Here’s the wrong way to do pro-Palestinian protests in America

loved ones aren’t going to be buoyed by the fact that, “Hey, at least it’s for a good cause.”

In the wake of that awful tragedy in October, pro-Palestinian groups like PYM and Students for Justice in Palestine have embarked on arguably ineffective stunts like these to try to bring some favorable attention to their efforts. But harassing unsuspecting bystanders hasn’t done the trick. Nor has it endeared them to anyone but each other.

Nor have the countless videos of young anti-Israel activists tearing down posters of Israeli hostages all over our cities. Nor have the threats against Jewish students on college campuses. Nor have all the strongly worded letters demanding various institutions denounce Israel for the death of their own civilians.

What this all misses is that there are plenty of Americans who are persuadable on this, who simply want peace in Gaza, who are sympathetic to the suffering of the Palestinian people, who might even object to Israel’s political objectives. But holding up their flight or keeping them from their family is itself a version of indiscriminate hostage taking, and that is sure to change no one’s hearts and minds.

Neither is blaming Israel for the murders of its own people, refusing to acknowledge that Hamas is a terrorist organization, or calling for the genocide of Jews with signs on college campuses like “Holocaust 2.0.”

It’s stuff like this that starts to verge on Westboro Baptist Church territory. When the infamous hate group protests the funerals of gay people and AIDS victims with signs like “God sent the killer” and “God hates f-gs,” it’s hard to imagine that needlessly and heartlessly harassing these grieving people is going to win anyone over to a point of view that is already controversial and offensive to many. And outside of that small group of activists, it just turns everyone else off.

The cause of peace for innocent Palestinians and an end to the war in Gaza is a serious, righteous and good one, at its core.

It needs serious voices, and deserves advocates who promote compassion and clarity, not callousness and chaos. But these unserious performances — which range from silly to annoying to deeply offensive — are only hurting that cause.

S.E. Cupp is the host of “S.E. Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.