Images of death and devastation in Rafah rattle some of Israel’s most ardent defenders

(JTA) – For months, Zoe Buckman, aNew York artist with more than 72,000 followers on Instagram, has posted about the hypocrisy she sees in critics of Israel who downplayed atrocities committed by Hamas on Oct. 7.

On Monday, she again decried hypocrisy. But this time, she aimed her criticism in large part toward fellow supporters of Israel.

“Folks who do not condemn loss of civilian life in Palestine are akin to the many who refuse to condemn 10//7, h@mas and what is being done to the hostages,” she posted in Instagram Stories. “Turning a blind eye the way others do to us, is not our way.”

In the wake of Sunday’s Israeli strike on a displaced persons camp in Rafah that killed dozens, Buckman was one of a number of pro-Israel advocates who said they could not look away. The viral images of devastation — including that of a decapitated child —  triggered an outpouring of horror on social media, including from activists who have previously defended Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.