The college students erupting in anti-Israel protests on campuses across the United States, and the marchers at Thursday’s “All Out for Gaza” demonstration in New York City, repeatedly echo the talking points issued by the terrorists of Hamas.

But inside Israel, a very different story is unfolding: Millions of Arab citizens are rejecting Hamas and standing with the Jewish state.

The Hamas-led terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023 wasn’t just a bloodbath — it was a defining moment for Israel.

Over 1,200 people were murdered. Children shot in their beds. Families torched in their homes. Civilians dragged screaming into Gaza.

It was the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, and a shock to every decent person on the planet.

As Israel reeled and the IDF prepared for war, another fear surfaced: Would the country’s fragile Jewish-Arab internal fabric come undone?

It didn’t.

In fact, something extraordinary happened — something Hamas didn’t expect.

Arab Israelis — Israel’s 2-million-strong Arab minority — didn’t riot. They didn’t wave Hamas flags. They didn’t cheer.

They stood with Israel.

Arab citizens of Israel don’t all agree with the government. Many have grievances concerning inequality, discrimination and underinvestment.

But when terrorists stormed Israeli homes and massacred civilians, Arab Israelis didn’t flinch. They chose loyalty.

Arab medics treated the wounded. Arab mayors calmed tensions.

Volunteers from Arab towns donated blood, delivered aid and helped evacuate families.

Arab enlistment in the IDF grew, because many saw clearly that groups like Hamas don’t distinguish between Jew and Arab when attacking Israeli civilians.

An Israel Democracy Institute poll in November 2023 showed that 70% of Arab citizens felt a sense of belonging to Israel — a dramatic rise from less than 50% just months earlier.

More recently, a Moshe Dayan Center in December 2024 found that 71.8% of Arab Israelis supported the inclusion of an Arab party in the next governing coalition.

While Hamas spreads chaos, Arab Israelis are choosing civic responsibility and coexistence.

What many Western critics miss is this: Israel isn’t just fighting Hamas with missiles — it’s defeating them with reality.

Israel is a democracy. Imperfect, yes — but one in which Arab citizens vote, serve in Parliament, work in hospitals, sit on the bench and lead classrooms.

They protest. They debate. They’re part of the national fabric.

No country in the region offers Arab citizens those rights — not Egypt, not Lebanon, not Syria, and certainly not Hamas-run Gaza.

In Gaza, Hamas uses children as shields and jails dissenters; In Israel, a $202 million initiative launched in December is investing in Hebrew-language instruction in Arab schools, helping to bridge cultural and economic gaps.

That’s the Israel Hamas doesn’t want the world to see.

Since Oct. 7, Arabs and Jews in Israel have marched together under one banner, rejecting terror and believing in a shared future.

One grassroots movement, Standing Together, brings them side by side — not in some PR campaign, but in a real alliance demanding justice and peace.

In Israel, unlike Gaza or Lebanon, it’s legal to organize that way — and the effort is gaining ground.

Arab leadership has also shown real courage. Mansour Abbas, head of the Ra’am party, called Hamas’s massacre “barbaric.”

No excuses. No hedging.

Abbas made history in 2021 by joining an Israeli governing coalition — the first Arab party to do so — proving Arab leadership in Israel doesn’t have to be about rage or rejection, but can be constructive, pragmatic, and patriotic.

And that’s exactly what Hamas fears: Arabs who believe in Israel’s future.

There’s another, quieter symbol of unity: Bnei Sakhnin, an Arab-majority soccer team in Israel’s top league.

Arab and Jewish players compete together, cheered on by fans from all backgrounds. The team plays under the Israeli flag.

It’s not just a sports story — it’s coexistence in motion.

Oct. 7 was horror. But what’s followed matters, too.

Israel’s Arab citizens didn’t play into Hamas’ hands. They didn’t retreat into silence or sectarianism.

They stood with their fellow Israelis. They rejected hate. They embraced a shared fate.

They proved that Israel — despite its flaws — is still a place where Jews and Arabs can build a future together.

Israel isn’t falling apart. It’s holding firm.

In emergency rooms and classrooms, in city halls and at protests, ordinary people are refusing to be divided.

Hamas may celebrate death.

But Israel, even in grief, is creating something radical for the Middle East: a shared life.

Haisam Hassanein is an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.