For Israelis, for Jews, and for human beings, October 7 marked a tragic day when the sky seemed to collapse upon us. Israelis awoke to a morning darkened by the grisly murder of children, the rape of women, the obliteration of families, and the brutal slaughter of young people celebrating at the Nova music festival.
Over 1,200 people were murdered, more than 3,000 were injured, and some 240, including babies, children, women, and the elderly, were kidnapped, constituting an egregious crime against humanity and the largest attack on Jews since World War II.
Antisemitism in all areas
As Jews, we were confronted with the resurgence of antisemitism sweeping through streets and campuses around the world. As human beings, we were appalled to realize that the violence of fundamentalist Islam had found ideological refuge and justification within circles identifying as the liberal Left and so-called progressives.
The fractures – personal, national, and human – are profound, leaving us searching for stable ground in a world that has been violently shaken. However, in this quest for anchors in the midst of our shattered reality, it is dismaying to encounter a self-proclaimed morality that either permits or even justifies these atrocious acts.
Some cloak themselves in a self-righteous silence, others derive pleasure from our distress, and some even place blame on the victims of the attack.
The first group encompasses organizations and institutions based on moral principles that prioritize justice and the well-being of human beings, many of which have proudly declared clear stances on various conflicts. However, when it comes to Jewish victims, they remain conspicuously silent.
This includes civil rights organizations, women’s rights advocates, LGBTQ groups, historical societies, and various professional associations that typically stand as buffers against harm to women, children, the elderly, and the innocent. Their deafening silence undermines fundamental human truths and challenges the commitment to “Never again.”
The second group, which takes pleasure in Israel’s misfortune and celebrates the tragedy befalling our victims – predominantly Jews but also including Israeli Bedouins, Arabs, Muslims, Christians, foreign citizens, and others – belongs to the radical left.
Proudly carrying the genocidal slogan “from the river to the sea,” which implies the destruction of the State of Israel and the removal of all its inhabitants through deportation or murder, this group operates under the guise of social justice, freedom of expression, and human rights.
Unfortunately, in this pursuit, the dignity of Jews and their right to life are trampled upon. Statements that would be deemed unacceptable for any other minority are considered legitimate and find explicit support and approval in public spaces.
Simultaneously, any form of antisemitism – delegitimization, dehumanization, and double standards – is met with applause. Moreover, due to the alliance between the radical left and radical Islam, the right to self-determination of the Jewish nation is denied, raising doubts about Jews’ right to a secure life in various countries. While the Middle East’s reality is undeniably complex, expressing a position of moral clarity regarding Hamas, a murderous terrorist organization, should not be complicated.
Especially distressing is the third group – scholars, including those specializing in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, who give pseudo-scientific responses. The distress stems not only from their professional standing as colleagues but also from their misuse of their academic cloaks.
SOME SCHOLARS claim that Israel is on the brink of committing genocide (New York Times, November 10), while others assert that Israel is already engaged in genocide.
Yet despite their academic training, these scholars’ assessments are far from what might be considered academic. Rather, they are one-sided polemic positions based on superficiality and selective quoting, violating academic honesty and standards.
These discussions notably center on Israel’s perceived intent, a key element in genocide, while citing statements made during the tumultuous times of war and disregarding a variety of other statements that unequivocally convey Israel’s focus on combating Hamas and not all residents of Gaza.
While it is true that Israel’s current government includes individuals who have made unacceptable statements, such remarks are mostly fringe comments and are criticized across the political and social spectrum in Israel. The IDF’s commitment to morality regarding civilians is unwavering, with Israeli officials continually cautioning soldiers against harming the innocent.
Alongside this selective quoting, these academic critics deliberately overlook Israel’s actions, conducted within the framework of international law, in a challenging effort to protect not only its citizens but also the citizens of Gaza, who are cynically used by Hamas as human shields. This is the context within which Israel warned northern Gaza residents to evacuate before the actual battle began, in line with international law and aiming to protect Palestinian civilians.
Moreover, in their condemnatory analyses, these scholars make no reference to Hamas’s genocidal intentions or actions. Professional integrity should have led them to examine Hamas’s statements calling for jihad and the slaughter of Jews – men, women, and children.
In a field that has dealt with comparative genocide for years, relying on context and balanced examination, scholars choosing to ignore the intent and actions of those who initiated the murderous attack is dubious at best.
This disregard is striking not only because Hamas’s genocidal intentions toward Jews (not just Israelis) are well-documented, clear, and publicized, but also because during the hours when Hamas had unrestricted freedom, they carried out genocidal actions in southern Israel. The intensity of the violence was such that even a month after the incident, some of the bodies had not yet been identified.
If Israel were interested in committing genocide, it could have done so long ago. However, despite having the power, Israel has never done so and has no intention of doing so now. The actions of the State of Israel, as explained by Eitay Mack (Haaretz, November 1), a prominent human rights advocate, should be viewed as a legitimate struggle by a sovereign state that was attacked rather than as genocide.
This brings us to the most dangerous aspect regarding scholars who act in a way that is contrary to the academic world, activists who choose silence, and “progressives” who work against the values of liberalism: associating Israel with murderous and aggressive ambitions and not recognizing that it is a victim of groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and fundamentalist Iran.
This, whether through silence or action, adds another voice to the chorus blaming Israel while exonerating its enemies, irrespective of the true circumstances. These scholars and activists ignore an asymmetric war of a democratic country against a radical terrorist organization.
It seems that for them – in a war between a democratic country that abides by moral conventions and the laws of war and a terrorist organization that does not respect any moral convention or treaty and even uses inhumanity as a method – the blame falls on the democratic state, at least in the case of Israel.
Instead of attacking the brutality of the terrorist organization that does not separate the fighting force from civilians, Israel and Jews are presented as perpetrators of violence.
This must be clear: The actions of Hamas, the ambitions of Hezbollah, and the threats of fundamentalist Iran are not an attack only against Israel. This is a global struggle between the Western world, which promotes egalitarian values, liberalism, and progress, and radical Islam, which carries out and promotes genocidal ideas and actions.
It is not Islam, but rather a murderous distortion of its principles. These are the radical forces that rejoiced over 9/11, these are the forces that operated as part of ISIS, and these are the forces that attacked Israel.
Thus, the fundamental question is how democratic states, which see themselves as part of the enlightened world and are subject to humane moral laws, can fight those who do not respect the laws of war and even exploit them cynically. How can one preserve human values in the face of enemies who exploit the liberal framework with the aim of eliminating it?
In the end, as acknowledged by US President Joe Biden and many European leaders, the horrors of October 7 have little to do with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; rather, they are part of a broader issue, and thus, supporting Israel today is tantamount to supporting humanity.
Hamas demonstrates a complete disregard for the well-being of Palestinians, evident not only in their consistent rejection of peace initiatives but also in their corruption, misappropriation of funds and resources intended for the welfare of the population, their concealment of weapons and bases within places like kindergartens and hospitals, and their use of civilians as human shields.
For those genuinely concerned about the Palestinians, there is an urgent need for a shift in discourse, encouraging them to liberate themselves from the destructive influence of terrorist organizations. Individuals and organizations with moral (and academic) integrity should have been the first to discern between good and evil, truth and falsehood, and acts of compassion versus acts of cruelty. Fighting distortion, oversimplification, a one-sided stance, and antisemitism might be the first step in that direction.
The writer is a professor of Jewish history at Tel Aviv University and heads the Center for Research on the Holocaust in Poland at Yad Vashem.