The world woke up on Oct. 7 to the news that Hamas terrorists had entered Israel, indiscriminately killed civilians and took others hostage.
The footage of the atrocities could be seen on social media as Israel declared war on Hamas after the terrorist group invaded southern Israel and launched rockets from the Gaza Strip.
Smoke rises after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit a house in Ashkelon, Israel, on Oct. 7, 2023. (AP)
While most reacted in horror, declaring that Israel had the right to defend itself, there were some who attempted to justify or put blame on Israel for the unprecedented attack.
Zack Weiss, a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and a member of the 2021 Team Israel Olympic team, spoke with Fox News Digital and expressed sadness over those attempting to provide a justification.
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“I would say, No. 1, is just disappointed, sad,” Weiss told Fox News Digital.
“It’s a bummer that there is some sort of justification for what took place,” Weiss continued, expressing carefulness in his word choice. “I think anybody who has seen the videos of what’s happened is familiar with any of the stories that you’ve heard from people, that’s just one-on-one disgusting terrorism at its core. It’s personal, it’s inhumane, it’s just so direct. And that action, in my opinion, is just rooted so deeply in hatred that I don’t really see how we’re seeing political organizations justify it in a political sense.”
“And I think that’s the point that’s really disappointing and disheartening a little bit is whatever your opinion is on the regimes in place, what we saw was horrific, devastating, should never occur human to human, and you’re seeing a justification. And I think that’s pretty disgusting.”
Zack Weiss of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park in Boston on September 9, 2023. (Adam Glanzman/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) expressed “solidarity with Palestine” in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying that Oct. 7 “events” were a “direct result of Israel’s apartheid regime — a regime that receives billions in funding from the United States.”
“We unequivocally condemn the killing of all civilians,” the post continued. “It is imperative for international human rights law to be respected. But we cannot forget that the Israeli state has systematically denied Palestinians the right to self-determination for decades.”
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“This was not unprovoked. For over 60 years, Palestinians have faced ethnic cleansing, torture, bombings, and housing demolitions. Gaza is still under a blockade.”
Beyond the posts on social media, pro-Palestinian rallies were seen in parts of the country last week, with the New York chapter of the DSA promoting a pro-Palestinian rally in New York.
Demonstrators at the rally burned and stomped on an Israeli flag and taunted Israel supporters with an image of a swastika. Others exhibited signs that read, “Palestinian return by any means necessary,” “Israeli apartheid & genocide funded by the U.S.” and “End all U.S. aid to Israel!”
People stand together during the Jewish Community Vigil for Israel in London on Oct. 9, 2023, two days after Hamas fighters launched an attack on Israel that killed more than 1,000 Israeli civilians. (Jen Golotko for Fox News Digital)
Shortly after the attacks, more than two dozen Harvard student organizations declared in a statement that they held “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”
“This chant that you keep hearing, ‘From the river to the sea Palestine will be free,’ that’s just another way of yelling Israel needs to be wiped off the map,” Weiss told Fox News Digital. “Because if you’re familiar with the geography of the region, that’s the land you’re describing. The state of Israel is included in that.”
“I’m not arguing against the people of Palestine being free and treated fairly, but I think to situate the blame exclusively with Israel without a recognition that Hamas is a terrorist organization bent on extermination of the Jews and eradicating the world of the land of Israel, I don’t think those are minced words. And I think chanting that, maybe to a lot of people who are uneducated and unfamiliar with the situation and the geography of the region, might not realize quite what they’re saying, but that’s what you’re saying.”
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Weiss was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of UCLA and has played for three teams in his MLB career, appearing in 12 games for the Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels during the 2023 MLB season.
Weiss was a member of the Team Israel baseball roster at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, telling Fox News Digital that his participation meant a great deal to him.
Pitcher Zack Weiss of Team Israel gets encouragement from teammates against Team Mexico during the first round at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Yokohama, Japan, on August 1, 2021. (Yuichi Masuda/Getty Images)
“It’s really important to me. I’ve always had a strong Jewish-American identity, and getting the opportunity to represent Israel was super special,” Weiss said.
“When we went to the Olympics, we don’t just stay in any building,” he continued. “We stay in a secured, centered building. We have private Israeli security with us. We’re beeped in and out, nobody can get to our floor, obviously after what happened in Munich [in 1972]. So, the whole experience is just different as an Israeli. And so, obviously, it was a great sense of pride to get to do it. We wanted to represent the country well, and I think we did it well as [a] people.”
The 2020 Olympics marked the first time that Israel had sent a baseball team to the games.
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“I proudly wore Israel across my chest. It was meaningful for my family,” Weiss said. “I think a lot of people suffered a lot to see the establishment of a Jewish state throughout – we’ll call it just history in general – with the Jews never really having a homeland and kind of all of our holidays basically celebrating ‘they tried to kill us, and they didn’t get us all.’ That’s the majority of the Jewish holidays.”
“I think getting to represent that was really special, and I have a strong sense of community and family with not only … Jewish Americans but Israeli Jews as well.”
Purely from a humanity standpoint, Weiss was saddened by some of the reactions after the Hamas terrorist attack, though not completely surprised.
Pitcher Zack Weiss of Team Israel pitches in the fifth inning against Team Mexico during the first round at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Yokohama, Japan, on August 1, 2021. (Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
“I guess unfortunately, probably not,” Weiss said when asked if he was surprised by the rallies and the posts attempting to justify the attack. “I think somehow the Jews make up 0.2 percent of the population, yet [billionaire George] Soros is the boogie man in America. There seems to be antisemitic [tropes] in a lot of what you hear, from kind of everywhere. So, I guess I’m not stunned, but I think I’m disappointed in just the humanity of it because … this is just so different in a human response.”
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“To see what you saw and applaud it, that’s not human. That’s not how our emotions should work when you see families slaughtered indiscriminately. And these people are posting videos of it, they’re proud of it, they’re parading, they’re taking hostages. This isn’t war. It’s terrorism at its most disgusting level.”
“I’m just saddened. It’s just not a good showing for humanity,” Weiss added.
Since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, Israel has declared war on Hamas and launched airstrikes in Gaza, leading to more deaths.
Fox News’ Kyle Morris and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
Joe Morgan is a Sports Reporter for Fox News.
