Andrew L. Urban.
Apart from agreeing with him, I was struck by the colourful writing in a column by Brendan O’Neill, chief political writer for Spiked, published in The Australian (Sept. 17, 2026). He abhors “insufferable Gazaholics”, “zombie hordes of sanctimonious keffiyeh wearers” and how rapper Macklemore was “drawn like a fly to a sheep’s arse to that ground zero of moral grandstanding: Palestine” … a Palestine which does not exist, supporting a terrorism that does.
Someone called it Israel Derangement Syndrome, an accurate riff on the old Trump Derangement Syndrome, and just as nasty, ill-informed and hollow of value. But it is even worse than that; the pro-Palestinian sentiment has accelerated into a full-blown, Nazi-adjacent, pro-Hamas mindset – even among those who have no idea what they are talking about. (Just watch enough current affairs and you’ll see them making fools of themselves.)
It bothers me no end that there is more angst against democratic Israel and its jews – and that it is unjustified – than there is against genuinely evil, undemocratic nation states who cause harm to their own people on a vast scale. For example:
North Korea: The evidence of systematic state abuse is exceptionally extensive. UN investigations have documented arbitrary detention, torture, forced labour, enforced disappearance, restrictions on movement and expression, and a political-prison-camp system.
China: The Chinese government has been credibly implicated in extensive restrictions on freedom of expression, religion, association and political activity, together with arbitrary detention and severe repression of particular ethnic and religious groups.
Russia: There is extensive evidence of both domestic repression and violations connected with the invasion of Ukraine. Domestically, authorities have suppressed anti-war speech, independent journalism and political opposition. International investigations have documented alleged war crimes by Russian forces in Ukraine, including unlawful attacks, killings, torture and deportations.
Iran: The evidence includes arbitrary detention, torture, suppression of political dissent, discrimination against women and minorities, and extensive use of the death penalty following unfair trials.
Myanmar: The military government is responsible for extensive and well-documented abuses following the 2021 coup. UN investigators have described attacks on civilians, denial of humanitarian assistance and systematic human-rights violations.
Afghanistan under the Taliban: The Taliban authorities have imposed exceptionally severe restrictions on women and girls, including exclusion from secondary and higher education, restrictions on employment and freedom of expression, and compulsory rules governing women’s behaviour and appearance.
Saudi Arabia: The evidence includes systematic restrictions on political rights, imprisonment of dissidents, discrimination, arbitrary detention and extensive use of the death penalty.
There are also numerous other states with substantial documented abuses. Freedom House’s 2026 global assessment found that conditions deteriorated in 54 countries during 2025, with particularly serious violations occurring in countries experiencing authoritarian repression or armed conflict.
As I see it, “the zombie hordes of sanctimonious keffiyeh wearers” as O’Neill puts it, reveal their bigotry and lack of serious moral purpose by ignoring all the above to focus on Israel. They walk blindly past this menu of evil to choosing instead to pour scorn on undeserving Israel. Trying to justify their hatred of Israel, they invent an Israeli genocide in the largest straw man attack in history. (Debunking that genocide in Gaza is the easiest task for anyone with an internet connection who needs such confirmation.)
SO: as Brendan O’Neill says…(extracts below):
Forget “Free Palestine” – let’s free the West from the zombie hordes of sanctimonious keffiyeh wearers who mistake hating Israel for having a personality. Let’s rise up – peacefully, of course – against the armies of Israelophobes who stink up our institutions and pollute our streets with their juvenile wailing.
That’s the “colonisation” we should be fighting – the ruthless conquest of every nook and cranny of our public life by the insufferable Gazaholics of the activist class. My brand of “Palestine liberation” won a great victory this week when rapper Macklemore was dropped as the support act on Ed Sheeran’s US tour.
Macklemore is like an Eminem for people who drink matcha tea and donate to Wikipedia. There’s no moral bandwagon he hasn’t gleefully leapt on. He’s rapped soppily in favour of gay marriage. He once rapped about his own “white privilege”, apologising tunelessly for being yet another “white boy” who “claimed a culture that wasn’t mine”.
So naturally he was drawn like a fly to a sheep’s arse to that ground zero of moral grandstanding: Palestine.
Attend a literary soiree and you’ll hear luvvies dumbly hold forth on “evil” Israel. Every leafy campus is a riot of silver-spoon leftists calling Jews “Nazis”. You can’t swing a tote bag in polite society without hitting 10 nasty haters of the Jewish state. The BBC and the ABC have become the official broadcasters of this bougie mania. Their airwaves positively throb with anti-Israel animus. Far from being “dangerous”, Israel-hate is the drabbest, dullest, most conformist belief of our times.
Honestly, it’s relentless. It’s like our nations have been conquered by a foreign power. The Palestine flag flies everywhere. Our streets are swarmed every other weekend by idiot Israelophobes hollering for intifada. Social media is awash with anti-Semitic invective.
It’s not funny anymore. In fact it’s dangerous. The ceaseless, truthless depiction of the Jewish state as the most evil state in existence is endangering Jews around the world.