Do you condemn Hamas?
Question in Israel–Palestine debates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Do you condemn Hamas?" is a binary question that has been widespread in formal and informal debates concerning the Israeli–Palestinian conflict with regard to the Palestinian political and military organization that rose to power as the Gaza Strip government in 2007. Since 2010, pro-Israeli advocates, as well as several news or media personalities, have often directed the question at pro-Palestinian advocates, typically (but not exclusively) in response to criticism of Israel.
While it was present for a decade beforehand, it was not until after the October 7 attacks in 2023 that the question became ubiquitous in international political discussions about the ensuing Gaza war,[1] particularly saturating Western media and eventually becoming an Internet meme among its critics.[2]
Critics have said that the question minimizes Palestinian suffering,[2] or that supporters of Israel have used the question as a rhetorical tool to absolve Israel or stifle critique of it, or that it is a smear tactic to degrade and silence support for Palestinians.[1][3] For others, it is a legitimate question that addresses what they perceive as a moral failure on the part of those who do not vocalize condemnation of Hamas.[4]
It has been described by Aleksandra Zoric at the University of Belgrade as "a sophisticated linguistic tool, carefully calibrated to function on multiple levels, as a performative speech act, a means for narrative framing, and a mechanism for public shaming and the imposition of a specific ideology".[5] Zoric describes the technique as a language game with a demand phrased as a question containing a persuasive definition by the questioner, concluding that it can "erode trust in the media and politicians, deepen polarization, and make nuanced and constructive debate on complex issues impossible. Public discourse is reduced to performative virtue signaling and moral posturing, where the goal is to discredit an opponent, not to understand the problem."[5]
History
Before 2023
On May 11, 2010, American conservative writer David Horowitz directed the question to a student at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).[6][7] The student who confronted Horowitz was a member of UCSD's Muslim Student Association, then holding Justice in Palestine Week, which students said Horowitz had referred to as "Hitler Youth Week".[6][7]
Since 2023
During the Gaza war, it became a common question in both Israeli and international media to ask for condemnation of Hamas and the October 7 attacks.[8] Pro-Palestinian activists described the question to The Forward as a tactic to start the narrative on October 7, omitting the events of preceding years, and is "meant to shut down discussion".[2] Mondoweiss writer James Ray stated that he did not; though he criticized the question as "muddling" expressions of solidarity and obscuring what they call a "colonial context" of the events.[9] Slavoj Žižek similarly dismissed the question as a distraction from Gazan civilian deaths, particularly child deaths.[10] Palestinian-American scholar Noura Erakat wrote that "any condemnation of violence is vapid if it does not begin & end with a condemnation of Israeli apartheid, settler colonialism, and occupation."[11]
The matter of the condemnation of Hamas became important to Israeli public diplomacy in the Gaza war. Governments,[12][13][14] corporations,[15] and public figures[16] from around the world have issued condemnations. The Yale School of Management's Chief Executive Leadership Institute published a "List of Companies That Have Condemned Hamas's Terrorist Attack on Israel", including over 200 companies, mostly from the North America and Europe.[15][17][18][19]
Piers Morgan has been criticized for his frequent use of the question at the beginning of interviews with pro-Palestinian guests on his show Piers Morgan Uncensored, by Mehdi Hasan, Bassem Youssef, and others.[20][21][22] Writing in Middle East Eye Mohamad Elmasry has described Morgan's use of the question as an example of journalistic frame setting, in which the journalist establishes the tone of the story according to their point-of-view:
"If guests agree with Morgan that Hamas should be condemned, a Palestinian source of evil and conflict has been established from the interview’s outset, and Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza is given justification. If guests refuse to condemn Hamas, however, Morgan can demonise them for failing to denounce 'terrorists'."[21]
Morgan used former Labour Party (UK) leader Jeremy Corbyn's response to the question on his show to later delegitimize Corbyn's observation that "many in our media are finally waking up to the unspeakable horrors that Palestinians are enduring in Gaza."[23]