Progressives, as a supposedly “woke” political group are known to be anti-war, feminist, pro-LGBTQ rights, pro-gun control, supporting universal healthcare, democracy and basically the entire United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. But, when it comes to Israel, all this is thrown down the toilet.
Progressives are very pro-Islam, but Islamists would deny that anyone (besides themselves) is entitled to any of the rights enumerated in the UN Declaration. In fact, in countries dominated by Islam, misogyny is a way of life, LGBTQ individuals are slaughtered without due process, Democracy doesn’t even exist and war is considered a necessary means to Islamic domination. It seems that so long as it’s a moslem entity committing the atrocities, then it’s ok.
One group that is historically Progressive is the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). They are the most pro-Palestinian group of all, but they also claim to be pacifists. They especially support the Palestinian Authority, whose charter states outright that armed conflict is the only way to resolve the Israel-Palestinian problem. In addition, Quakers (Friends) are dedicated to speaking the truth in all things, yet they support a group whose very existence and identity is a total lie from the get-go: Palestinians, who have only actually existed since circa 1968, and whose identity “evolved(?)” from Jewish residents of the British Mandate for Palestine (9/29/1923 to 5/15/1948) to the “recognition(?)” of Arabs as “Palestinians” in 1968).
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Non-Violence vs. Armed Resistance: The Quaker Peace Testimony strictly rejects all war and violence. But groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad explicitly promote armed conflict and the targeting of civilians. By advocating for an end to blockades or sanctions without equally robust and public campaigns against these groups’ violent tactics, the Quaker position is one-sided.
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Treatment of LGBTQ+ Individuals: Quakerism, particularly in its liberal branches, is often strongly affirming of LGBTQ+ rights. In contrast, under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and especially under Hamas in Gaza, LGBTQ+ individuals face severe legal and social persecution, including imprisonment or violence.
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Rights of Women: While Quakers emphasize the total equality of the sexes, women in Palestinian-controlled areas often live under restrictive patriarchal laws and customs, including issues related to “honor” crimes and limited legal standing in personal status laws.
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Religious Freedom and Minority Rights: Quakers value religious pluralism and “that of God in everyone.” The declining population of Palestinian Christians and reported instances of harassment or second-class status for religious minorities in these territories is evidence that the “regimes” supported by Quaker advocacy are antithetical to Quaker values.
Summary Table: Values vs. Reality
Quaker Value Critical Perspective on Palestinian Context Peace Support for groups that use rockets and suicide bombings. Equality Advocacy for a society where women and LGBTQ+ lack basic protections. Integrity Silence or “softened” language regarding human rights abuses by Palestinian leadership. Officially, Quakers will state they they are only supporting the Palestinian people, and not the government of Palestine, however, practically speaking, there is no way to support the people without supporting the government. In effect, Quakers are supporting the Palestinian National Charter (also known as the PLO Covenant), which serves as the foundational document for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The Palestinian Authority (PA), established in 1994, is the governing body that emerged from this organization.
“Armed Struggle” in the Charter
The Charter explicitly identifies armed conflict as the primary strategy for its goals in several articles:
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Article 9: “Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine and is therefore a strategy and not a tactic”.
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Article 21: “The Palestinian Arab people… rejects every solution that is a substitute for a complete liberation of Palestine”.
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Article 15: Defines the “liberation of Palestine” as a national duty to “purge it from the Zionist presence”.
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Article 20: States that claims of historical or religious ties of Jews with Palestine are “incompatible with the facts of history” and declares the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the Mandate for Palestine “null and void”.
To counter all this, Progressives would say that I am an “Islamophobe” and I suppose that I am. But the entire concept of Islamophobia is “profoundly anti-Jew” and had been invented to mimic antisemitism: “To equate it with the dehumanising, insane and essentially murderous outpourings of Jew-hatred is obscene. The taunt of Islamophobia is used to silence any criticism of the Islamic world, including Islamic extremism and “facilitates” antisemitism.”
Conclusion:
Progressives are blatant hypocrites in regards to Israel and Palestine, since they simultaneously advocate for their core values, while at the same time support Islamists who are totally against Progressive core values. The Quakers are the worst example of this same hypocrisy. -
