Not everyone hates us.
"I am Muslim, but Jews deserve life and dignity. It's not a matter of land but a matter of existence."
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Davos is a Swiss mountain resort and the highest town in Europe, known for its diversity of sports, leisure, and cultural offers, as well as the famed World Economic Forum.
Now in its 54th year, world leaders and business executives pay a reported $300,000 to participate in a week of high-stakes meetings about key world issues.
In other words, it is not exactly a setting where you would expect the Jews to receive much-needed assurance after the deadliest attack against us since the Holocaust. But that is exactly what happened during this year’s World Economic Forum, which wrapped up last Friday.
“Most people within positions of authority now realize that what happened on October 7th was one of the worst terror attacks the West has ever seen,” said Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir Technologies, a publicly traded company. “You can debate lots of things about Israel, but the people who are attacking it are calling into question the very existence of a thoroughly democratic Western country that is defending our rights.”1
Karp has put his money where his mouth is since October 7th, at one point running a full-page advertisement in the New York Times that read “Palantir Stands with Israel.” He also discussed the issued at length on the company’s most recent earnings call, noting that Palantir has made all of its products available to the Israel Defense Forces. Among other pieces of technology, the company makes “battlefield management” software.
“Does ‘never again’ mean I never take the risk of my own career?” We are at the point where you have to stand up,” said Karp.
The Saudis also had something to say at Davos this year. Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, said on a panel that the kingdom agreed “regional peace includes peace for Israel.” He said Saudi Arabia “certainly” would recognize Israel as part of a larger political agreement, reiterating a consistent message that the Saudi kingdom is still very much interested in normalization with Israel.
Back on November 11th, 2023 the Saudis hosted an Arab-Islamic summit against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the summit was being held “in response to the exceptional circumstances taking place in the Palestinian Gaza Strip as countries feel the need to unify efforts and come out with a unified collective position.”
Yet when it came time to deliver a “unified collective position” at the summit’s end, there wasn’t much unity at all. The proposal, presumably put forth by Iran or at least heavily endorsed by it, was to sever all diplomatic and economic relations with Israel, deny Arab airspace to Israeli flights, and for oil-producing Muslim countries to “threaten to use oil as a means of leverage” — all in order to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
Reportedly, the Saudis were among the countries that blocked this proposal. In another report at the end of October, one of the missiles fired towards Israel by Houthi rebels in Yemen was intercepted by — you guessed it — Saudi Arabia.
A South African radio personality and television host, Gareth Cliff, also had the courage to stand up for Israel, even though he is not Jewish and has no ties to the Jewish state.
“Perhaps when the dust has settled we can examine the insidious links between Anglo-American leftism and antisemitism, between Europe never reckoning with what happened in the holocaust and their growing Muslim populations, and between ignorant regimes like mine in South Africa and their determination to stand alongside the worst human rights abusers in the Middle East,” said Cliff. “I’m afraid there are only two sides in a war — your allies and your enemies. On September 11th, 2001, I knew whose side I was on. I feel the same today.”
“For now, it’s no big mystery that this has nothing to do with the existence of the State of Israel and everything to do with Jew-hatred — that great, festering wound in the side of humanity from which all prejudice flows,” added Cliff. “It has been there for thousands of years and every time we think it has healed, some monstrous collective claws it open again.”
Speaking of courage, hundreds of Arabs regularly take to Twitter to speak out in favor of Israel, including Egyptian-born Khaled Hassan, who recently said:
“Do you really want to know why I support Israel? It’s because if the entire world became Israel, we’d still be able to fall in love. To party. To dance. To hold hands. To go for a drink. To look after the vulnerable. To vote. To love and live under the rule of compassion and democracy. To have freedom of religion and freedom of speech. On the other hand, if the entire world became the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Qatar, Yemen, Syria, Gaza, Iraq, et cetera, you know exactly what would happen. Hate, fear, terrorism, and bloodlust.”2
Former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, Colonel Richard Kemp, as well as British author and political commentator, Douglas Murray, have also become staunch defenders of the Jews and Israel. Both Kemp and Murray have spent the past three months in Israel covering the war, with Kemp joking at a recent event: “I’ve almost made aliyah.”3
While Kemp has for years been known to endorse the IDF as the “most moral army” in the world, Murray rose to fame at the start of the current conflict with his acerbic response to an interviewer’s question as to whether Israel’s response to the Hamas atrocities of October 7th could be considered “proportionate.” In a segment on Britain’s Talk TV, which instantly went viral, Murray responded:
“There is some deep perversion in Britain whenever Israel is involved in a conflict, and it’s the word you just used — ‘proportion,’ ‘proportionate,’ ‘proportionality.’ Only Britain is really obsessed with this. Proportionality in conflict is a joke. It is only the Israelis that, when attacked, are expected to have precisely a proportionate response.”
