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Do You Condemn Hamas meme example depicting adam smith and karl marx.

Do You Condemn Hamas?

Part of a series on 2023 Hamas vs. Israel Conflict. [View Related Entries]

Updated Nov 06, 2023 at 05:17PM EST by Zach.

Added Nov 06, 2023 at 02:19PM EST by Owen.

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About

Do You Condemn Hamas? refers to a catchphrase and question that was asked by various news reporters, anchors and outlets amid the 2023 Israel-Hamas Conflict to proponents of Palestine who were vocally against the IDF's response to Hamas' October 2023 attack. The question was perceived as a trap by many critics who felt it understated the complicated, combative history of the region by narrowing it down to one group's action. The frequency of the question's utterance in Western media led to criticism and satirization through memes that surfaced across social media sites like Twitter / X, TikTok and Reddit, among others. The question was originally asked by writer David Horowitz in a viral video from 2010 in which Horowitz asked the question to a student at the University of California San Diego (UCSD).

Origin

On May 11th, 2010, a video was posted to YouTube[1] by the channel David Horowitz Freedom Center that showed an interaction between conservative writer David Horowitz and a student at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) at an event hosted by the Young Americans for Freedom and DHFC. The student confronted Horowitz about his claim that the Muslim Student Association (MSA) is linked to Jihad terrorist networks. Horowitz said in response, "Will you condemn Hamas?" Over 13 years, the video gained roughly 4.8 million views (shown below).



Spread

Going into the 2010s, the question and its variant forms were written on websites like Twitter / X, evident in posts on X[2][3] shared in 2014 and 2017, that referenced the video of David Horowitz and the UCSD student.

The question resurfaced in public discourse en masse in 2019, centered on statements from United States Representative Ilhan Omar. In July 2019, a clip of her criticizing the "Do you condemn Hamas?" question was uploaded to YouTube[4] (shown below) and it gained coverage from outlets like The Daily Caller.[5] Tweets[6] about the controversy also used the question.



In 2021, usage of the question resurfaced online, evident in a tweet shared by X[7] user @killerguerilla on May 11th, 2021, which gained roughly 2,400 likes in two years (shown below).


Dubula @killerguerilla "do you condemn Hamas's rockets?" "do you condemn the looting?" "do you condemn the riots?" Follow Oppressors always asking you to condemn oppressed people when they react to oppression. F--- that. You should condemn israel, america, britain and other white supremacist states. 11:01 AM . May 11, 2021

Usage In 2023

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel, sparking another prominent resurgence of the question's use.[8] On October 8th, 2023, a clip of Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the British Labour Party, went viral on X[9] via the account of @Channel4News whose reporter asked Corbyn if he condemned Hamas. The tweet gained roughly 4.3 million views and 5,300 likes in one month (shown below).


Criticism of the reporter's questioning surfaced on X[10] via viral posts in the days that followed. Also on October 8th, a clip from BBC was posted to X[11] by user @AhmadTarfaya that showed Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, being asked if he condemned Hamas on air, gaining roughly 986,700 views and 9,400 likes in one month (shown below).


The clips were the first of many later news segments that surfaced in October 2023, involving newsmen and women asking "Do you support Hamas?" Many clips of British news anchor Piers Morgan asking the question surfaced on TikTok[12][13] in October 2023.

During the same timeframe, TikTokers began posting content that criticized the question, such as TikToker[14] @nexistepas2003 on October 10th, 2023, whose video received roughly 134,000 plays and 26,200 likes in one month (shown below, left). On October 12th, TikToker[15] @palestinianpr1ncess posted a similar video, gaining over 1.8 million plays and 430,000 likes in one month (shown below, right).

@nexistepas2003 Hypocrisy is bliss #fyp #foryoupage #freepalestine ♬ son original – 🇵🇸 ⴰⵀⴰⵣ

@palestinianpr1ncess

You dont value Palestinian life, you never did when this is your only response to genocide.

♬ original sound – Nys

Memes referencing the question also surfaced during the timeframe, including on post shared by X[16] user @criticofpolecon on November 5th, 2023, which added the question to a meme about Karl Marx, gaining roughly 8,400 likes in a day (shown below).


Do you condemn hamas?" - Adam Smith, in a letter to Karl Marx Marx never replied.

Similar memes and posts were uploaded to Reddit[17][18] in late October and early November 2023.

