Born in Austria to a Catholic mother and a Jewish father, Hans Maier—better known as Jean Améry—was captured by the Nazis in Belgium and sent to Auschwitz. After World War II, he authored influential works on his own experiences and on the Holocaust in general, which, writes Alvin Rosenfeld, “are distinguished by a rare degree of intellectual vigor and moral courage” that put him on par with Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel. He also became one of the first prominent leftists to see the dangers of the European left’s anti-Zionist turn. Rosenfeld writes:

Under the guise of anti-Zionism, “the old, wretched anti-Semitism ventures forth,” [Améry] ruefully noted. . . . At anti-Israel rallies in German cities in the 1970s, Améry heard not only fierce denunciations of Zionism as “a global plague” and “strike the Zionist dead—and make the East red,” but also repeated cries of “Death to the Jewish people.” The fact that these primitive hatreds were voiced by young men and women of the left, his own political home, infuriated Améry. He had not expected to witness such a scandalous spectacle in postwar Germany, especially coming from people he had regarded as his friends and natural allies, but “the tide has turned. Again, an old-new anti-Semitism impudently raises its disgusting head, without raising indignation.”

Knowledge of Zionism was no more a part of Améry’s formative years in Austria than was knowledge of Judaism, and yet in his later years he became a passionate defender of Israel, especially against the country’s adversaries on the left. In this respect, he stood out among German-language authors of his time, for his voice as a public supporter of the Jewish state’s right to exist found few others to match it. In fact, he was the first publicly to denounce anti-Zionism as a new form of anti-Semitism in Germany.

As he saw it, “the possibility cannot be ruled out that the systematic annihilation of large numbers of Jews could recur.” Israel, he believed, was as sure a defense against such a fearsome recurrence as any the Jews could hope to have. And yet, since its birth, Israel was the target of militant opposition by Arab countries in the Middle East and, to his horror, by many in Europe whose anti-Zionism was trumpeted as a necessary and even “virtuous” political stance.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.