Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy appeared this week on the Legitimate Targets podcast hosted by antisemitic internet personality Jackson Hinke.
Hinkle, who describes himself as a "Conservative Marxist–Leninist," is known online for his strong, unbashed support for anti-Israel terror groups, including Hamas and the Houthis. Last month, he visited Yemen, where he met with Houthi leaders and addressed a rally in the Houthi-controlled capital of Sana'a. He often posts photos of terrorists, including October 7th mastermind Yayeh Sinwar, hailing them as heroes, and refers to Israel as terrorists.
Levy opened the interview by attacking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He claimed that he had no intention of implementing the further steps of the ceasefire and blamed the collapse on Netanyahu's political considerations.
Levy claimed in the interview that the fact that the October 7th Massacre killed what he called the "peace camp" in Israel proves that such a camp did not really exist beforehand. According to Levy, the massacre and abduction of Israelis should have strengthened such a camp.
In the interview, Hinkle called into question claims of rape by Hamas terrorists during the October 7th Massacre. Levy replied: "It doesn't really matter, I was in the Kibbutzim on the 9th of October, and I saw horrible things which I've never seen in all my career. They claim there were rapes and I can only believe because there's no room for doubts since there is no doubt that horrible things happened there. Were there some rapes? I guess there were here and there." He added that he would be "more than happy to see proof that they didn't."
Hinkle praised Levy and called his brand of journalism, which often criticizes the State of Israel and the IDF, "brave."
The host repeatedly referred to Zionists as "hardcore genocidal people," blamed them for antisemitism, and claimed that Israel dismisses all criticism as antisemitism. Levy concurred, stating, "I couldn't agree more with you. For years, Israeli propaganda was based on a single manipulation, mainly to label criticism of Israel as antisemitism."
Per Levy, "This was working excellently, it paralyzed Europe, because nobody wants to be labeled as an antisemite. Even in the US, it has an effect, and people are very cautious when criticizing Israel or when giving a platform to someone who wants to criticize Israel. Now, we are reaching a point at which things have become much worse. You don't need me; just look at pictures from Gaza; you can not remain indifferent. Israelis don't see Gaza, so they may believe what they're being told. But in the world, the images work by themselves. When you see what's going on, what can you say? That it is self-defense? That it has to do with terror?"
Levy agreed with the claim that Israel's actions fuel antisemitism and "it seems that Israel doesn't care about fueling it." He added that from his experience, "the majority of critics of Israel, the occupation, the apartheid, and of what is going on in Gaza have nothing to do with antisemitism."