If the HN audience universally thinks something is reprehensible, it's an acceptable topic. If there's a core group that supports the reprehensible thing, it's now controversial and disallowed here.

Paul Graham I think is now retired from YC. The current YC CEO is pro-Israel, pro-Zionism.

ICJ orders Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza, stops short of ordering ceasefire - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39143043 - Jan 2024 (1401 comments)

Israeli group claims it’s using back channels to censor “inflammatory” content - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38941719 - Jan 2024 (348 comments)

Meta censors pro-Palestinian views on a global scale, report claims - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38745673 - Dec 2023 (751 comments)

'Like we were lesser humans': Gaza boys, men recall Israeli arrest, torture - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38616550 - Dec 2023 (1308 comments)

The pro-Israel information war - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38572675 - Dec 2023 (1675 comments)

The topic isn't banned. The issue is how often to have a thread about it (which often involves turning off user flags) and by what principles to decide this. HN has had clear moderation principles about this kind of thing for many years. If you, or anyone, wants to understand what they are, take a look at the links in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39435024 and you'll find further links to plenty of past explanations. If, after reading those, you or anyone else has a question that I haven't already answered, I'd be happy to hear what it is.