There’s a template that media outlets love to follow to gin up outrage over someone who has to face the consequences of his or her actions. It could be a whistleblower or someone who took a stand for some questionable or foolish reason, but the headline always follows a pattern: “So-and-so did something. Now so-and-so is paying for it.”
It’s a trope as old as modern journalism itself: find somebody who is dealing with the fallout of his or her actions and turn him or her into a victim. The Washington Post has taken this cliché beyond the pale, however, by trying to turn Hamas supporters into victims.
A Tuesday article in the Post’s technology section reads, “They criticized Israel. This Twitter account upended their lives.” The sub-headline reads, “Since Oct. 7, StopAntisemitism has flagged hundreds of people who have criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza. Many were swiftly fired.”
Of course, the headlines sound like these people were fired for making anodyne statements that mildly criticized Israel. But no. We’re talking about people who have gone on record supporting a terrorist organization.
The first example the Post gives is Dani Marzouca, who worked for a branding company. A video surfaced in which Marzouca, wearing an Arafat-inspired kaffiyeh scarf, stated that “radical solidarity with Palestine means … not apologizing for Hamas.” StopAntisemitism shared the video on X/Twitter, and followers flooded Marzouca’s employer with complaints. The company fired her (sorry, I’m not using Marzouca’s “they/them” pronouns).
But that’s not merely “criticizing Israel.” Marzouca openly supported Hamas.
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The Post points out where StopAntisemitism’s Executive Director Liora Rez bragged on LinkedIn that “StopAntisemitism gets results.” While the Post quotes the Anti-Defamation League’s Jonathan Greenblatt in his support of StopAntisemitism, it quotes even more experts who call these tactics “vigilantism” and “doxing.”
“When the mob is the judge, jury, and executioner, we all end up suffering,” one “expert” said.
Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, told the Post that the effect of these actions is “to send a message to people that … if you dare speak out of line when it comes to questions related to Israel, you can and may face dramatic consequences — life-changing consequences.”
But these people aren’t simply criticizing Israel; they’re actively supporting Hamas. In another example, StopAntisemitism shared another video, this one showing a therapist named Celine Khalife tearing down posters of Israeli hostages. In the video, she declares that Israel kidnapped its own people — which even the Post had to admit was a “false conspiracy theory.” Khalife’s employer fired her.
“I felt like I couldn’t go lower,” she told the Post. “And then I did.” Khalife appears in two images in the story, and in both of them, she brandishes a kaffiyeh, which is an unmistakable symbol of support for the “Palestinian” cause.
Poor babies. These two are just a couple of examples of people who have chosen to side with the terrorists and now have to live with those consequences.
We can all admit that Israel isn’t 100% perfect, but there’s a big difference between calling out certain things that Israel does and actively supporting Hamas. The Post has drawn a line in the sand by painting those who side with the terrorists as victims.