One Year Later: Is There Anything Left to Say?

October 7th is upon us. In many ways, it still feels as if it is October 7th, 2023 – just the longest 365-day expansion of that day. There are still 101 hostages (97 of those who were kidnapped last year; 4 from previous years) inside the hellhole of occupied Jewish Gaza, Gaza is still not under Israeli government control, there are 80,000 Israelis displaced from their homes up North. And the missile barrages have been part of Israel’s reality for the past year, though in some parts of Israel, the Otef Aza (Gaza envelope) communities, they have been dealing with missile attacks for years – no country would ever tolerate such attacks on their people without doing what Israel finally did to Gaza (yet needs to do a lot more). The only major difference now is that the world is at last seeing Israel’s military might outside of Israel, whether they like it or not.

Unless a survivor of the Jewish genocide or a hostage family, no one will be saying or writing the ‘correct’ words. In reality, there are no words. How can one describe pure evil? Can the Holocaust be ever properly described by someone who did not experience it, in terms of emotions? No.

We all know where we were on October 7th of last year – I had just returned from Israel, the most beautiful land with the greatest people (I’ve traveled extensively and even when I put my objective hat on, Israel remains one of the most beautiful countries, but it is the people that make it the best place in the world). This had been my seventh trip to Israel, but my first there for the holiday of Sukkot. Leading up to the trip, I was told (and had seen videos) of the political turmoil regarding judicial reform (reforms that needed to be made for years, if not decades; having a leftist Supreme Court act against the security needs of its citizens is dangerous and we are seeing ramifications of that today). Some even told me that with all the protests, perhaps I should come later.

To my surprise, the week I spent there was the most joyous time – no signs of unrest, and it seemed that everyone’s biggest concern that week was which sukkah to visit and when. Together with a friend, we traveled to the Judean desert to see both Mt. Azazel (the mountaintop from which a goat was sacrificed on each Yom Kippur and brought to the Temple), and the oldest continuously inhabited monastery, built in the 5th century AD (Mar Saba). We explored some of the neighborhoods of Jerusalem I had not yet seen on any of the previous tours (Rehavia with its gorgeous vegetation, Yemin Moshe, which was established by the Jewish-Turkish community and looks prettier than anywhere in Italy; I attended an emotional Havdalah ceremony in Nachloat, with its winding lanes, courtyards and artistic flair), toured the Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art (a must-visit), and took in the many hills of the golden sun-kissed Jewish capital.

But, I had my guard down. Still on a high from the Abraham Accords and my then recent trip to the Arab world, I was convinced that there was a path forward. So much so that I asked my IDF-trained guy friend to go with me to an Arab neighborhood in Jerusalem. How bad could it be, in terms of safety? My friend said absolutely not.

In Tel Aviv, I met with a Facebook friend whose family spent the Diaspora in Tunisia and moved to France in the 1960s, only to be driven out by Muslim antisemitism in recent years. We met for dinner over Jewish-Yemenite food (distinct from Muslim Yemenite food as Jews were considered ‘dirty’ in Yemen and unless being part of the Habbani Jewish clan, mixing at mealtimes was not the norm). The next day, my last day, was a tour of Shuk HaCarmel where I spent the entire time talking with an Italian Jew who was thinking of making aliyah. While his immediate family had been in Italy for centuries, he shared he has extended family in Israel who never left. It is completely antisemitic to say that ‘all Jews were exiled’ – not true whatsoever. By the end of the third Jewish-Roman War, even with the exile afterwards, about 700,000 Jews were left in the Judean homeland.

What I did find interesting was the lack of any terrorist attacks the week I had been in Israel. Sadly, it had never happened that on any of my trips, that there was not a terrorist attack somewhere in Israel, especially in Judea & Samaria. It’s as if lack of evil that week should have alerted me and all Jews.

It was such an incredible trip that I thought of extending my stay an extra week, but decided not to; after all, I was planning on coming back within the year.

My flight back to New York landed Friday, October 6th.

Early morning on the 7th, my sister called me and asked if I heard what is going on in Israel. What do you mean, I asked? I said I just returned from Israel, and all is good. She said to turn on the tv. Was this real life? I saw on the news that 22 people in southern Israel were shot (that early on, most people were not aware of the pure barbarity of how our people were murdered). 22 murdered increased to 50, increased to 150. By the end of the day, the casualty count was over 250. We had no clue it was going to increase to 1200. I was shocked by 22 as no terrorist attack in Israel in recent history had so many murdered. * Even one Jew murdered is one way too many. *

My friends in Israel were locked in their homes and hotels as terrorists were not just in the south, but were loose all over, and several kibbutzim in Otef Aza were now under Hamas control. It truly seemed like this was the end of Israel, and with that, perhaps the Jewish people as a whole. It took three days for the IDF to take full control back from the terrorists, all due to the sheer amount of subhumans who infiltrated. Nearly all the Gazan workers who were allowed to work inside Israel, helped Hamas. It would take months to find out that it was not just Hamas who murdered, but those rats were joined by other subhumans: 2200 Gazan civilians, UNRWA workers, and Fatah terrorists from Judea & Samaria.

