Experts Warn: Hamas in a Holy War Against All Western Civilization

Four experts explain why ‘the West is next’ isn’t just a catchy scare phrase but an accurate description of the threat Hamas poses to Western civilization.

By Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21c

“Oh, don’t be naïve. Hamas would chop your head off too.”

This and similar messages were plastered on billboards across the United States by JewBelong.org following the October 7 Hamas murders, kidnappings and atrocities in Israel’s Gaza border communities.

The billboards intend to shock Americans into recognizing that Israel is fighting their fight, too.

JewBelong cofounder Archie Gottesman warns that Hamas is “in a holy war against the Western way of life. They are an oppressive organization that will not stop with the Jews and Israel. … Standing up to the hate is crucial for all of us.”

Controversial though the group’s tactics may be, it’s hardly the only one ringing the #WestIsNext alarm bell.

“The Israel-Hamas war is about defending the ‘free world’ and standing up for civilization and decency against barbarism and monstrous depravity,” says Prof. Jonathan Rynhold, a senior research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University.

“The transnational ideology with which Hamas is associated poses a serious threat to the security and safety of all citizens in every free society. Israel must win or else jihadis will be emboldened to use similar methods against other members of the free world,” he warns.

Threat to the free world

Lt. Col. (res.) Shay Har-Zvi, senior fellow in the Institute for Policy and Strategy at Reichman University and former acting director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, sees the war between Israel and Hamas as a global confrontation between two axes.

“One is led by the United States, European states, moderate Arab countries and Israel; and the other is led by Iran and supported by Russia, China, Hamas, Hezbollah and other militias in the region” such as the Yemenite Houthis.

Agreeing with US President Biden’s assertion that “both Putin and Hamas are fighting to wipe a neighboring democracy off the map” to ignite and take advantage of regional instability, Har-Zvi says Russia is happy to see America’s focus shifting from Ukraine to the Middle East.

“Israel must win or else jihadis will be emboldened to use similar methods against other members of the free world.”

“Putin has even made statements supporting Hamas. This is why President Biden has supported us from the beginning despite criticism from radical elements in the Democratic party and within his own administration,” says Har-Zvi.

“He understands that the outcome of the war will have severe implications for the entire Middle East in the long run. If we succeed to eliminate Hamas, we could revive normalization negotiations with Saudi Arabia. If we don’t succeed, Hamas will try to take over Judea and Samaria, and that will endanger stability in Jordan and beyond,” he says.

Concerning moderate Arab countries, “There is a huge difference between strategic interests and constraints,” says Har-Zvi. “They are under pressure from the public to support Hamas and criticize Israel but they understand we must win this war.”

Gulf countries know, Rynhold says, that “whoever has their hands on the oil spigot has huge geostrategic power.”

They need Israel to help them avoid losing that power if Iran and its proxies were to join Hamas in a regional war.

“Regional war would change the whole balance of power. All US allies would weaken and Iran would be a stronghold backed by Russia and China.” And if they were to turn off the oil spigot, the world economy would grind to a halt.

“This is why the Middle East is really, really important to protecting the free world and why Israel is a critical piece of that puzzle,” says Rynhold.

Writer and North American history scholar Prof. Gil Troy, a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, adds that the free world “cannot afford to have Israel lose.”