On Oct. 7 one year ago, Hamas attacked Israel, killing almost 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. As Americans, how do we hold this anniversary, a day in history that is not yet history, a day that is not just one day?
The nightmare for Israelis and for Palestinians continues unabated. Today, there is a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, unprecedented levels of violence on the West Bank, fears of a broader regional conflict, demonstrations around the world and rising anti-Jewish/anti-Muslim hate. As of mid-September 2024, the death count is staggering: more than 700 Israeli soldiers, more than 40,000 Palestinians. On the occupied West Bank, soldiers and settlers have killed more than 650 Palestinians, and 15 Israelis have died in fighting. In the meantime, thousands of Israelis remain displaced from their homes in the south and north, 117 hostages have been returned alive, 37 dead, and 116 hostages are still in the hands of Hamas.
We can honor the dead by lifting up the voices of those who insist on working together, refusing to be enemies.
If we want to truly honor those who lost their lives that day and in the year that has followed, we might start by reaching out to those directly affected, wherever they may live, those who have lost their own loved ones, their neighbors, their friends. Then we might express our compassion for anyone living in those societies, societies shaken to the core. Everyone in Palestine or Israel has been touched by the anguish of the war. People are living everyday with fear: bombs falling, sirens blaring, constantly on alert. Some are worried that their humanity will not survive the trauma. They need our support, not our lectures nor our analysis.
Many of us, even if we share a tribal identity with one of those groups, are not in that inner circle. As bystanders, we have the luxury to step back and consider the context. This horrific year is part of an ongoing struggle over a piece of land claimed by two peoples. Astonishingly, there are voices who, even in the midst of active conflict and heartbreak, insist on working together, refusing to be enemies.
We can honor the dead of Oct. 7 and Oct. 8, and beyond, by lifting up those voices. These are people who do not accept the binaries of Jewish/Muslim, Israeli/Palestinian. Instead, they see a different binary: those who are willing to use violence to achieve their ends and those who oppose the use of force by either side. They are urgently calling for a just end to this war and to the occupation. This October, let us join them in prayer that this terrible year may turn out to be the tail end of an era of bloodshed that has already lasted far too long.
May it be so.
3 Responses
Thank you for this and helping us to focus on what is possible
To posit an irreconcilable binary” that divides “those who are willing to use violence to achieve their ends” from “those who oppose the use of force by either side” is a false dichotomy. You can’t avoid using force to defend yourself against perpetrators of sheer evil, such as Hamas, who massacre and terrorize Israelis and torture their hostages, and abuse their fellow Palestinians by using them as human shields and ruling by totalitarian force. The use of force/violence to confront such an imminent and existential threat is entirely consistent with working toward the goals of peaceful coexistence, security, and an end to war and occupation. To ignore or wish away these realities certainly does not “focus on what is possible”; it focuses on the impossible and is not a helpful analysis.
Thank you for this piece and your clarity and compassion