Comparing the reactions to, and media coverage of, the recent attack on a Texas synagogue to the deadly 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Bari Weiss observes the disturbing trend whereby some anti-Semitic violence counts more than others. She recalls the muted reaction to a 2019 shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City that left three dead—and whose perpetrators also attempted to bomb a ḥasidic elementary school.

The [two perpetrators] hated cops and they hated Jews, a sentiment apparently driven by the twisted ideology of the Black Hebrew Israelites, who believe that they are the real Jews and that the real Jews are pretenders. . . . The day after the shooting, I went to the supermarket to do some reporting for a column I expected to publish. Unlike in Pittsburgh, there was not a single flower or condolence card. Just broken glass, and ḥasidic Jews working with construction workers to board up the ransacked building, which was riddled with bullet holes. There were no television cameras.

No one in my social-media feeds, to say nothing of mainstream reporters, wanted to look very hard at the killers’ motives or at the responses among some members of the community.

When eleven Jews who look like me were shot by a white supremacist in Pittsburgh, it was a clean story. Here was unadulterated evil mowing down the innocent. But Jews dressed in black hats and strange clothes with obscure accents? The ones in Jersey City or in Monsey or Crown Heights or Williamsburg or Borough Park? These are imperfect victims. They are forgotten and overlooked because they are not the right kind of Jews. And because they weren’t beaten or killed by the right kind of anti-Semites.

Neither was the hostage-taker in Colleyville, Texas. Malik Faisal Akram wasn’t white, and he didn’t talk about the Nazis or Hitler. He talked instead about the injustice done to Aafia Siddiqui, a jihadist who is serving an 86-year sentence at a Texas prison for assaulting U.S. officers and employees with an M-4 rifle.

Siddiqui is a committed Jew hater. But in its coverage of the Colleyville hostage-taking, the Associated Press made no mention of any of this. Instead, the AP dutifully quoted the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization whose executive director, Zahra Billoo, gave a speech in November railing against “Zionist synagogues” and blaming Zionists for Islamophobia and other ills. “Oppose the vehement fascists, but oppose the polite Zionists, too. They are not your friends,” she said. “When we talk about Islamophobia and Zionism let’s be clear about the connections.”

The AP doesn’t mention that either.

On Monday night, the IDF struck a group of Hamas operatives near the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, the main city in southern Gaza. The very fact of this attack was reassuring, as it suggested that the release of Edan Alexander didn’t come with restraints on Israeli military activity. Then, yesterday afternoon, Israeli jets carried out another, larger attack on Khan Yunis, hitting a site where it believed Mohammad Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, to be hiding. The IDF has not yet confirmed that he was present. There is some hope that the death of Sinwar—who replaced his older brother Yahya after he was killed last year—could have a debilitating effect on Hamas.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is visiting the Persian Gulf, and it’s unclear how his diplomatic efforts there will affect Israel, its war with Hamas, and Iran. For its part, Jerusalem has committed to resume full-scale operations in Gaza after President Trump returns to the U.S. But, Gabi Simoni and Erez Winner explain, Israel does not have unlimited time to defeat Hamas:

Israel faces persistent security challenges across multiple fronts—Iran, the West Bank, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon—all demanding significant military resources, especially during periods of escalation. . . . Failing to achieve a decisive victory not only prolongs the conflict but also drains national resources and threatens Israel’s ability to obtain its strategic goals.

Only a swift, forceful military campaign can achieve the war’s objectives: securing the hostages’ release, ensuring Israeli citizens’ safety, and preventing future kidnappings. Avoiding such action won’t just prolong the suffering of the hostages and deepen public uncertainty—it will also drain national resources and weaken Israel’s standing in the region and beyond.

We recommend launching an intense military operation in Gaza without delay, with clear, measurable objectives—crippling Hamas’s military and governance capabilities and securing the release of hostages. Such a campaign should combine military pressure with indirect negotiations, maximizing the chances of a successful outcome while minimizing risks.

Crucially, the operation must be closely coordinated with the United States and moderate Arab states to reduce international pressure and preserve the gains of regional alliances.