dr. Jeff Myers points out that Hamas has been in political and military control of Gaza since 2007.
Following Israel’s withdrawal from the area in 2005, Hamas received more than $35 billion dollars in foreign aid from sympathetic nations — but it gave none to its citizens. Myers writes:
Hamas had a choice: attempt peaceful relations with Israel and turn its twenty-five miles of Mediterranean coastline into a prosperous trading post like Dubai or buy weapons, build tunnels, and prepare for war.
It chose the latter course, not because it was advantageous to the Gazans but because Hamas’s primary commitment — far and above all other interests — was and is to eliminate the state of Israel.
The pro-Hamas movement is ideologically incapable of pursuing justice and peace because its fundamental cause is unjust and warmongering. It’s no surprise, then, that associated protests frequently devolve into violence.
Though citizens frequently focus on domestic issues leading up to a presidential election — as they should — the President has the most unilateral authority to change foreign policies. It’s important, then, for citizens to understand how each candidate plans to represent the U.S. internationally.
Instability in the Middle East is a key foreign policy issue leading up to November — make sure you know the facts. A good place to start is Myers book, linked here.
Additional Articles and Resources:
Six Lies Hamas Tells You, Debunked
Double Standard? Calls for Israeli Ceasefire Could Conceal Antisemitism
Antisemitism — What It Is and Its Connection to the Israel-Hamas War
Israel is Under Attack — Here’s Why Christians Should Support Its Defense
Women’s Rights Group Silent on Hamas Sexual Violence, Analysis Shows
More Antisemitism — Legacy Media Implies Israeli Rescue Mission is War Crime
INVESTIGATION: Who funds anti-Israel protests?
Some Pro-Hamas Protesters and an Ill-Behaved Child Walk into a Chili’s
College Faculty Voice Support for Antisemitic Protests
A Stunning Contrast of Two University Lawns
Jewish Students urged to Flee Columbia Following Antisemitic Protest
Campus Protests Expose Antisemitic Rot in Academia
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