Chicago Sun-Times Columnist: I’d Pick Hamas over Netanyahu

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg wrote Tuesday: “If I had a choice between getting rid of Hamas and getting rid of Netanyahu, I’d choose Netanyahu.”

Steinberg’s tried to explain his preference for genocidal terrorists who oppress their own people over a democratically-elected leader who can be voted out: “There will always be another terror group to take Hamas’ place. But I don’t think Israel can ever have a worse leader than Netanyahu.”

The columnist made the remark at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, last month — then reported it himself in his column, aware of his “rudeness” but evidently proud of what he had said to a diplomat.

The rest of Steinberg’s analysis was somewhat more accurate, though it did not explain his earlier statement:

Palestinian leadership traditionally treat Israel as a military problem. An approach which failed spectacularly in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973, and that was when they had Arab armies behind them. They’ve been going it alone for the past 50 years, achieving greater levels of failure, leading to suffering, death and a dwindling area of land they actually possess.

Israel, on the other hand, views the Palestinians as a long-term management issue, instead of a pressing moral call to immediate action. That is, rather than solve the situation that fate has left on its doorstep, it blames the Palestinians’ admittedly corrupt and — Oct. 7 notwithstanding — bumbling leadership, shrugs, makes do, and lets another decade slide by. Rather the way Chicago handles its pension problem.

Democrats have struggled to deal with the anti-Israel (and, in some cases, antisemitic) wing of their party. Vice President Kamala Harris has said she would not cut off aid to Israel, but would likely take a more hostile approach than President Joe Biden has, according to the Washington Post. She has also hired a long list of anti-Israel aides.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.