Will global activism force an Israeli ceasefire?

It wasn’t that long ago that climate activists would glue themselves to roads, runways or anything else that would cause a major disruption in order to call attention to their cause. Usually accomplishing nothing except to anger people who were unable to go about their business, it generally seemed to backfire, causing disdain for their ineffective protest rather than bringing others around to their way of thinking.

Now, these same activists have a new objective. Their focus has been shifted to a war thousands of miles away. It’s one for which they neither have any understanding nor the ability to properly identify the good guys from the bad guys. But they’re in because it’s become an exhilarating pastime that makes them feel powerful.

It was the day before Christmas, one of the busiest last-minute shopping days, when anti-Israel protesters took to the streets in New York City, doing their best to prevent shoppers from being able to access stores. Shouting, “Christmas is canceled here,” and “Long live the intifada,” the crowd of about 500 demonstrators yelled, using the Arabic word for “rebellion” or “uprising” as they mobbed the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, where revelers were enjoying the holiday.”

As they marched, screeching voices chimed: “While Ur Shopping Bombs are Dropping.” In an attempt to make their point through performance art, they used a nativity scene splattered in blood. Happy with the attention they sought, the other goal of these protesters was to “urge holiday shoppers to engage in targeted boycotts this holiday season.” 

Similarly, pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged a sit-in at Eaton Centre, (Canada) chanting anti-Israel slogans while two Zara stores were targeted due to their alleged support for genocide. The stores closed temporarily for security reasons. Also happening in central London, shoppers were confronted by pro-Palestinian protestors in an attempt to disrupt the holiday shopping. 

There’s no question that these massive, organized and unruly protests are meant to intimidate, frighten and deter people from going ahead with their plans, with the added hope that, perhaps, out of fear, others will join the boycotts to send a growing message that Israel must agree to a ceasefire or else more of these types of chaotic incidents are what they can expect.

But protests have not just been limited to shoppers or stores that are being targeted for their support of the Jewish homeland. They appear to be a calculated part of a coercive tactic meant to bully people into submission, lest they face major disruptions to their daily lives, schedules and freedoms in general. 

This past Wednesday pro-Palestinian protesters also attempted to cause havoc at two of the busiest U.S. airports – New York’s JFK and Los Angeles LAX, right at the height of holiday travel. Stopping cars and jamming roadways, the tremendous inconvenience to those trying to get in and out of the airport were forced to deal with the ongoing chaos until police arrived and began making arrests.

“In New York, activists locked arms and held banners demanding an end to the Israel-Hamas war and expanded rights for Palestinians, bringing traffic to a standstill for about 20 minutes. In Los Angeles, the airport actually shut down as pro-Palestinian protesters dragged traffic cones, trash bins, scooters and debris into the lanes. One police officer was thrown to the ground and attacked uninvolved passersby in their vehicles.” In the end, a total of 62 people were arrested in the two protests.

These activists are employing the same kind of strategy as that of a three-year-old who goes into meltdown mode when his mother won’t buy him a toy. The idea is to yell and cry enough and make a scene in order to get what he wants. If that doesn’t work, he’ll throw himself on the floor, refusing to get up. But acting as an out-of-control toddler clearly isn’t endearing the rest of us to their cause. In fact, one cynical reaction was, “Changing hearts and minds, one airport at a time.”

In an Amsterdam mall, activists expressed their solidarity with Gaza, as leaflets were dropped from above and the loudspeaker system was used to warn shoppers not to patronize specific companies that support Israel because they are being accused of helping the genocide.

A mall in Lyon, France distributed the names of “thousands” of children they claim were killed by the IDF. Of course, given the fact that over 2,000 rockets have misfired and landed back in Gaza, no one knows how Gazan children were killed or if the “thousands” estimate is even accurate.

The goal is to mis-educate, blame Israel, elicit support and intimidate buyers, because if you’re told not to shop in certain mall shops, knowing that you’re being watched, who would feel emboldened enough to walk into that store and make a purchase? 

If activists cannot convince their audiences, they are not above intimidating the public, and that is likely something we’ll be seeing more and more because force works – and that’s what they’re counting on to accomplish their goal. The only way to defeat that kind of threat is to have the courage to defy their demands. Because whoever changes their shopping habits, travel plans or anything else has just helped the cause of terrorism by allowing them to win.  They’ll stop at nothing – including changing an electorate.  All they have to do is scare voters into the threat of violence which will ensue should the wrong candidate win.

Global activism is a powerful lobby that probably won’t end anytime soon unless people feel empowered enough to oppose it. Law enforcement and political representatives need to know that it will not be tolerated by their citizens who will expect the authorities to put an immediate end to it wherever it occurs. Consequently, it is up to police and other authorities to send a strong message that activist meltdowns will not be ignored and will be punishable under the law.

Likewise, Israel cannot capitulate to global activism while her very existence is at stake. It is the reason terrorism must be defeated, because if they succeed by finishing off the Jewish homeland, which, in many ways, represents Western values in the Middle East, a new demand will follow. Shoppers and travelers will be expected to boycott the next unwanted group. Does anyone have any doubt who they will be? Here’s a guess – Christians, followed by patriots and all those who represent the best that civilization has to offer.

It’s a zero-sum game, which only ends with total subservience to the preferred race and religion that hopes to dominate. What starts with Israel never stops with Israel, and that’s what everyone needs to realize!