There has been, the theory goes, a sort of misfocusing of the lens: the left tying itself up in knots over whether to say pregnant “woman” or “person”, or whether someone who once said something silly on Twitter 10 years ago should be sent to live out the rest of their days on Mars.
There could hardly be a more worthwhile one. There are more deaths in Gaza per day than any conflict in the 21st century; it is home to the highest percentage of child amputees in the world. Even Lord Sumption, a leading light among Conservatives, believes genocide is the most plausible explanation of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
So why are pro-Palestinian protests in the UK routinely dismissed and derided?
It is true that we live in a democracy – and voters last year made full use of that, allowing five independent MPs running principally on a pro-Gaza platform to win seats from Labour in the general election. But for the next five years, there is little pro-Palestinian campaigners can do in a purely democratic sense, short of writing letters to their MP.
It is said that so-called “activists” prefer virtue-signalling to real action. But when people do go further – take Palestine Action spray-painting military aircraft and blocking the entrance to an Israeli defence company – they are condemned as reckless.
Because, surely, if the “woke” activists don’t care about what is happening in Gaza, we must ask what exactly they should care about. If repeatedly committing war crimes by bombing hospitals and schools under UN protection, if using starvation in breach of the Geneva convention isn’t a red line – where is there one? If we don’t believe we should do something about Israel killing 23 people queuing for the very food they were supposed to be distributing, what in the world should rouse people from indifference?
I know that Jewish people I’m friends with feel unsafe from the repercussions of anti-Israel fervour; I bemoan that many – in particular on the left – don’t seem alive to the fact that’s unacceptable. You can certainly debate the wisdom of saying “death to the IDF”, when Israel’s army is in large part conscripted.
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To believe Palestinians should have a home of their own, just as Jewish people so need, is not some wishful appeal to abstract values or lofty idealism. It is surely the only practicable option. Pro-Palestinian protesters, after all, are not asking for an act of charity or redistribution – but for the people of Gaza to not have their food cut off, or over 90 per cent of their homes ruined.
So perhaps it’s on those who accuse pro-Palestinian supporters of tokenistic gestures and virtue signalling to tell them exactly how they should respond.
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