In the aftermath of the October 7 “prison break” by Hamas against Israel, it is not surprising that in the U.S. and Western Europe there were immediate cries of support for Israel and condemnation of not just Hamas but the Palestinian cause altogether. Support for Israel has been a mainstay of Western ideology virtually since its founding as a nation in 1948, bolstered by creation myths about how it was “a land with no people for a people with no land,” and is “the only democracy in the Middle East,” while ugly media stereotypes of Muslims and Arabs remain commonplace.

Over the last month, however, it has become apparent that there are millions of people in the U.S. and in Western Europe who are horrified by the extreme violence of Israel’s bombing of civilians living in Gaza. Many have found themselves siding with the Palestinian cause as they understand the history and context of recent events.

While public opinion in the West may be divided, there are no divisions among the ruling elites: they remain firmly committed to the defense of Israel even in the face of an Israeli bombing campaign that has already killed more than 10,000 people in Gaza, half of them children.

So as a matter of foreign policy, the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Germany, and others cluck their tongues or shed crocodile tears over the victims of Israel’s brutality but they will not even utter the word “ceasefire” to create a respite in which humanitarian relief can reach them. Nor will they condemn the killing of aid workers, doctors, ambulance drivers, or journalists.

Moreover, as this conflict has continued, these same ruling elites have revealed themselves as cynical hypocrites in their treatment of the Muslim and Arab communities in their countries, and of the millions of people who support them. Here are a few of the more blatant examples:

Manchester, U.K. Police arrested two young people who spray painted the words “Free Palestine” on the base of a British World War 1 memorial – and not only are they pursuing criminal charges against the youths, they are characterizing and charging the behavior as a “racially biased hate crime.”

In New York City, the NYPD arrested teenagers who tore down anti-Hamas posters. That is to say: they arrested people for tearing down posters that were illegally posted.

In Washington D.C., Congress censured Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, for a tweet that included video of protesters chanting “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free.” Tlaib has explained that the slogan is about liberating Palestinians, not – as some allege – about expelling or killing Jews. The vote on censure, initiated by Republicans, was joined by 22 Democrats.

France has banned all pro-Palestine demonstrations – an action that has not stopped thousands of French people from marching and protesting to show their support for Palestine.

Germany has banned the pro-Palestine group Samidoun, which organizes in support of Palestinian political prisoners as well as banning pro-Palestine demonstrations. As in France, the government has been unable to prevent large protests in support of the Palestinian people.

For several decades the Western nations have effectively banned public discussion of Palestine liberation by marginalizing supporters from all popular media, banning speakers and conferences from college campuses whenever possible, and perpetuating the falsehood that opposing anti-zionism is itself anti-Semitic. Now, however, the wave of popular support for Palestine has forced these nations to move from de facto bans to de jure criminalization.

These hypocritical and anti-democratic actions are likely to continue, coupled with informal campaigns to get workers fired and students expelled from schools and colleges for expressing support for Palestine. Growing support for the cause of Palestinian liberation, especially among young people and including Black people and other oppressed groups in the U.S. and Western Europe will force these nations to escalate their suppression of free speech, but such actions will only widen the gap between popular opinion and ruling class dogma.

Republished with minor style edits from the author’s blog, Tell No Lies. Claim No Easy Victories… We thank the author for his kind open-ended offer of republication.