In theory, this should be a moment of vindication for the Free Palestine movement. A ceasefire holds. Israel has pulled back troops. International headlines finally reflect what activists have shouted for months: that Gaza’s suffering matters.
And yet, the plazas are still. The hashtags have gone dormant. The chants that once shook campuses have faded into uneasy silence.
Why?
Many activists can’t celebrate because celebration feels like surrender.
Behavioral science has some explanations. First, there’s cognitive dissonance at play. When the suffering that fueled your cause suddenly ends, any gesture toward happiness feels obscene. They still see bombed hospitals and displaced families. To cheer would feel like betrayal – not of Israel, but of grief itself.
Second, social identity theory tells us people bond most tightly when facing a common enemy. But when the enemy momentarily recedes, cohesion falters. You can see it in activist networks now debating purity tests and political hierarchies: who’s really anti-colonial, who’s performative. The silence isn’t apathy; it’s fragmentation.
And then there’s the matter of trust. The Free Palestine movement’s emotional currency is their perceived moral authenticity. That’s why President Donald Trump, despite questioning aid to Israel, gains no credit here. Even if he were to deliver every demand the Free Palestine movement has ever made – an end to occupation, full recognition, humanitarian aid – he would get no credit.
To them, he is not a messenger; he is a metaphor. His name evokes everything they stand against: nationalism, hierarchy, cruelty disguised as strength. Their ears are hardened not by indifference, but by identity. When a message comes from a symbol of what you despise, its meaning dies on arrival. That’s not hypocrisy – it’s human nature. We hear only what affirms who we are. What remains is a vacuum of feeling – neither victory nor defeat, just unresolved tension.
For many, that tension is unbearable, so silence becomes self-protection. But silence has a cost.
