Analysis
It’s been less than two weeks since Hamas launched a bloody surprise attack on Israel that left 1,400 dead, most of them civilians. Since then, Israel has launched multiple airstrikes on Gaza, killing nearly 3,000 as of this writing, many of whom are also civilians.
This war is the culmination of decades of bombings, killings, and strife between Israelis and Palestinians. There is no end to the conflict in sight. This could continue for months or even years.
The war has dominated discourse since news of Hamas’ attack broke. Opinions vary widely, even among people who are traditionally on the same ideological side.
Some blame Hamas for initiating the violence. Others point to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians over the years, which has been described as apartheid, as the impetus for the attack. Those who take a more neutral stance essentially argue that the violence, particularly against civilians, is unjustified, immoral, and potentially war crimes.
The far-right is as conflicted as the broader body politic. Infighting among extremists is nothing new—jealousy, betrayal, and purity tests are common on the both fringes. But it comes as something of a surprise that the war between Israel and Palestine is tearing the hard right apart. Antisemitism and Islamophobia run strongly through right-wing extremists, thus longtime observers might have predicted that they would simply celebrate the fact Jews and Muslims are both being slaughtered. Instead, they are picking sides and fighting with one another over who has the moral high ground.
On Monday, Identity Dixie, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has categorized as a “neo-Confederate propaganda group,” published a blog lambasting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies for what it described as their “bloodthirsty genocidal desires.” Identity Dixie also accused Jews of being unable to concede Palestinians’ “humanity.”
Most wouldn’t expect Identity Dixie to advocate for overwhelmingly Muslim Palestine.
It’s previously accused other Christians of “simping for Islam,” adding, “That’s not the way, hoss.” Over the weekend, one of its authors acknowledged the arguable quandary presented by its current position and its previous statements. The piece justified supporting Palestine because they are “good” Muslims who don’t want to immigrate to white nations.
Similarly, a few years ago, far-right commentator Lauren Witzke was arguing that Christians were under no obligation to advocate for mosques to reopen during the pandemic. The failed Senate candidate also sneeringly referred to America as the “United States of Islam” after her Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) wished Muslims a happy Ramadan.
Since the war broke out, Witzke has changed her tune and taken Palestine’s side. On Telegram, she said she understood why Israel would want to level Gaza—because otherwise the United Nations “would have intervened due to the war crimes and genocide.” She accused Israel of putting hostages in Gaza at risk with air strikes.
“If Hamas took hundreds of Israeli hostages and they are still missing, why on earth is Israel bombing and flattening the Gaza strip?” she wrote.
Witzke also spread an unfounded conspiracy theory that Netanyahu ordered the military to stand down during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, allowing his own people to be slaughtered.
Steve Bannon’s War Room Pandemic reshared Witzke’s claim about Netanyahu ordering the military to stand down, which Forbes reports is “unsubstantiated.” Forbes further notes that “there’s nothing to show the Israeli government knew of the surprise attack.”
Bannon’s channel has gone after conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, whose rhetoric in favor of Israel has been among the most consistent since the war began. Shapiro, who is Jewish, has justified Israeli airstrikes on Palestinian civilian centers, including hospitals, because Hamas purportedly “hides behind civilians.”
Their support for Palestine has created a strange alliance between far-right figures and some of their counterparts on the left, such as the college students who’ve protested Israel in recent days. Although each side’s reasons for taking the position may differ, it’s exceedingly rare for these ideological opponents to agree on anything. The fact that they are aligned underscores the complexity of both American and global sentiment about the war.
Mainstream conservatives are largely in lockstep with Israel, as is some of the extremist wing.
Pro-Israel sentiment ran high at last weekend’s ReAwaken America Tour, which the Daily Dot covered. The pro-Trump event helmed by QAnon hero Mike Flynn displayed Israeli flags throughout the conference hall where it was held. Many of the speakers, which included a variety of conspiracy theorists and extremists, as well as Eric Trump, expressed full-throated support for Israel.
Former President Barack Obama’s estranged brother Malik was reportedly disinvited from speaking at the ReAwaken America Tour mere days prior because he posted that he stood with Palestine.
Prominent far-right troll Jack Posobiec is standing with Israel. While Posobiec has lamented the loss of children on both sides of the war, the sum total of his statements clearly demonstrates that he opposes Hamas. He’s posted graphic images of casualties of Hamas’ attacks, referred to Israel as the “holy land,” and lamented that Americans supposedly can’t stand up for our country the way Israelis can.
He’s also suggested that the U.S. turn its back on people fleeing Gaza.
“If Israel shouldn’t take Palestinian refugees, then America shouldn’t either,” Posobiec said of civilians who are trying to escape the region, which Israel has cut off from water, electricity, fuel, and food.
Far-right provocateur Andy Ngô also appears to be on Israel’s side—perhaps because many of his sworn enemies, young leftists, are on Palestine’s side.
Since the war began, Ngô has shared multiple reports of supposed violence and bad behavior implicating people who back Palestine. In classic Ngô fashion, he even suggested there’s something nefarious about Australians for being able to draw large crowds to support transgender people’s rights but not being able to do the same when anti-Israel protesters chanted “gas the Jews” last week.
(The war between Israel and Hamas has coincided with a precipitous increase in antisemitism around the world.)
Recent content on the cesspool of 4chan exemplifies the division among the far-right. Searches for “Israel” and “Hamas” on Tuesday turned up posts calling Jewish people “evil,” claiming that “pro-white” people have to support Israel, and everything in between, including some of the internet’s most horrific takes on the war that do not bear repeating.
As the fighting drags into its second week and potentially beyond, the American government is clear that it stands with its longtime ally Israel. President Joe Biden is planning to travel to the Middle Eastern nation later this week in what will be a powerful show of support. Republican presidential candidates are largely battling to prove who can be the most pro-Israel.
Meanwhile, the far-right is locked in a bitter dispute between supporting the Jewish state and majority-Muslim Gaza that is home to 2 million Palestinians. Emotions are running high as each endeavors to make the case that theirs is the correct position. Meanwhile, half a world away, thousands are living in a state of terror, wondering if they will be the next casualty of war and when, if ever, there will be peace.
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