Do not forget to mention the light amidst the darkness on October 7

It doesn’t take away the darkness, but it does influence our conclusions

The Chamas massacre on October 7 was smaller in scope than the Holocaust but worse in many other aspects: meticulous preparation, committed with joy, glee, and pride, sadistically, mass rapes, disfiguration of victims (cut off head, genitals), each of them war crimes.

Amidst all this shocking barbarism, there are other aspects.

Unity

Rightly so, much has been spoken about Israeli Jews crossing ideological divides since October 7. The unity. The generosity. You can safely ask total strangers on the bus: How do you contribute to the war effort?

I’ve pointed out that the massacre seems to have woken up Muslim Israelis to realize they belong within democratic Israel, not with the terrorists and their oppression of ‘Palestinians’ or slaughter of Israelis.

Chamas murdered many Israeli Muslims knowingly. Reversely, many Muslims (Bedouins) defended Jews against Chamas or rushed them to safety as if their own children on October 7.

Many Jews from all over the world, Israelis living or being abroad, and Jews living in the Diaspora for generations, surely not all ‘salon-Zionists,’ understood Israel is the place to be and rushed to return home. ElAl flew plane-loads-full one-way while other companies started avoiding the Jewish State.

Most of Them Did Not Murder

Most journalists are digi-phobes. Anything with numbers scares them. They’re good at language. Let’s go over some light, ignored numbers.

The first genocidal wave from Chamas was about 3000 murderers. They killed some 1200 people. Some killed at least a dozen with their machine guns. So, simple math, most infiltrators killed nobody.

Some of the terrorists who killed nobody, no doubt, were killed before they could murder. Some were too busy raping (a war crime), or setting houses on fire (a war crime), or looting (a war crime), or driving a pickup truck from which the terrorists were shooting (mass murderers no less).

Even indoctrination from the cradle that glorified martyrdom and mass murder only succeeded in turning some humans into killing machines.

Those who did not kill are still guilty. When a group robs a bank, not only the ones who carry the loot are guilty.

Most Victims Survived

I have read reports of villages that we decimated. That means the dot goes one or more places to the left so that instead of 100.0%, 10.00% or even just 1.000% survives. That means 90% or 99% murdered. But the journalist described a 700-inhabitant village with 69 murdered. That isn’t 90% slain but 10%. Bad enough, but it’s not decimating. It seems that 90% survived. Maybe at the music festival less. There were thrice as many wounded, so that leaves 60% physically unhurt. Not to trivialize their trauma!

The hurt multiples a lot when considered the hurt of the families and friends of those murdered, maimed, raped, traumatized, and displaced.

It is not politically correct to say but true anyway, I think: When loved ones die, you cry, trying to grapple with the loss. It is clearly sad to almost all humans. But more so to Jews. Unparalleled seems our clinging to life, our understanding of how dear life is. Maybe the more traditional-religious Jews have a somewhat easier time with it, but still, death is beyond our mindset. Also, needing to kill to protect life is very uneasy with us. I know that’s not unique to us. Huge is the number of US veterans with PTSD.

In our upset about yet another pogrom, let us not forget those who were saved. If people ask, “Where was G^d,” you can answer: “He was busy saving lives while humans went on a rampage.” Every survivor a miracle.

We Were Not Furious

Once the IDF and reserves were finally in place, we didn’t rush into Gaza to ‘teach them a lesson.’ For some ten days, the troops were encamped at the border with Gaza. The soldiers exercised how they were trained while the army top and the government set up plans to root out Chamas. No blind revenge, no kneejerk reflex.

Our funerals are so dignified. No anger, no screaming, blaming, or ‘we’ll get you.’ Honoring the fallen, grateful for the time we had them with us.

The old wisdom gained in Vietnam was that you can’t win from guerillas because they are indistinguishable from the population. The Jewish way has always been: “If there is no way, we’ll find one.” Solution: Order civilians to move; those who refuse are all terrorists. Brilliant!

Clarity

Decades of nitpicking to define differences between Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism fell away. ‘Anti-Zionists,’ claiming for decennia to have nothing against Jews but felt for ‘the Palestinians,’ suddenly had no trouble saying they hated Jews and wanted them all killed.

Reversely, people silent and passive for decades about the War of Survival Israel was fighting for 120+ years, suddenly burst forth in support of the Jewish State. Regular Dutch voters, revolted by Chamas marches, also Muslims sick of the Chamas massacre, gave the most anti-Islam politician 10 extra seats (out of 150) in Parliament, raising it to the largest party.

The Mistakes Had to Accumulate

A whole pile of mistakes enabled the pogrom on October 7. It wasn’t a single mistake by one person that proved fatal.

For decades, we were betting on the wrong horses. Terrorists cannot be trusted. Not to rule fairly over Muslims, nor to stop murdering Jews. No money, and no employment, and no punishment, and no deterrence really help because, at night, they still dream of killing all the Jews.

Many warning signs, small and large, domestic and foreign, were missed.

That, too, is fortunate. It means we’re not as vulnerable as we feel. We had to make so many mistakes for such a long time before we were mass murdered. This doesn’t mean that those who made fatal mistakes at the last moment can claim innocence. Jewish Law is very clear. When eight people sit on a bench, a ninth sits down on it too, and the bench collapses under the weight, only the last one pays for the damage done. Our secular Supreme Court has judged similarly. You can’t blame causality going back all the way to Adam and Eve to prove you’re innocent.

No Resistance in Vain

Small IDF outposts fought to their (almost) last man or woman. They were greatly surprised and overrun. But many soldiers died in an impossible but heroic firefight. Yet, they, too, saved lives. As long as they managed to engage with the terrorists, those were unable to murder civilians.

Remember the kidnapping of Nachshon Wachsman? The whole country, from deeply religious to secular, prayed fervently for his safe return. It was not to be. His mother reminded us: ‘No prayer for good is in vain. Those prayers will help somewhere else.’ Who knows? Maybe on October 7, when we were again united as much as then, our prayers did save some.

In the ensuing battle in Gaza, so far, 140+ IDF soldiers and hostages died, some 10% from ‘friendly fire.’ There is no such thing as a war without mistakes. Still, they, too, were killed by Chamas, not by the IDF defending 10M Israelis, fighting genocide. We don’t blame the victim. Identically, innocent Gazans died by Chamas, no matter who fired the bullets, rockets, or dropped the bombs because the IDF doesn’t target civilians.

Small Things Can Show a Lot

Killing animals is (still) not a war crime. The infiltrating terrorists had fun killing many of the pets.

Look at how the IDF soldiers behaved. They saved zoo animals, cats, dogs, exotic birds, etc. in Gaza. They didn’t have to. It shows their mentality.