A DIFFERENT KIND OF POST FOR ME

Everything changed for me on October 7th, 2024, surprisingly even more so than when we experienced the horrific terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. We all watched with utter disbelief as news outlets showed real-time footage of the mid-air strikes of both twin towers followed by their unfathomable collapse. The entire nation was alarmed by the images of people running for their lives and of people running to protect lives. Never had we witnessed such brutality and disregard for human life on American soil. But then on September 12th, 2001, this country became one. We were horrified by the atrocities and yet we were unified because of them. We were bonded by the collective loss of innocent lives as well as by our collective sense of patriotism. The world's response to the evils of 9/11 was one of solidarity as reflected by the French newspaper's, Le Monde, headline, We are all Americans today. There was a collective commitment amongst our allies to protect against acts of terrorism against an ally. And yet, the response to the evil of October 7th, at the hands of Hamas, a known terrorist organization, against the State of Israel, a long established ally, has been anything but. Much like September 11th, the attacks on October 7th were coordinated efforts to murder as many innocent lives as possible, through horrific and barbaric measures. And much like September 11th, the attacks were not an act of war, but rather an act of sheer terrorism. But unlike September 11th, the rallying call to arms in support of an ally has been polarizing. At its essence, Israel was established as a safe haven for every Jewish person, but, since its formation in 1948, it has had to defend its right to exist. Much like September 11th shook the world's sense of security, October 7th was a shock to Israel's. But, unlike the aftermath of September 11th, the terrorist attack of October 7th has polarized our country and the world. When we should be coming together in support of an ally, we are witnessing campaigns on college campuses, on the internet, in our city streets, and from those in the media against Israel. When our voices should be in sync disparaging Hamas, we are struggling to get a consensus on Israels' right to defend itself. It has polarized institutions. It has polarized friendships, and it has polarized families. Since its 1988 Charter, Hamas' aim has been the complete annihilation of Israel, to which they have acted on for more than 30 years, mainly carried out by suicide bombings of innocent civilians. Their recent attack was barbaric to its core, taking equal pleasure in the rape and torture of children and of the elderly as they did in the systemic shooting of hundreds of teenagers and young adult festival goers. They were cheered and applauded on the streets of Gaza as they paraded civilian hostages, including infants and young children. This was, at its core, an act of evil, and yet this country's response has been nothing short of incredulous. With a population of just over 9.8 million people, of which 73% are of the Jewish faith, Israel continues to be a jewish homeland. Out of the 15.2 million Jewish people in the world, 47% live in Israel. The annihilation of Israel would be the annihilation of the Jewish people. Make no mistake that an attack against Israel is an attack against the Jewish people. And an attack against the Jewish people is an an act of antisemitism. Where is our sense of collective loss of over 1,000 innocent lives and our sense of outrage for the deprivation of humankind? How is this brutality different than that of 9/11? Did the world not think that Israel had the right to retaliate and defend itself? Certainly, Hamas knew it would. Some claim that it was that knowledge that most likely motivated Hamas to act and bring Israel into an escalated retaliation. It has been suggested that Israel's attempted diplomacy with its Arab neighbors was a threat to Hamas' strategy of denying Israel's existence. Detente was never Hamas' objective nor was Israel's relevancy. Hamas is not looking to live in peace with Israel. It is looking to live completely without Israel. Israel did not start this bloodshed, but it now finds itself fighting in the trenches with a much broader enemy, namely social media. It's unimaginable to think that the intentionally heinous and bloodcurdling reign of terror that took place on Kibbutz Be'eri and at the music festival could give rise to anything other than horror, outrage, and contempt for the perpetrators and their supporters. And yet it did. Israel's response continues to be questioned, debated, cautioned, warned and accusatory. Headline news and social media puts the focus on the Gazan casualties and the 'apparent' lack of humanitarian relief efforts towards the Gazans. Pictures of decimated buildings due to Israeli retaliatory airstrikes in efforts to thwart Hama' ability to continue its carnage bare prominence in the news as do the images of scarred and bloodied Gazan civilians. My heart goes out to