For years, much of the Western left spoke about Israel and the Palestinians through the language of peace. Its members called for negotiations, territorial compromise, coexistence, and two states. I often disagreed with their understanding of Israeli security, yet I could recognize their stated goal. They wanted the conflict to end with Israelis and Palestinians living beside each other.

I grew up in Israel, served in the IDF, and have spent decades teaching martial arts. Peace is measured by whether the remaining threat allows people to return to their lives safely. The defender stopping is only one part of that calculation.

A powerful part of the activist left has moved away from that goal. Its language now centers on resistance, decolonization, and liberation. Israel is increasingly treated as the source of the conflict, which leads activists to imagine its disappearance as a form of justice.

The data requires precision. In 2026, Gallup found that 65 percent of Democrats sympathized more with Palestinians, while 17 percent sympathized more with Israelis. The same survey found that 77 percent of Democrats supported two states, and Pew found that at least eight in ten Democrats viewed Hamas unfavorably. Support for Palestinians can coexist with support for Israel. My concern is the activist faction whose demands have abandoned that balance.

At many protests, Israel is expected to stop fighting while the hostages receive limited attention. Hamas’s weapons,........

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