In his emotionally-charged opinion column entitled: “Congratulations, Donald Trump, on the Birth of Your Grandson,” which was published in The Globe and Mail on May 22, Izzeldin Abuelaish presented a deeply personal reflection on the suffering of Palestinian children in Gaza, appealing to the humanity of U.S. President Donald Trump on the birth of a new grandson, and, by extension, to the conscience of readers.

Drawing on the tragic loss of his own daughters and niece during the 2009 Hamas-Israel war, Abuelaish pleaded for the world to recognize the humanity of every Palestinian child. Yet, while his grief is real, his framing of the conflict and his omissions raise serious concerns about moral consistency, historical context, and the dangerous minimization of Hamas’ role in Gaza’s suffering.

First, a genuine concern for every baby and every child, as Abuelaish insisted readers must have, cannot be selectively applied. If Canadians are to uphold a universal moral standard, then the suffering of Israeli children must also be acknowledged with equal gravity.

Since Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza in 2007, Israeli children, especially those living in communities near the Gaza border, have lived under the constant shadow of rocket fire. Over the years, tens of thousands of rockets have been launched from Gaza into Israeli towns, turning daily life into a psychological battleground.

In Sderot and other Israeli communities near Gaza, playground equipment is constructed to double as bomb shelters, not out of paranoia, but necessity. Schools regularly conduct air raid drills, and children have mere seconds to find cover when sirens sound. Furthermore, in the brutal October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, Israeli babies and children were abducted, tortured, and brutally murdered. The horror of children being dragged from their homes, often in front of their murdered parents, cannot and should not be ignored in any moral accounting. Where is the empathy for them?

This one-sided portrayal of victimhood is not a new issue in Abuelaish’s commentary. He has repeatedly downplayed Hamas’ responsibility in the conflict, failing to clearly condemn the terror organization’s actions or acknowledge the central role it plays in perpetuating suffering on both sides. In fact, as HonestReporting Canada pointed out in a critique of a 2021 opinion editorial he wrote, Abuelaish has expressed grief for all Palestinians killed, without distinction between innocent civilians and terrorists killed during combat.

While it is understandable to grieve loss of life, there is a moral imperative to distinguish between victims and perpetrators, between civilians and combatants. Abuelaish’s consistent refusal to do so risks equating terrorism with resistance and clouds efforts to achieve a lasting peace grounded in truth.

Moreover, Abuelaish’s personal story, while tragic, is too often used to cast Israel as the singular aggressor and to absolve Hamas of its central, culpable role in Gaza’s repeated descent into war. He wrote of his daughters’ deaths as emblematic of a broader Israeli disregard for Palestinian life, but neglected to mention that Israel does not seek war with Gaza unprovoked.

“You see,” Abuelaish wrote, “every Palestinian child is as cherished as Alexander. Every child in Gaza is born with the same worth, the same right to live in peace, to play, to learn, and to dream.”

However, it is Hamas, time and again, that initiates conflict, through kidnappings, suicide bombings, cross-border raids, and indiscriminate rocket fire targeting civilians. In every instance, Hamas has not only endangered Israeli lives but has also used its own people, including children, as human shields. Weapons are stored in hospitals and schools, and civilians are often forced to remain in combat zones. These are not accidental tragedies – they are strategic calculations by a terrorist organization that profits from the deaths of its own people – knowing that the international media will broadcast the consequences without context.

To lay the blame for every Palestinian child’s death solely at Israel’s feet, as Abuelaish does, is dangerous and intellectually dishonest. It fails to account for the ways in which Hamas weaponizes victimhood and exploits its own population for propaganda. It also fails to acknowledge the difficult choices Israel faces in defending its citizens while trying to minimize civilian casualties, no easy task when the enemy embeds itself among civilians and rejects ceasefires or peace talks that do not include Israel’s elimination.

The humanitarian difficulties in Gaza are real, but the response must be grounded in a realistic understanding of the root causes of the conflict and a consistent moral framework.

Moral outrage that selectively condemns one side while excusing the inexcusable from the other is not a path to justice, it is a recipe for perpetuating division, hatred, and war. If we are to build a better future, we must be willing to speak the full, painful truth, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.