Blaming the Victim: NGOs, the Apartheid Libel, and the Hamas Massacre

A number of NGOs claiming to promote human rights have justified and celebrated Hamas’ October 7 murders, rapes, kidnapping, and torture massacre as “resistance” against Israel. Other NGOs took an indirect approach to shift the focus away from Hamas and deflect from its atrocities, “contextualizing” the attacks as an inevitable response to the “root causes” of the conflict, namely Israeli “apartheid,” “oppression,” and “persecution.” While most of this demonization rhetoric appeared in the immediate aftermath of October 7, “apartheid” language has persisted and continued in NGO statements into November and December. In addition, the similarity of language employed by NGOs suggests a significant level of coordination in their talking points. Many of the NGOs involved are funded by the EU, European governments, and UN agencies. 

This victim-blaming is an extension of the NGO network’s ongoing campaign to use any and all aspects of the conflict to promote the “apartheid” slander, and as a pretext to advance BDS measures to isolate Israel internationally. It also reflects a broader ideological denial of Palestinian agency and responsibility, and commitment to declare Israel guilty regardless of facts. 

The “apartheid” libel is false and a deliberate distortion of the term – as extensively detailed by NGO Monitor. It has contributed significantly to global antisemitism and demonization of Israel. 

Further analysis is required to determine the extent to which the October 7 terrorists viewed the apartheid campaign as lending legitimacy to their atrocities. According to the NGOs, Israel’s existence is inherently racist, it is the most racist state in the world, and the Palestinians are the most oppressed. In this case – the twisted logic would argue – “armed resistance” (a euphemism for butchering civilians) is at least understandable if not justified. 

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