After October 7, many on the left justified, dismissed or championed acts and beliefs they otherwise view as unconscionable. Why?

This issue of The Jewish Quarterly explores the response of the left to the Hamas attacks in Israel of October 7 and the willingness of progressives to abandon values that they purport to represent. In this crucial essay, author and columnist Hadley Freeman examines the equivocations, contortions and hypocrisy displayed by elements of the left, including many who were unable to name, acknowledge or condemn the atrocities of Hamas. Freeman looks at the beliefs and mindsets that have swept across sectors such as universities, politics, media and the arts, and resulted in a fervour that blinds its adherents to the realities and complexities of history and justice.