The next day, I logged in to Instagram, and that is where I started seeing the horrific terrorist videos being shared – entire families burned, children shot and raped in front of their parents, children beheaded, families mutilated, mothers raped in front of their families, stabbings, shootings, and the horrific rapes, shootings, and mutilations at the Nova festival.

The only thing that gave the Jewish people hope it seemed in the weeks that followed was the stories of valor from the Jewish genocide – nonstop stories of heroism from the Jewish martyrs, nearly everyone fought back bravely against the subhumans. The extraordinary brave men who drove back and forth from their farms to the festival site to rescue as many festival attendees as possible. Rami Davidian stands out as the man who rescued the most, at 700 people. When there was no one left to save, he attempted to match body parts, covered naked corpses, moved bodies out of the way of Israeli tanks coming in, and recited the Shema prayer over each soul.

The Muslim IDF soldier who took off his IDF uniform at his base in the south, and who engaged with the subhumans in Arabic. That threw off the terrorists and he was able to kill many. The heroic women of the Caracal unit who engaged in hours-long gun battles with the terrorists. Tali Hadad, a kindergarten teacher who saved her Officer son during a gun battle with terrorists. Once he was in the hospital, Tali went back to the battle site and rescued others who had been shot. The Bedouins who helped Jews hide (the fact that Jews had to hide in our own homeland still sends chills) – one Bedouin farmer helped eight Jews survive by telling them to hide under his deck. Hamas entered his property and was shouting for Jews. The Bedouin farmer refused to give up details. What many do not know is that most Bedouins in Israel and Jordan are genetic Jews, descended from Jews who left for the Arabian Peninsula after 586 BC (destruction of the First Temple), later joined by many Bar Kokhba rebels in 136 AD, and eventually some made their way back home.

And of course, Battalion 77, the first to battle the terrorists. On the morning of October 7th, they had 14 tanks and their crews on army bases around the border with Gaza. Most of the 50 soldiers gave their lives, but all fell as heroes. Below are just two of many:

Ido Somech was only 19 and a tank driver. While terrorists threw an RPG at his tank, he realized the tank was too close to fire the gun, so he used the tank to drive over the terrorists. As he was driving to get medical attention for his hurt loader and gunner, he saw an army jeep, but the jeep was filled with terrorists. Ido was able to run them over with his tank. When he arrived to the festival site, his tank was overrun by terrorists, but he was able to kill several, while his tank scared off others – providing protection for at least a few festival-goers. It was the only sign of the IDF at the festival grounds.

Captain Ben Zonshein led his tank towards Nirim, where there was a terrorist infiltration. He arrived and his crew fought with the terrorists. During the next several hours, he engaged terrorists at Ein HaShlosha, Magen, and Nirim. He was determined to kill so many terrorists that the residents of these kibbutzim would not suffer the same fate as those in Nir Oz, where a quarter of the residents were murdered and kidnapped. His tank was hit, he got out, flagged a policeman, got into that police car in the trunk as there was no room in the vehicle. They were able to get to the soldier’s base, where Ben took command of defending it. Once the base was secured, he entered another tank and fought for 48 hours straight against the subhumans.

All the citizens of Israel were also heroes in the way that acts of kindness outshone the atrocities that transpired. Every time I spoke with an Israeli friend, they were off volunteering: helping make and serve food for both soldiers and the displaced, reading and playing with displaced children, psychologists were offering sessions for free, restaurants in Tel Aviv were kashering their kitchens so that their food could be donated to the army without worry. Homes were opened to the displaced. I can’t speak for American Jews, but I felt a guilt I’ve never felt before – I should not have boarded my flight back, I should have been running to bomb shelters with everyone in Israel, volunteering with Israelis for Israelis. Like many Americans, I donated time and money to numerous organizations, and to individuals on the ground; nothing felt like it was enough.

Jews in America didn’t even have time to properly grieve before we were hit by rabid antisemitism in the streets of our (liberal) cities. I lost count of the number of pro-terrorist protests in my neighborhood of NYC, the outrage towards the rats who were ripping down the hostage posters, and the insanity that was going on at college campuses.

I couldn’t even blame American Jews for near shifting their focus to antisemitism here. It’s not that I did not care, I was furious, but I was not shocked. I had seen this to a lesser extent in 2014, 2021, and online, 24/7. Instead, I hyper focused on educating Jews especially about Israel. We cannot blame others for antisemitism, if we contribute to it ourselves. Something as seemingly innocuous as saying ‘Palestinians’ to refer to Arabs is an act of antisemitism. Repeating the lie that Israel was ‘created’ or ‘established’ or ‘re-established’ in 1948 and even more horrifically dishonest, by the UN, is to uphold antisemitic lies.

If Jewish emotions this past year were charted on a Richter-esque scale format, for many of us, it would register at a 10 for nearly all – sadness/grief, anger, outrage, fear, shame, and pride. Sadness that this level of evil can exist, and that the Judean family was targeted, yet again. Outrage that Israeli leadership and security lagged behind the rulers of other Middle Eastern countries who were able to control terrorism, through any means necessary without kowtowing to the West. Anger at Jewish leaders who keep pushing ‘unity’ down the throat of Jews who stand firm against unifying with self-hating Jews who still, to this day, vote against Israel, and those who join forces with the terrorist supporters.

