VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Genocide hypocrites

Conservative commentator Victor Davis Hanson argues that accusations of genocide against Israel following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks reflect a double standard among prominent left-wing critics. Hanson notes that within a day of the assault — in which Hamas killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages — American leftists began leveling charges of "genocide," "apartheid," and "settler-colonialism" against Israel, while overlooking the stated genocidal intent of Hamas and the thousands of rockets fired at Israeli civilians.

Hanson focuses particular scrutiny on Turkish-American podcaster Hasan Piker, a dual citizen raised in Turkey who has called the U.S. deserving of the 9/11 attacks. Hanson writes that Piker rarely mentions Turkey's 1974 invasion and ongoing occupation of northern Cyprus, the 1922 destruction of Smyrna, or the Armenian genocide, in which more than 1 million civilians were killed. When challenged by Armenian-Americans, Piker reportedly dismissed them, saying, "It's more fun to enrage you."

Rep. Ilhan Omar, a first-generation immigrant from Somalia, is also cited for frequently using terms like "genocide" and "apartheid" regarding Israel while describing the U.S. as "one of the worst countries" in the world. Hanson points out that Omar's father was a colonel in the army of Somali dictator Siad Barre, whose regime waged a decade-long campaign against the Isaaq clan that killed an estimated 50,000 to 200,000 people, mostly civilians.

The column also references Zohran Mamdani, described as the nation's "biggest elected leftist rising star" and the mayor of New York City, though the provided text cuts off before detailing the specific allegations against him.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal