In the wake of two recent mass shootings – one in the United States and the other in Australia – that left a total of 17 dead and more than 30 wounded, a disturbing disconnect on the political left has once again been exposed. On that side of the divide, all the talk is about the need for stricter gun laws, while the growing threat posed by Islamist extremists is played down. Such a mindset is not only illogical, irrational, and delusional but also poses an existential threat to the Jewish, Christian, and secular traditions of the developed world.
Reaction by Australian authorities after a Muslim father and son, their vehicle adorned with home-made Islamic State (ISIS) flags, opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach, killing 15 people, was initially about the guns. Australia already has strict firearms controls, so no one at the gathering could defend themselves or others when the shooting began.
Police officers on the scene were of little help, managing initially only to shoot one brave civilian who tackled one of the gunmen. Yet, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was more concerned with further tightening gun laws in the immediate aftermath of the slaughter than he was about the threat of Islamist extremists committing mass murder.
Australian PM Ignores the Truth
“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” Albanese declared. Will “whatever action is necessary” involve rounding up and deporting Islamist extremists and ensuring no more of them are admitted? That would be a far more effective way of preventing the repetition of such a tragedy – but, no, that almost certainly will not happen.
Here in the United States, a Muslim stormed a lecture room at Brown University in Providence, RI, and killed two students. A Jewish professor, who was present but not overseeing the class, may have been the target, though that is not clear. What is clear is that multiple witnesses told reporters the gunman yelled “Allahu Akbar” as he opened fire.
One witness, another professor, said the shooter “yelled something” but wasn’t sure what. A hearing problem, perhaps, or did that professor not want to admit the truth?
Chuck Schumer’s Head in the Sand
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) bemoaned the rise of antisemitism and “the abject danger of letting antisemitic rhetoric and action go unchecked.” Still, he managed to avoid the inconvenient truth that Islamist extremists and their sympathizers are by far and away the most prolific spreaders of antisemitic propaganda and rhetoric – as well as being the ones directly responsible for violence against Jews.
The senator, like the politicians in Australia, would rather bury his head in the sand, pretend there is no Islamist fundamentalism problem, and then come up for air long enough to demand more firearms restrictions.
“We must do more to stop gun violence, including congressional action on gun safety reforms,” he said on Dec. 14. What “gun safety reforms” would have prevented either shooting? No one can say, but let’s just use another tragedy as an excuse to further restrict Americans’ constitutional rights.
Schumer added, “We must reject antisemitism and hate of all kinds, wherever it rears its head.” Again, no mention of the most antisemitic group of people on the planet, who make no secret of their desire to kill as many Jews as they can – Islamist extremists.
Islamist Extremists Will Never Be Our Friends
The denial on the left is both stunning and lethal. After the recent shooting of two National Guard soldiers in Washington, DC – again, perpetrated by a radical Muslim – Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) described the attack as an “unfortunate accident.” One is reminded of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) saying “some people did something,” while referencing the 9/11 World Trade Center attack.
The great irony of it all is that no non-Muslims – regardless of political ideology – will ever ingratiate themselves with these fundamentalists by ignoring or excusing their violence and hate, or by welcoming them into Western society, which they have vowed to destroy.
American progressives would be given the same choice as conservatives by these Islamist extremists, if they ever took over: convert or die. And the “Gays for Palestine” wouldn’t even get that choice. For them, the latter option would be the only one.
What about all the regular Muslims who observe their faith but are not radicalized? Surely, we can live in peace with them. One cannot tar all Muslims with the same brush because a faction of them has become homicidal extremists. But just how much of a minority is the extremist element?
Unfortunately, the Muslim voices against such atrocities are few and far between. Reports from Australia describe Muslims gathering in Bondi Beach after the shocking attack chanting “F*** the Jews” and “Gas the Jews.” According to a Henry Jackson Society poll in 2024, just one in four British Muslims believes Hamas committed murder during the October 7 attack in Israel, and only 23% have a negative view of the terrorist organization. The silence from those who share the same faith is truly deafening. Is one to assume that the silent majority has given its tacit approval to the extremists?
This is not about guns. Neither is it about some vague notion of antisemitic rhetoric that apparently originates from nowhere in particular (though Schumer and most others on the left always imply it’s a “right-wing” problem). No, this is about a clash of civilizations – or perhaps a clash between a civilization and a primitive and decidedly uncivilized death cult.
If the nations of the developed world continue to pretend that we can live in harmony with fanatics who are devoted to Islamic world domination, they will fall, one by one. And then we can all forget such notions as freedom, democracy, women’s rights, tolerance, and multiculturalism.
