Only Palestinian Lives Matter? BLM Chicago Slammed for Tweet Celebrating Hamas Attack

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) Chicago chapter is under fire for tweeting an image of a person with a parachute with a Palestinian flag and the caption "I Stand with Palestine," which was a presumed reference to the deadly first strike at a music festival near Kibbutz Re'im in Israel.

An estimated 260 partygoers were killed in that incident on October 7.

Backlash Galore

The reaction to the graphic was swift and relentless, the Washington Times reported.

Several conservative individuals and other persons or groups have criticized the group for allegedly supporting the massacre of civilians at the music festival.

"Black Lives Matter Defends Hamas, Salutes Killer Paragliders, "conservative podcast host Todd Starnes said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

"The guy with the parachute raped, tortured, kidnapped and murdered people... including 40 babies," posted Chicago talk-radio station AM 560 The Answer. "That's who BLM Chicago is standing with."

"BLM Chicago, like many leftists, comes out in support of slaughtering innocent people they don't like," conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck added. "Now ask yourself this: Do they like you? Unless you're an extremist, they probably don't. Consider the future ramifications of that for your family."

Elon Musk, who owns X, made a one-word reply to Starbuck: "Exactly."

BLM Chicago's Non-Apology

After the reaction, BLM Chicago responded to the criticism by removing the tweet and instead issued a statement on Wednesday (October 11).

"Yesterday we sent out [messages] that we aren't proud of," the chapter said. "We stand with Palestine & the people who will do what they must to live free. Our hearts are with the grieving mothers, those rescuing babies from the rubble, who are in danger of being wiped out completely."

In response, conservatives retorted in what seemed to be BLM Chicago's apparent doubling down.

"[The image] represents the Hamas terrorists who paraglided into the music festival and shot 260 people and took hostages," said Puck News founder Julia Ioffe.

"Honest question: Does [BLM Chicago] advocate for the kind of methods we saw from Hamas on Saturday - like paragliding into a music festival and shooting 260 people, then taking hostages & raping them - for American cops or even white Americans? Or is that reserved just for the Jews?"

Conservative radio host Erick Erickson also wrote in his daily email about the post.

"Look at the progressives right now, please," he wrote. "BLM is sending out graphics of Hamas paratroopers with Palestinian flags claiming to support them. Hamas parachuted into a music festival in Israel and killed over 200."

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Us, Illinois, Chicago, Black Lives Matter, Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza