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Stacy Gallin

October 7: A Day to Remember, Not to Protest

A building in Tel Aviv is lit to display 365 days, in memory of the first anniversary of the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel. (AP pic)

October 7, 2024, will mark the one-year anniversary of the deadliest assault on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Some are holding vigils and memorial services honoring the dead and the wounded, those who have given their lives in service and those whose lives were taken for no reason other than being Jewish. Others are scheduling protests and calling for an immediate ceasefire.

365 days after Hamas, an internationally designated terrorist organization, brutally gunned down hundreds of young people peacefully attending a music festival, murdered almost 1200 people, raped, injured, and traumatized innocent civilians, and abducted over 250 hostages—women, children, elderly people, babies—society is still struggling with how to define the narrative defining that day.

The fact that there is any question at all about how to commemorate such a dark day in the history of humanity says a great deal about our collective morality. October 7 was a day where thousands of people’s lives were lost or irrevocably changed due to an unspeakable act of terrorism. It should be treated with the reverence and solemnity befitting an event of this magnitude. Full stop.

However, for some reason society cannot and has not been able to separate the inhumane events of October 7, 2023, from the geopolitical and military conflicts that have taken place since then. What took place on October 7 was an act of terrorism fueled by extreme hatred that must be continuously understood and called out as such. What has taken place since then involves geopolitical/military issues with roots in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict dating back decades (at least).  This is not to disregard the significance of the latter.  In fact, it is quite the opposite. There should be no conversation or respectful dialogue about October 7. Women were raped, children were ripped from their parents’ arms, elderly Holocaust survivors were abducted—all of whom committed no crime other than being Jewish. In any type of moral society, a terrorist attack of this nature and magnitude violates all ethical codes of conduct and should be universally condemned. What has taken place since October 7 is an issue that merits and necessitates thoughtful deliberation and discussion to avoid further conflict. Separating the two allows for the unequivocal condemnation of one of the worst terrorist acts in history while still providing space for the respectful exchange of ideas regarding Middle Eastern policy.

Yet, on October 7, 2024, there will be protests that utilize the ongoing geopolitical struggle in the region to divert attention from the lives that were lost and those still held captive by a known terrorist organization whose charter explicitly states their intent to rid the world of the Jewish people. What will these protest accomplish? Most likely, the same thing we’ve seen since they began: the continued connection between the rise in antisemitism and other forms of identity-based hate.

Based on data from the Anti-Defamation League, there were more antisemitic incidents in 2023 than in the previous three years combined. Of those incidents, 5,204—more than the total for all of 2022—took place between October 7 and December 31. This increase in bias incidents isn’t unique to the Jewish community. A report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University showed that in 25 of the largest US cities, hate crimes increased by 17 in 2023, a statistic the report attributes largely to the October 7 attacks.

Rather than using October 7, 2024, to further fuel the hatred and antisemitism at the heart of the Hamas terror attacks 365 days ago with negativity and protests, let’s dedicate this day to reversing the trend. The best weapon against the ignorance that has caused so much of the hate, bias and intolerance we have seen over the past year is education. Thwarting the rampant spread of disinformation and misinformation and countering the desire to find a scapegoat during times of economic, social and political uncertainty are essential components to developing a stronger foundation for society. On October 7, 2024, in addition to the essential act of remembering, let us honor the memory of those whose lives were lost by committing to the creation of enduring programs that combat antisemitism and other forms of identity-based hate through education, advocacy and moral leadership.

About the Author
Dr. Stacy Gallin is the Founding Director of the Benjamin Ferencz Institute for Ethics, Human Rights and the Holocaust and the Director of the Center to Combat Antisemitism and Reinforce Multicultural Acceptance (CARMA), both located in New Jersey. She is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University.
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