During a recent livestream, political commentator Hasan Piker got people talking when he questioned why ISIS “never attacks Israel and only kills Muslims,” calling this supposed pattern “weird.” The statement came up during a broader chat about Middle Eastern geopolitics but quickly got attention for being inaccurate.
The claim that ISIS exclusively targets Muslims while avoiding confrontation with Israel misrepresents the terrorist group’s well-documented history. ISIS has been responsible for atrocities against diverse religious and ethnic groups throughout the Middle East and beyond.
While Muslims have indeed suffered the highest casualties from ISIS violence, the group has systematically targeted Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities. The United Nations has formally recognized ISIS’s campaign against Yazidis as genocide, which included mass killings and sexual enslavement.
Contrary to HasanAbi’s assertion, ISIS-affiliated fighters have engaged with Israeli forces multiple times. In 2016, ISIS militants clashed with Israeli forces in the Golan Heights, prompting airstrikes in response. The terrorist group has also claimed responsibility for attacks within Israel, including a shooting in Tel Aviv that same year.
