Selective Outrage: The Shaming of Palestinian Rights Advocates

On February 4, 2025, President Donald Trump stood alongside the overseer of genocidal policies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and casually proposed that the United States expel all Palestinians from Gaza and annex the territory. The statement, delivered with chilling nonchalance, was a stark reminder of the moral bankruptcy that often defines political discourse on Palestine.

In response, many Democrats have expressed outrage, with Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) accurately labeling Trump’s proposal as “ethnic cleansing.”

Yet, within some threads of this opposition lies a troubling undercurrent: a faction of Democrats who are using Trump’s rhetoric to chastise and gloat over progressive activists who opposed the Biden-Harris administration’s complicity in Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.

This faction that remained silent for 16 months as the Biden administration funded and facilitated Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza, now is reveling in the opportunity to shame Palestinian rights advocates. Their hypocrisy is glaring.

Where was their moral outrage when Palestinian children were buried under rubble? Where was their courage when hospitals were bombed, schools destroyed, and entire neighborhoods reduced to ash? Their sudden concern for Palestinian lives, laden with their chastisement of Palestinian rights activists, reeks of political opportunism.

The Biden administration’s role in the devastation of Gaza cannot be overstated. Over the course of 15 months, the U.S. provided billions in military aid, diplomatic cover, and political support to the Israeli government as it carried out a relentless bombing campaign. This was not merely a military operation; it was a systematic effort to render Gaza uninhabitable and wipe out its people. Vital infrastructure was deliberately targeted, leaving 1.9 million people trapped in a living nightmare. The Biden administration’s actions enabled what human rights organizations accurately called a genocide and Kamala Harris refused to distance herself from the administration’s actions.

And yet, many supporters of the Democrats chose silence. They prioritized party loyalty over moral clarity and political expediency over justice. Now, some attempt to weaponize Trump’s rhetoric to shame Palestinian rights activists.

Palestinian lives are not political bargaining chips. There is no “gotcha” moment that can absolve those who stood by while atrocities were committed. When it came to Palestine, everyone voted their conscience, their decision often depending on whether they were in a purple state or not. But the Biden-Harris administration made it impossible for any self-respecting individual to be enthusiastic about the Harris ticket.

In all of this, one thing that is truly perplexing is how anyone who has the capacity to feel the suffering of others can, in good conscience, fail to oppose a genocide — and worse, shame those who stood up against it.

This particular thread within the Democratic Party may appear progressive. But their outlook on Muslims, Arabs, South Asians, and minorities in general exposed their hypocrisy. For them, we are not valued members of the coalition; we are pawns in their diversity initiatives, hijab-wearing poster fillers for their campaigns. Yet, when it comes to advocating for issues that matter to us — particularly ethical conduct in foreign policy — these same individuals are conspicuously absent.

They rather blame Palestinian rights activists for Harris’ loss, than their white brethren who publicly voted for Trump over the price of eggs.

Their performative gestures of inclusion cannot mask their indifference to the bombing of our brothers and sisters abroad.