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OPINION:
United Nations agencies report that all 2.3 million residents of the Gaza Strip are acutely food insecure. Approximately 470,000, about 1 in 5, are facing catastrophic hunger.
Hamas, the terrorist organization governing Gaza, points the finger at Israel, accusing it of orchestrating starvation. However, the evidence tells a very different, darker story.
Hamas is weaponizing the suffering of its people, hoarding aid and manipulating global narratives to vilify Jews and Israel. This is not just cynical politics; it’s a propaganda campaign lifted from the playbook of Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany’s minister of propaganda.
Hamas’ starvation campaign and antisemitic rhetoric are part of a calculated revival of Nazi-style propaganda, designed to deflect responsibility and manufacture crises to justify violence.
The terrorist organization’s role in exacerbating Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is well-documented. It has diverted food and medicine, reportedly paid civilians to disrupt aid distribution and allowed operatives in tunnels to hoard supplies while families above starve. This strategy serves two goals: to provoke global outrage against Israel and resupply Hamas’ resources during humanitarian pauses.
As one observer noted, Hamas keeps Gaza “close to a hunger crisis” to pressure Israel into concessions, allowing the group to “restock its shelves and refill its coffers.”
This tactic echoes Goebbels’ propaganda principle to control the narrative by creating a crisis and blaming the enemy. In Nazi Germany, Jews were scapegoated for economic woes and social unrest and portrayed as parasites draining the nation’s resources.
Similarly, Hamas frames Israel as the sole cause of Gaza’s suffering, ignoring its own enormous role in misappropriating aid and prioritizing military objectives over civilian welfare. By showcasing extreme cases of hunger, often involving people with preexisting conditions, Hamas amplifies the crisis, much as Goebbels used selective imagery to stoke fear and division.
Hamas’ propaganda extends beyond the starvation campaign to a broader assault on Jews, one rooted in antisemitic tropes that parallel Nazi ideology. The 1988 Hamas Charter, for instance, invokes the fabricated “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” a cornerstone of Nazi propaganda, to claim Jewish conspiracies for global control.
The charter’s call for jihad against Jews until “Judgment Day” and its attribution of global conflicts, including both world wars, to Jewish influence mirror Nazi claims of Jews as existential threats.
Hamas’ propaganda also dehumanizes Jews, a tactic Goebbels perfected through films such as “The Eternal Jew,” which portrayed Jews as subhuman parasites. Similarly, Hamas’ media posters, videos and online content glorify violence against Jews, depicting them as illegitimate occupiers deserving of destruction.
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists filmed their brutal attacks on Israeli civilians. They shared the videos to incite more terrorism and celebrate their actions, much the way Nazi propaganda glorified violence to desensitize perpetrators and rally supporters.
Perhaps most insidious is Hamas’ use of Holocaust inversion: casting Israel as the “new Nazis” and Palestinians as victims of a modern genocide. This tactic, seen in banners proclaiming “Palestine: the victory of the oppressed over Nazi Zionism,” distorts historical memory to equate Israel’s defensive actions with Nazi atrocities. Such comparisons trivialize the Holocaust, a genocide that systematically killed 6 million Jews, while inverting roles to portray Jews as oppressors.
The impact of Hamas propaganda is far-reaching. By scapegoating Israel and Jews for Gaza’s plight, Hamas fuels a global rise in antisemitism, reminiscent of the hatred incited by Nazi propaganda. On American college campuses and in activist circles, slogans such as “Israelis are Nazis” and “Hamas is resistance” echo Hamas’ messaging, distorting the conflict and ignoring the group’s terrorist actions.
Goebbels understood that propaganda thrives on repetition and emotional manipulation. Hamas has mastered this, using starvation, violence and antisemitic rhetoric to shape perceptions and deflect accountability.
Hamas’ starvation campaign and antisemitic propaganda are not political strategies; they are part of a deliberate revival of Nazi-style tactics designed to dehumanize Jews and manipulate global opinion. Goebbels would be proud of Hamas’ ability to exploit suffering and distort history for its ends.
To counter this, the international community must recognize Hamas’ role in Gaza’s crisis, hold the group accountable for diverting aid and reject its antisemitic narratives.
Only by confronting this propaganda head-on can we honor the lessons of “Never Again” and prevent the resurgence of hatred that threatens Jews and the principles of justice worldwide.
• Sacha Roytman is CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement.
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