On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization

by Douglas Murray

I was at my home in New York when—like the rest of the world—I started trying to absorb the news. Though not Jewish myself, I had visited Israel many times since the 2006 war. I had friends there, and as the day went on I did what many people around the world did, and tried first to find out if they were all right. The next day I heard news of a major demonstration that was due to take place in Times Square. It had been swiftly organized and hastily publicized. But it was not a protest against the horrors of the previous day. It was not a protest against the terrorists of Hamas. It was instead a protest against the State of Israel and the citizens of the world’s only Jewish state. Hundreds of people were gathered in Times Square that lunchtime. Some came with homemade signs. One headscarf-covered woman was smiling gleefully, waving a sign that said “Zionist nightmares. 10/6/73 Egyptians. 10/7/23 Palestinians. #Long Live Intifada.” As I photographed her with my phone she punched the air and screamed with joy. Another participant held a sign saying “Land Back”—an American movement that seeks to give the land of America and other Western countries over to their “indigenous peoples,” and which is also used as an attack on Israel.