Do You Condemn Hamas?

About

Do You Condemn Hamas? refers to a catchphrase and question that was asked by various news reporters, anchors and outlets amid the 2023 Israel-Hamas Conflict to proponents of Palestine who were vocally against the IDF's response to Hamas' October 2023 attack. The question was perceived as a trap by many critics who felt it understated the complicated, combative history of the region by narrowing it down to one group's action. The frequency of the question's utterance in Western media led to criticism and satirization through memes that surfaced across social media sites like Twitter / X, TikTok and Reddit, among others. The question was originally asked by writer David Horowitz in a viral video from 2010 in which Horowitz asked the question to a student at the University of California San Diego (UCSD).

Origin

On May 11th, 2010, a video was posted to YouTube^[1] by the channel David Horowitz Freedom Center that showed an interaction between conservative writer David Horowitz and a student at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) at an event hosted by the Young Americans for Freedom and DHFC. The student confronted Horowitz about his claim that the Muslim Student Association (MSA) is linked to Jihad terrorist networks. Horowitz said in response, "Will you condemn Hamas?" Over 13 years, the video gained roughly 4.8 million views (shown below).

Spread

Going into the 2010s, the question and its variant forms were written on websites like Twitter / X, evident in posts on X^[2][3] shared in 2014 and 2017, that referenced the video of David Horowitz and the UCSD student.

The question resurfaced in public discourse en masse in 2019, centered on statements from United States Representative Ilhan Omar. In July 2019, a clip of her criticizing the "Do you condemn Hamas?" question was uploaded to YouTube^[4] (shown below) and it gained coverage from outlets like The Daily Caller.^[5] Tweets^[6] about the controversy also used the question.

In 2021, usage of the question resurfaced online, evident in a tweet shared by X^[7] user @killerguerilla on May 11th, 2021, which gained roughly 2,400 likes in two years (shown below).

Usage In 2023

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel, sparking another prominent resurgence of the question's use.^[8] On October 8th, 2023, a clip of Jeremy Corbyn, the former leader of the British Labour Party, went viral on X^[9] via the account of @Channel4News whose reporter asked Corbyn if he condemned Hamas. The tweet gained roughly 4.3 million views and 5,300 likes in one month (shown below).

"I don't support any attacks. Therefore, I criticise them all. And that, I think, is the end of the matter."@PGMcNamara asks Jeremy Corbyn if he condemns Hamas' attacks on Israel. pic.twitter.com/AD7Qqc63ct

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) October 8, 2023

Criticism of the reporter's questioning surfaced on X^[10] via viral posts in the days that followed. Also on October 8th, a clip from BBC was posted to X^[11] by user @AhmadTarfaya that showed Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Kingdom, being asked if he condemned Hamas on air, gaining roughly 986,700 views and 9,400 likes in one month (shown below).

مقابلة من العيار الثقيل.. درس في العظمة وعاااش @hzomlot pic.twitter.com/e9NWaMikxn

— Ahmad Tarfaya (@AhmadTarfaya) October 8, 2023

The clips were the first of many later news segments that surfaced in October 2023, involving newsmen and women asking "Do you support Hamas?" Many clips of British news anchor Piers Morgan asking the question surfaced on TikTok^[12][13] in October 2023.

During the same timeframe, TikTokers began posting content that criticized the question, such as TikToker^[14] @nexistepas2003 on October 10th, 2023, whose video received roughly 134,000 plays and 26,200 likes in one month (shown below, left). On October 12th, TikToker^[15] @palestinianpr1ncess posted a similar video, gaining over 1.8 million plays and 430,000 likes in one month (shown below, right).

Memes referencing the question also surfaced during the timeframe, including on post shared by X^[16] user @criticofpolecon on November 5th, 2023, which added the question to a meme about Karl Marx, gaining roughly 8,400 likes in a day (shown below).

Similar memes and posts were uploaded to Reddit^[17][18] in late October and early November 2023.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References