Various Examples


to to to ööööödü Do you condemn Hamas? agg 00 BBC after hearing the Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot lost family in an Israeli air strike made with mematic OH NO! Anyway, do you condemn Hamas? francis wolf @francisxwolf. Nov 4 he refused to condemn hamas CUE ON SALLONN CAUTION MOLTONES CUIDRO MERVILA CUIDADO CAUTION ***** VAUTUMI CUIDADO WAITILA
@jordxn.simone Replying to @bobby Free Palestine AND the actions of Hamas are abhorent, along with their stance on Judaism. I condem them. I also know that if in response to an attack you can cut off food, water, and power, this isnt a conflict. Its oppressive. And I stand against that. As I hear cries for “the innocent” I am frustrated and confused. What isnt innocent about a population largely made of children? Where the people have suffered for decades? Where was the concern and outrage from all of you who “want peace?” I dont have the answers, or the complex knowledge of this crisis. But what I do know is a fight for liberation when I see one, and I will stand by them with the understanding that one groups awful actions don’t define a liberation movement. And as someone who has fought openly and actively for the rights of so many I will not let you call me out of my name and my integrity because my stance doesnt “align” with yours. If you choose not to hear me, ask yourself why. I want the peace you all claim you seek, and I know the road to get there is complicated, hard, and likely bloody. I grieve the lives lost-- all of them. It’ll take care and compassion and compromise. But we won’t get there if we don’t sit in the discomfort of reality first. I offer love and support and care to my Jewish friends and loved ones. Deeply. And I also stand for the liberation of Palestine. #freepalestine #freepalestine🇵🇸❤️ #palestine #fy ♬ original sound – jordan

@atif.tv But dO YoU CoNdeMn hAmAs tHo? 🥴 #atiftv #fyp #israel #palestine #gaza #hamas #freepalestine #streetinterview #publicinterview #steveinthestreets @atif.tv @atif.tv @atif.tv ♬ The sound of war – Eddy Mack

Search Interest

External References

[1] YouTube – David Horowitz at UCSD 5/10/2010. Hosted by Young Americans for Freedom and DHFC

[2] X – @JewishPress

[3] X – @IslamismMap

[4] YouTube – Omar Snaps at 'Appalling Question' About Condemning FGM

[5] The Daily Caller – Ilhan Omar Frustrated By Moderator Question About Female Genital Mutilation

[6] X – @v_khylik

[7] X – @killerguerilla

[8] Haaretz – At Least 700 Israelis Killed, 2,000 Wounded; Over 130 Civilians and Soldiers Held Hostage in Gaza

[9] X – @Channel4News

[10] X – @bencsmoke

[11] X – @AhmadTarfaya

[12] TikTok – @sneonclips10

[13] TikTok – @sneonclips10

[14] TikTok – @nexistepas2003

[15] TikTok – @palestinianpr1ncess

[16] X – @criticofpolecon

[17] Reddit – /r/okbuddyvowsh

[18] Reddit – /r/CommunismMemes

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Top Comments

DavidM
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DavidM

yes yes , double meaning this , bad faith that ….. answer the question.

because , yes , this is a question that is often asked in bad faith, but it is also a legitimate question, and I cannot avoid but feel that the desconstruction and rejection of this question is as much as bad faith answer as it is asking it to justify israel's bs.

Because listen to me:

-YES, hamas is an abhorrent organization and I think they should face consequences and be destroyed, at the same time I ALSO belive palestine has a right to have a sovereing nation to call their own, and so does israel,
-No, what the IDF does and the constant encroaching of palestinian territory they do IS NOT OK, however that DOES NOT justify any of the BS hamas does that almost always directly involves civilians as either shields or targets

so yes , I DO condemn hamas , They are as bad as terrorist get , but at the same time I am not gonna go ahead and pretend as if Israel's any innocent here.

condemning hamas IS NOT "siding with the opressors" condemning hamas is condemning the numerous fucking warcrimes they've commited, resistance… does not justify warcrimes, and their primary porpuse isnt even resistance.

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Ultra Magnus
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Ultra Magnus

It seems like everyone's forgotten that two things can be bad at the same time. You can condemn Hamas AND the IDF. Saying "innocent people dying is bad regardless of their race/affiliations/nationality" shouldn't be a controversial take.

The only winning move is not to play.

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