In todays America, a Christian pastor who affirms biblical teaching on sexuality can expect to be hounded for years, while a left-wing Muslim politician can openly invoke damnation against fellow Muslims over Israel and face little more than a media shrug.
According to Western Journal, New York City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif, a self-described socialist Democrat with a record of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish rhetoric, recently targeted two Muslim organizers of a pro-Israel demonstration outside Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence. The protest supported New York City Mayor Eric Adams and opposed the radical anti-Israel stance of state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a favorite of the progressive left.
The New York Post reported that Hanif lashed out at the two Muslim organizers for backing the pro-Israel event rather than aligning with Mamdanis hardline anti-Israel position. May Allah condemn you to Jahannam, she said, invoking the Islamic term for hell in a public rebuke that would have ended the career of almost any conservative Christian who spoke in similar terms.
Despite the severity of the remark, media coverage was sparse and notably incurious about what, precisely, motivated her fury. Shockingly, to the extent the media covered this, nobody seemed to ask this question about her?
The answer, as the Post and other observers have noted, lies in her long-established hostility toward Jews and the Jewish state. In April 2023, she voted against an End Jew Hatred Day resolution, dismissing the effort as far right.
Her record grew even more troubling after Hamas terrorists launched their barbaric assault on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023. Just days after the attack against the Israeli people by Hamas barbarians on Oct. 7, 2023, she made sure to remind everyone that the root cause of this war is the illegal, immoral, and unjust occupation of the Palestinian people. (This post was later deleted.)
Hanif has not merely spoken against Israel; she has physically aligned herself with some of the most extreme anti-Israel activism in New York. Shes since been arrested during a Cease Fire Now Rally for Gaza in a Manhattan park where protesters chanted the anti-Semitic phrase, From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.
Her pattern suggests not an isolated outburst but a consistent animus toward Jews in general and Israeli Jews in particular. So not only does she hate Jews generally and Jews in Israel very acutely, she also thinks the hatred is being directed against her.
In an interview with Politico, Hanif portrayed herself as the real victim, insisting that the backlash to her Jahannam comment was rooted in prejudice. Talking to Politico, the outlet said she thought the criticism against her is overblown and potentially bigoted.
She argued that her words were being unfairly scrutinized simply because she used an Arabic term. Lets be serious: Go to hell is a pretty common expression of frustration or disappointment but the moment Arabic enters the conversation, suddenly people will act like I said something far more sinister, she said.
Hanif further tried to reframe the controversy as a clash with the political right, rather than a question of religiously charged hostility toward fellow Muslims who support Israel. I can and will criticize MAGA influencers joining a MAGA hate rally full of conspiratorial rhetoric and f-bombs, she added.
Yet her condemnation came before the rally she now cites as justification, undermining her attempt to recast the episode as a mere political dispute. Nor did her tone sound like rhetorically telling someone to go to hell and the reason it sounded more sinister had nothing to do with the Arabic etymology of the term she used.
For conservatives, the double standard is unmistakable: traditional Christians are relentlessly policed for even mild expressions of biblical morality, while left-wing politicians who flirt with open anti-Semitism are shielded by a sympathetic press. Just like the man shes going to protect at all costs, Mayor Mamdani, this is a woman who gives off so many dog whistles about how she feels about the Jewish people that its really just a chorus of regular whistles at this point, the shrill noise of which all of us can hear, but only some of us will acknowledge.
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