So much for “Never Forget.” As the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis by Hamas terrorists nears, the roll call of allies-in-name-only continues to grow.
On the local front, Boston City Councilor Benjamin Weber objected to resolution on the consent agenda — a matter typically approved without discussion at the end of each meeting — concerning the Israel-Hamas war put forward by Councilor Ed Flynn.
Weber’s objection led City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune to remove the resolution from the consent agenda, per Council rules, and refer the measure to a subcommittee for further discussion, and Flynn was none too pleased.
Flynn explained his reason for filing the resolution, which calls for the City Council to “condemn the horrific acts of terror that Hamas has inflicted on that day, Oct. 7, and continue to call for the release of the remaining hostages.”
Seems simple.
But Weber had a bone to pick with the process, saying his office wasn’t consulted about the resolution ahead of time. He also took issue with the resolution’s call for the Israeli flag to be raised on City Hall Plaza in place of the City of Boston flag on Oct. 7.
“It’s incredibly important to mourn and honor the loss of lives and condemn Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, but it warrants discussion of the best way to do so, in partnership with Jewish leaders and other community leaders, so soon after a shooting in Newton at a rally for Israel,” Weber said.
That would be the Iraq War veteran and pro-Israel demonstrator charged with shooting a pro-Palestinian demonstrator who tackled him to the ground in Newton.
“With temperatures extremely high, this move seems more about inflaming passions on both sides than healing,” he added.
Raising the Israeli flag to show solidarity with an American ally on the anniversary of a heinous attack on innocent civilians would inflame passions?
Would those be the passions of anti-Israel mobs who’ve harassed Jews on college campuses around the country, ripped down flyers of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas, and called for the eradication of Israel?
Oct. 7 is Israel’s Sept. 11. Imagine if the solidarity shown to America by allies around the world after the terror attacks on our soil dried up a year later, because these countries didn’t want to “inflame passions.” But it didn’t. You can find Sept. 11 memorials in Canada, Ireland, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Ukraine, Spain, Australia, India, and Israel, to name a few.
What happened on Sept. 11 was horrific. What happened on Oct. 7 was horrific.
Unfortunately, many progressives expressed a grudging allyship with Israel after the massacre, which quickly gave way to condemnation.
Squad member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted Israel over the pager explosions across Lebanon this week that targeted members of terrorist group Hezbollah, after reports that Israel was behind it, The Hill reported.
“This attack clearly and unequivocally violates international humanitarian law and undermines US efforts to prevent a wider conflict,” the New York Democrat wrote on social media platform X.
It’s lost on AOC that Hezbollah has been barraging Israel with rockets since Oct. 7. Newsweek reported a total of 13,931 rocket alerts, averaging out at 47 per day as of late July. Wouldn’t that count as violating international humanitarian law?
Oct. 7 shouldn’t have happened. Sept. 11 shouldn’t have happened. But they did, and we should have the backbone to stand with our allies, as so many did for us.