At a recent event in Tel Aviv, both Kemp and Murray were introduced as the “two most beloved goyim” in all of Israel. Kemp stated proudly that “I am also an extremely talented ‘Shabbat goy,’ the result of residing in a hotel with many displaced persons from Kiryat Shmona who have used my services quite extensively.”
Asked by the moderator what drew them to support Israel in a world that is largely hostile toward the Jewish state, Kemp said: “I was taught when I was very young to know right from wrong, and it’s my duty to support those who are right. There is no question who is in the right in this fight.”
Murray added: “Aside from my love for this country and its people, I also see something that I think any writer or journalist should see and get very annoyed by, which is lies. When it’s lies about an entire nation and people, when I hear someone accusing Israel of ‘genociding’ the Palestinians, I can’t sit here and not say something.”
Germany, of all countries, has also taken the rare moral high ground, standing by Israel immediately following the October 7th massacre. In addition to supplying Israel with military equipment amidst the Gaza conflict, Germany has said it will intervene on Israel’s behalf in the genocide case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
“Accusing Israel of genocide is a complete distortion of victims and perpetrators,” said German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck.
And, whereas the silence of many Jews in Hollywood has been disappointing to say the least, comedian Bill Maher has unabashedly come to Israel’s defense on a regular basis since October 7th. In one episode of his weekly HBO show, Maher said Israel cannot negotiate with people whose position is “you all die and disappear.”4
Speaking in an eight-minute monologue on his show’s 2023 season finale, Maher opened with a history of the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ: “In 1950, the little town of Bethlehem was 86-percent Christian, but now it is overwhelmingly Muslim. And that is my point tonight: Things change.”
“Palestine was under the Ottoman empire for 400 years, but today, an Ottoman is something you put under your feet,” he quipped. “Look at what Mexico used to own — all the way up to the top of California. But no Mexican is out there chanting, ‘From the Rio Grande to Portland, Oregon.’”
“History is brutal, and humans are not good people,” said Maher. “Nobody was a bigger colonizer than the Muslim army that swept out of the Arabian desert and took over much of the world in a single century. They didn’t do it by asking. There’s a reason Saudi Arabia’s flag is a sword.”
Social media influencers have also defended Israel in the wake of October 7th, some of whom have even come to Israel on media tours.
“How do I stop the support for the evil things that Hamas has done,” said Yana Mir, the first Muslim female blogger in Kashmir, India.5
Bahraini peace activist Fatema Al Harbi refuted claims that Israel has apartheid or segregation in a video posted to TikTok, saying: “When I went to Israel, I didn’t want to meet Jews only. I wanted to meet Muslims and also Palestinians. They said they feel safe, have full rights, and it’s the country they call home.”
Sajid Yousuf Shah, the founder and CEO of The Real Kashmir News, said: “I am Muslim, but Jews deserve life and dignity. It’s not a matter of land but a matter of existence.”
Kasim Hafeez, deputy communications director for messaging at Christians United for Israel, posted about the experience on Instagram, saying: “I don’t want to hear the what about, what ifs and buts! We need to keep talking about what happened on October 7th, because we can’t let antisemites shift the conversation from this tragedy.”
It is also a good time to remember that “Israel has more than 700 million Christian friends worldwide,” according to Yael Eckstein, president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. “In Israel, it has been a beacon of hope for all of us, to see how millions of Christians love, pray, and act for Israel during our fight for survival, as enemies on every side try to destroy the land of the Jewish people, the Promised Land of the Bible,” she wrote.6
Alex Karp added that most CEOs and other public figures agree with and support Israel and the Jews, but he has a problem with how they voice it.
“Their position is you can’t say it in public because you’ll offend someone,” he said. “This is exactly wrong. We can no longer live in a world where you’ll only say things that will offend no one. If you’re going to defend something, you have to defend it.”
“Palantir CEO Alex Karp: The most important issue of our time is war and peace.” CNBC Television. YouTube.
Khaled Hassan on X
“Douglas Murray, Col. Richard Kemp explain uphill battle for Israel.” The Jerusalem Post.
“Real Time with Bill Maher.” HBO.
“Indian journalists, including Muslims from Kashmir, tour Israel.” JNS.
“700 Million Christians Can't Be Wrong on Israel | Opinion.” Newsweek.
I think we needed to read a piece like this Josh. Well, I've altered my prayer asking G-d to either bring the Moshiach now or beam us up to Star Trek-like ships bound for a friendly, class M planet; leaving the goyim behind to blow up Planet Earth all on their own. I am now praying for some first-class seats for the non-Jewish friends you mentioned in the article. <g>
Great to hear some positive news. Thank you.