Cenk Uygur has a routine. He says October 7 was terrible. He condemns Hamas. Then comes the number: Israel has supposedly carried out “ 75 October 7ths ” since then. The point is obvious. Multiply the deaths, multiply the guilt. By Cenk’s reckoning, Israel must be dozens of times worse than Hamas. That is a serious accusation built on a childish way of judging a war. Run Cenk’s Calculation Through World War II Allied bombing killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in Germany and Japan. The US Strategic Bombing Survey estimated roughly 300,000 civilian deaths in Germany and 330,000 in Japan . Apply Cenk’s method to those figures. Divide 630,000 by roughly 1,200 people killed on October 7. You get more than 500 October 7ths . If you use a broader estimate of 1.5 million Allied-caused civilian deaths, the result exceeds 1,200 October 7ths . I would not present that larger total as a settled historical figure; it depends on which campaigns and causes of death are included. We do not ne...
Do Zionists Care More About Israel Than America? The “Israel First” Accusation Ana Kasparian recently said she liked Zohran Mamdani because he does not bend to people who “care more about Zionism than what’s best for the people of NYC.” The suggestion is familiar from The Young Turks: if an American draws a firm line over Israel, that person must care more about Israel than the people they represent. It is an easy accusation to make. It is much harder to defend. What Fetterman Actually Said Senator John Fetterman has said that if the Democratic Party formally turns against Israel and refuses it any aid, he would have to reconsider remaining a Democrat. That is a political red line. It does not, by itself, tell us that he would put Israel’s interests ahead of America’s. Consider why someone might hold that position. Hamas official Ghazi Hamad said the October 7 attack would be followed by many more similar attacks until Israel had been extinguished. An American who takes those threats s...