Outrage that Netanyahu still has not found the courage to declare that Gaza will be reclaimed. Fear that the brave soldiers of the IDF who fought in Gaza will have done so for nothing if Gaza is not reclaimed fully by Israel. Not doing so is begging for the next Jewish genocide. Shame that in 2023, a genocide was able to occur in the Jewish homeland. Jews have not been an occupied people since 1948, and yet, how many treaties have weak Israeli leadership signed which gave away our land to be occupied (2/3rds of Judea & Samaria/ Gaza), by those who have never hidden their desires to murder us. Pride, immense pride of the IDF soldiers, the Mossad, and of the IAF, the mighty Israeli Air Force, an entity now rightfully feared throughout the Middle East. Pride in the Israeli people for their sheer resiliency.

I do not believe in ‘lessons learned’ unless making a mistake; Israeli leadership will need to learn many lessons moving forward. Instead, I share what has been awakened for me in the past year:

• That I could not imagine being part of any other race than the Judean race – the customs, faith, and culture is something to feel grateful for, and the continuity of my people. I’ve been a Zionist since 2014, but it was this year, that I researched our actual incredible history like never before.

• Despite everything, Shabbat has kept our people together throughout the ages. I attended more Shabbat dinners and services this past year than ever before, and plan to continue.

• Not taking any of the Judean holidays for granted, while also wishing that Chanukkah would be celebrated for what it actually was historically, a Zionist military victory.

• Not to be fooled even by peace treaties. No one is coming to our rescue except ourselves. And if signing peace treaties, to ensure that Israeli needs are fully met, that includes all embassies to be located in Jerusalem. And if Saudi Arabia resumes talks and pushes for the antisemitic ‘2 state solution’ – it is better to walk away. Israel does not need Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia needs Israel more. Similarly, America needs Israel more than Israel needs America.

• When our enemies inside Israel (Gaza and Judea & Samaria are part of Israel) scream for nearly 80 years that they want to murder us, wake up and listen. Then act.

• The strong wish for Jews to stop caring ‘what the world thinks’. – the world loves murdered Jews far more than living ones. That will never change. If Israel would do what it should in Gaza, sure the world will cry for a few years, but those actions would secure safety for Israelis in the long-run. Same with securing safety in Judea & Samaria – all of it. There is no reason for the Oslo Terrorist Accords to remain.

• That it is ok not to feel unity with all Jews. I did briefly, for a few months after the genocide, but then reality set in, and again, I cannot get on board with those who vote for terrorist supporters and those who march with them. But, to give grace to those Jews who have finally woken up, even if it did take 1200 murdered innocents and 254 kidnapped to do so. I was once a self-hating Jew too in terms of misinformation.

• That accurate non-antisemitic terminology matters, more so now than ever before. ‘Palestinians’ not referring to Jews, ‘West Bank’ ‘settlements,’ ‘East Jerusalem’ (as some non-Jewish separate entity), ‘settlers’ – all those terms should be expunged from our collective vocabulary.

• Terrorist attacks against Jews especially in Israel cannot be normalized. Missiles launching at Israel cannot be normalized. There has to come a point where no more mamads need to be built because even the thought of a missile attack would seem out of norms and ludicrous.

• To always remember that Jews are a warrior tribe. As we listen to the blowing of the shofar, we are connecting with our Judean ancestors who used the ram’s horn as an instrument to rally troops to war. The shofar has since taken on many other meanings, but we cannot forget that originally it was a battle cry. To signify strength of a nation. Jews are an indigenous warrior tribe. That is something to never forget. We should never accept peace if it comes at a detrimental cost.

• Jews are the only indigenous group in the world to liberate ancestral occupied land. That process was arduous, costing many Jews their lives. We have a responsibility to both those who liberated our homeland with great bravery and to our Judean ancestors who fought valiantly against the greatest of Empires at the time to attempt to thwart subjugation, to keep our land and to ensure utmost safety of a 4,000-year-old people.

• My hope increased in recent days that more of our hostages can be rescued. This was renewed when news broke that the IDF rescued a Yazidi woman, now 21, from the clutches of an Arab occupier in Gaza. Ten years ago, the ISIS rats enacted a horrific genocide against the Yazidis in Iraq (the Yazidis are an indigenous group who are also a race with a unique faith). This young girl at 11 years old was sold as a sex slave to an Arab occupier in Gaza, who had traveled to Iraq, and she remained trapped in Gaza for a decade. The IDF was able to secure her release to international partners, and she is now back home in Iraq.

• That politics matters both here and in Israel. Until the Jewish genocide, I had a hands-off approach on Israeli politics. After all, I am not an Israeli citizen, do not pay taxes there, and have not served in the army. In actuality, it very much matters who the PM is in Israel as it affects Jews worldwide and our only homeland. Similarly, it matters who the President is in America especially if Israeli leaders continue acting like Israel is a vassal state to the U.S (behavior that should dissipate completely).