What the World Doesn’t Understand About Trauma, Terror, and the Danger We Face

Last week, amid the protests, the shouting, the walk‑outs, the theatrics, and even some serious speeches at the United Nations, there was one voice of calm reason: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address. His message cut through the noise with clarity about the threat Israel faces and the moral imperative of confronting terror without hesitation. As a psychiatrist who has spent 25 years studying terrorism and trauma, I listened closely — because the world’s confusion about terror is not just political. It is psychological. And it is dangerous.

October 7 is not just a date on the calendar. It is a wound — one that remains open for Israelis, for Jews worldwide, and for anyone who understands the psychology of terror. I traveled to Israel after the October 7 attacks — in which Hamas terrorists murdered more than 1,200 people and kidnapped approximately 240 men, women, and children — to gain first‑hand understanding of the psychological devastation. I sat with victims, listened to families, and helped people begin to process the unthinkable. The trauma was visceral — the kind that changes how a person sleeps, how they trust, how they walk through a doorway, how they send their children to school.

And yet, as the months and years passed, I watched the world’s attention drift, replaced by political narratives, misinformation, and a disturbing rise in antisemitism. This forgetting is not accidental. It is a psychological defense mechanism — but a dangerous one. When people cannot tolerate the horror of terrorism, they minimize it. They rationalize it. They rewrite it. And in doing so, they make themselves more vulnerable to the next attack.

In the United States, I have seen this pattern before. After 9/11, Americans vowed to “Never Forget.” But 25 years later, the memory has dimmed as an older generation ages and does not teach its young. Too many have forgotten the most important part: terrorists wanted to destroy America — and they still do. Today, the danger is not only external. It is internal. We see elected officials excusing extremism, college campuses normalizing hate, and public figures rewriting the meaning of October 7 to fit political agendas. This is not just morally wrong. It is psychologically reckless.

The victims I met in Israel are still living with trauma that does not disappear when the news cycle moves on. Trauma rewires the brain. It heightens vigilance, distorts time, and creates a sense of perpetual threat. Healing requires acknowledgment — not denial. It requires truth — not revisionism. And it requires a world willing to confront terror, not accommodate it.

October 7 also revealed something essential about resilience. Israelis showed extraordinary courage in the face of unimaginable brutality. Families supported one another. Communities mobilized. Mental‑health professionals worked around the clock. The human spirit proved stronger than the cruelty inflicted upon it. But resilience does not mean invulnerability. Even the strongest communities need support, validation, and global clarity about what happened and why it matters.

For years, I have worked to keep these memories alive through public awareness campaigns — including my long‑running mobile billboard initiative honoring both 9/11 and October 7 victims. These billboards have traveled through New York City during anniversary weeks, reminding Americans of the ongoing threat of terrorism and the need for vigilance. Most recently, I launched a new billboard in support of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s UNGA address, underscoring the global importance of confronting terror honestly and without apology.

I also attended the 25th anniversary commemoration of the 9/11 attacks at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum this year — standing alongside survivors, families, first responders, and national leaders. Bearing witness to that solemn milestone reinforced the parallels between 9/11 and October 7: two moments of unimaginable terror that reshaped nations, shattered families, and demanded a global commitment to remembrance and vigilance.

As we mark the 9/11 and 10/7 anniversaries, we must confront a hard truth: we are more in danger now not only because of external threats, but because of internal denial. When societies forget the reality of terror, they lose the psychological tools needed to prevent it.

October 7 must be remembered not as a political talking point, but as a human catastrophe — one that demands vigilance, honesty, and moral courage. The victims deserve that. Israel deserves that. And the future of global security depends on it.

Never Forget must mean more than remembrance. It must mean responsibility to teach our children the truth – not to whitewash it. September 11 was perpetrated by ‘terrorists’, not just ‘hijackers’. And, as Netanyahu said in his speech, accusations of genocide against Israel in Gaza are ‘the biggest lie of the century.’