the lost innocents but those casualties should be borne by Hamas, not Israel. In the face of a confirmed underground tunnel system designed around civilian Gazan territories all commandeered by Hamas, knowing that any response by Israel would cause escalated civilian casualties, Israel still must defend itself. Lest we forget that it was Israel who, in response to Hamas' attack, urged those residing in Gaza to evacuate in order to be spared. Where was the warning from Hamas on the morning of its attack so as to avoid civilian losses? How can Israel be held to any standard when being attacked by a group of militant terrorists who have no standards and whose only mission is Israels' destruction. History continues to show that this is what Hamas lives for and is prepared to die for. There are no standards of care in their ideologies other than the complete obliteration of Israel. Documents found on Hamas terrorists on October 7th showed detailed plans for Hamas units to target civilian areas, including schools, NOT to avoid them. That's their standard of care. When the world should be condemning Hamas, we are instead experiencing heightened levels of antisemitism. Since October 7th, Germany has experienced a 240% increase in antisemitic acts. A 240% increase. That's unfathomable. Britain more than quintupled. In London alone, antisemitic incidences jumped 135%, and in France, more than 1500 antisemitic attacks occurred in the month after October 7th. How do these figures not question our moral compass? According to the Anti-Defamation League, the total number of incidents of antisemitism in the United States over the three months since the attack were four times the number that occurred during the same period the previous year. Jews are a mere fraction of the world's population and yet we command such hatred. How did the world become so hateful and how did we not see this coming? It pains me to think that for some, "Never again" has become an historical footnote, and for others, historical fiction. It's as if October 7th awoke a dormant evil. We can no longer rest on the heroism and the will to survive of past generations, because time has shown us that history repeats itself. Unlike the aftermath of September 11th, I am now afraid for my children's safety and for the safety of future generations. I am saddened by the environment in which they are living, dominated by an unregulated social media that offers unrestrained and unqualified rhetoric disguised as truth. When my children should be focused on their careers or their relationships or even something as inconsequential as what they are doing next Saturday night, their attention is now on navigating their city streets to avoid aggressive protestors or having to consider their safety in the Uber car that is waiting for them. When they go to the gym, they now contemplate whether they should purposely tuck their Jewish star necklace under their teeshirt. Every phone call use to end with "I love you", but now includes, "Stay safe. Stay alert. Be smart. And don't go alone." Our personal safety is on the line. When the Palestinian rallying phrase, "From the river to the sea," an expression that refers to the territory between Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and recognized as a genocidal call to Israel's destruction, becomes an accepted mode of protest, then our faith in humanity is at stake. When deans of some of our finest institutions cannot systemically and unequivocally denounce the calling for the genocide of Jews as a violation of their university's code of conduct, then our faith in our Country' constitution is at stake. We have witnessed neighbors, friends, workmates, Hollywood notables, and our elected politicians participating in anti-Israel rallies promoting the boycott of Israeli products and businesses, using social media to call on others to join their plight. They are perpetuating untruths and ill-founded hatred to make their case. And for the generation that relies on social media as their social conscience, it is jeopardizing a relationship with this Country's most reliable ally in the Middle East and with its very existence. Since October 7th, my faith in humanity has been shaken. I question whether there is more good than evil and whether democracy stands for justice. My social complacency was based on the trust of human decency, that truth and morality would prevail. I believed that the injustice towards one should be a battle cry to all, but now fear that such a belief has fallen on deaf ears, especially from those who themselves have experienced bigotry and prejudice, the same ones who sought and received the support of the Jewish community for their cause. My naivete' led to a blind faith in humankind. I no longer take our fundamental freedoms, whether it be of worship, speech, or equality as patently protected. The pervasiveness of social media has threatened our democracy and our trust in each other. The aftermath of October 7th changed my reality. Stay safe. Stay alert. Be smart. And don't go alone....