There’s been a real shift this week. And it’s one of those moments where you can actually see the needle jump.
Usually these things build slowly. The public rhetoric, the posture of activists, the tone of the media, it all creeps along. But every once in a while, something happens that speeds it all up at once. This past week was one of those moments.
Two Israelis were murdered in Washington, D.C. They were standing outside a Jewish museum. One of them turned out to be Christian. It didn’t matter. They were targeted because they were believed to be Jewish, and that was enough. That’s all it took.
The reactions were exactly what you’d expect if you’ve been paying attention. A handful of people posted obligatory condemnations, and even those came with disclaimers. You could see them squirming to get the words out without compromising their brand. “We don’t support killing civilians, but…” And that “but” always drags the sentence into something much uglier.
And then there were the others. The ones who didn’t feel the need to hedge anything. The ones who said plainly that the killing was justified. That the shooter was a hero. That this is what should be happening. Some even said they hoped it would continue. That more Israelis should die. I'm not referring to fringe trolls with cartoon avatars and 43 followers. These are verified accounts, public figures with massive platforms, posting these things proudly and getting tens of thousands of likes in return.
It’s worth sitting with that for a second because the pro-Palestinian movement has always relied on two things. Ambiguity and plausible deniability. Their slogans are designed to be vague enough that they can’t be pinned down. “From the river to the sea.” “Resistance is justified.” “Globalize the intifada.” If you call them out, they just pretend you’re misinterpreting. “Oh, we just want freedom.” “We’re just against apartheid.” You’re the one being unreasonable for assuming they mean what they clearly mean.
And that strategy has worked. It’s given them cover. It’s allowed activists, influencers, and academics to smuggle in open hatred under the language of social justice. Hamas understands how to wrap extremist ideology in human rights language. How to make their slogans sound noble.
But something’s changed.
Now they’re saying it directly. They’re starting to drop the mask. They’re openly justifying murder, and not just in Israel, but in America. In our capital.
This has nothing to do with military action or Israeli policy. This was the targeted killing of two people because they were believed to be Jewish. And instead of condemning it, huge parts of the "pro-palestinian" movement embraced it.
That is the shift.
Because you don’t start saying these things out loud unless you believe the environment will let you get away with it. You don’t post this kind of rhetoric unless you believe the media will protect you, the institutions will stay quiet, and the public is too confused or too exhausted to push back.
And here’s where it gets dangerous.
When people stop hiding, it means they feel confident. And when they feel confident, they escalate. They radicalize others. They lower the bar for what’s acceptable. When major influencers tell millions of people that killing Jews is resistance, don’t act surprised when someone picks up a gun and acts on it.
This is how it always works. The words start vague. Then they sharpen and spread until someone pulls the trigger.
It’s already happening.
But if there’s one thing we can use in this moment, it’s clarity. They’re not hiding anymore. They’re not pretending to care about human rights. They’ve said exactly who they are and what they believe.
So now we say who we are.
And now we have the opportunity to expose the moral cowardice and the ideological filth that has infected so many of our cultural institutions. We hold the line when no one else will.
Because they’ve made their position clear.
Now it’s our turn.