When partisans attempt to justify the actions of those they support, they almost invariably need to exaggerate the support of their political opponents of abhorrent positions.
Yes, there are neo-Nazis in the Ukraine (and around the world,) but people who support Russia vastly exaggerate their importance. Yes, there is child sexual abuse in the US (and around the world), but the far-Right exaggerate it in order to achieve their own political goals. In both cases, virtually no one actually supports neo-Nazis or sexual abuse of children; the vast majority of people on all sides of the political spectrum abhor both.
However, Palestinians really support murdering Jews.
Not just Jewish "settlers," not just IDF soldiers - Jewish civilians.
Not just a tiny minority of Palestinians, but the vast majority.
Over the years, most public opinion polls of Palestinians ask, in the abstract, whether they support "armed struggle," the euphemism for terror attacks. The support levels for that abstract question always hovers around 50%. That is really bad. But it doesn't reflect the real opinions that Palestinians have towards terror.
Because over the years, when they have been asked about specific attacks that targeted Jews, their level of support doesn't diminish - it almost invariably skyrockets.
In 2003, 75% supported the Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Haifa that murdered 21 including four children.
In 2008, 84% supported the Mercaz HaRav massacre, killing 8 including 4 children.
In 2009, 71% of Palestinians said naming a soccer championship after the suicide bomber who murdered 30 Israelis at the Passover seder in the Park Hotel was a "good thing."
In 2015, 67% supported stabbing attacks against Jews during the "knife intifada."
61% of Palestinians supported the murder of 17-year old Rina Shnerb in 2019.
Last year, 72% of Palestinians believed that the thousands of Gaza rockets fired towards Israeli communities were "in defense of Jerusalem" and 68% said they would support launching rockets at Jewish communities in Israel in retaliation if residents of Sheikh Jarrah were evicted.
Not in defense. The vast majority support targeting random Jews in revenge.
The polls about the current wave of attacks against Jews within the Green Line have not been released yet, but the public support for the attacks has been loud and strong, with pro-terror rallies in Jenin and elsewhere. You cannot find a single Palestinian op-ed that condemns, or even mildly criticizes, any of the recent attacks. Empathy towards Jewish victims of terror is literally nonexistent in Palestinian media.
Have you ever seen a Palestinian rally against murdering Jews?
Just today, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas re-affirmed that payments to terrorists and their families are a top priority, saying, "What we are doing is our duty towards the orphans of martyrs and the prisoners and their families, who need all our help."
There is no exaggeration necessary. Palestinians really do enthusiastically and overwhelmingly support the murder of Jewish civilians. It is a consistent pattern over 20 years of polling.
That is the fundamental fact that the media refuses to report. They will say that "both sides" have "extremists." They will find an Israeli Jew who supports Baruch Goldstein and pretend that he represents a large constituency. They will report on the few hotheads who really do attack Palestinian farmers and give the impression that they are what most "settlers" are like.
The media invariably exaggerate Israeli extremists - and minimize the Palestinian mainstream support of murdering Jews.
There is no comparison, and pretending that there is a parity there is itself justification for Palestinian depravity.
Almost alone among world conflicts, the vast majority of Palestinians really do actively support the most heinous crimes. And while no one will justify child sex abuse or neo-Nazis, there are plenty of people who openly justify the Palestinian bloodlust of murdering Jews.