Many of the foolish and vicious misapprehensions of Israel’s situation come from the political left—but the left has no monopoly on foolishness or vice. In a recent interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy expressed outrage at Hamas’s actions, and sympathy for Israel, before quickly switching gears and arguing (with encouragement from Carlson) that congressional sympathy for the Jewish state is excessive, and ultimately the result of shadowy financial influence.

And then there are various influential, if less prominent, figures in rightwing circles whose statements have been more troubling still. Erick Erickson, a veteran conservative radio host and commentator, intimately familiar with the American right, is disturbed by what he has seen.

The anti-Semitism of the progressive movement is extreme and disgusting. Pay attention to that. But also pay attention to how silent people like [the conservative social-media personality and writer] Candace Owens have been. She’s routinely dabbled in questionable views of both Israel and Jews. Her Twitter feed is rather quiet right now as conservatives unite to support Israel. She’s mostly resorted just to retweeting others who themselves want Israeli restraint. For a woman of strong opinions, those of you on the right should note just how quiet she is.

Friends, the left’s anti-Semitism is loud and proud at this moment. But what is equally loud is the silence of some on the right who are anti-Semites and silent now about these atrocities. Their silence is damning.

They can question wars, the military-industrial complex, isolationism, and warmongering evangelicals but cannot even muster a word of support for Israel or condemn Hamas. They are engaged in performance—tweeting, writing, and speaking of distractions to avoid even offering sympathy to the parents of decapitated children. Americans are dead, killed by Hamas. They are silent there too, blasting everyone else as a “neocon” warmonger. They say, “We’re not anti-Semites, just isolationists,” but have strong views nonetheless on all the world’s affairs except dead Americans and dead babies in Israel.

In several follow-up posts, Erickson provides additional evidence of the phenomenon.

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.