What I Learned From October 7th

The (alive) hostages are home. It's finally October 8th.

📚 Join next book club on Sunday, 10/26 to discuss As a Jew by Sarah Hurwitz!

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My dear community,

This week, Jews all over the world celebrated the joyous homecoming of the living hostages. Watching their reunion videos felt like a breath of fresh air. We also acknowledged those who didn’t come home alive, and the fact that Hamas didn’t hold up its end of the deal by handing over the remaining bodies of the hostages within 72 hours. We’re still awaiting their return.

We’ve been waiting for this moment for two years. For a ceasefire, one that will hopefully last. For this horrible war to be over. For a new day.

I’m not sure how optimistic to feel about a new Middle East. On one hand, several Arab nations may join the Abraham Accords, and the peace plan calls for a new governing body in Gaza that’s not Hamas, something Gaza clearly needs.

On the other hand, once the ceasefire was put in place, violence broke out in Gaza, with Hamas shooting members of rival factions, and thousands of Palestinian prisoners—many convicted for murdering Israelis—are now free (which is how 10/7 happened). Many have reason to believe the cycle of violence will only continue: Hamas attacks Israel, Israel strikes back, rinse, repeat.

So… are we to have hope or not? During this time of so many unknowns, I guess that choice is up to us.

I still feel it’s too raw to reflect. We only just starting coming up for air. As some of us have been saying, “It’s finally October 8th.” Yet, as a pensive person in need of blog material, I can’t help but jot a few things down.

What I’ve Learned From October 7th:

1. Antisemitism is alive and well. Like many of us, I put it in the back of my mind and focused on other issues. I thought, “It’s 2023. Jews are fine! We’re blowing Jew hatred out of proportion.” And then I woke up on 10/7 with posts from my Facebook friends praising the most horrendous attacks someone can do to another human being. Those same friends later justified or ignored anything overtly antisemitic that the anti-Zionist movement has done to Jewish-owned stores, kosher restaurants, synagogues, etc. And if you’ve studied the history of how antisemitism manifests, it’s plain to see how Israel is being used as the latest libel, and Zionists = Jews. Take it from someone who used to scoff at this seemingly paranoid idea. I could go on, but that’s not what this post is for.

2. We can’t close ourselves off. At the same time, throughout this war I was disheartened by members of my community who were so quick to deny any accusation against Israel, saying Israel could never be responsible for anything horrendous that happened. I get it… it stung when the NY Times blamed Israel for the bombing of al-Ahli Arab Hospital, only to discover the blast came from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and killed hundreds. And we know a significant number of civilian deaths weren’t actually civilians. But to deny starvation in Gaza? To deny the deaths of women and children? I understand wanting to wait and see what the news would reveal before jumping to conclusions, but that isn’t solved by jumping to the conclusion that Israel had nothing to do with it. We know we’re a people of peace and humanity, so let’s show it. As my rabbi said in his Rosh Hashanah sermon, “Speaking up for the suffering of Palestinians doesn’t make you an anti-Zionist or even a woke Jew; it makes you human.”

3. Don’t go to the NY Times for news on Israel. Well, I knew this one already. Though it’s important to see what the rest of the world is reading.

4. More people support us than we think. In the past two years, every single time I told a stranger I’m Jewish, I work in Jewish education, or I was going to Israel, they supported me wholeheartedly, saying things like, “I respect how your people fight to the death to defend your own,” or, “I’ve always wanted to go to Israel!” I stopped being nervous and started being proud. I received more reactions like these than I got yelled at for wearing my “Bring Them Home” shirt, and it felt great every single time.

   

5. It’s important to protect your energy. I don’t want to generalize here, but from my experience of talking with people who said there was a genocide happening (and they weren’t referring to the one taking place in Sudan), they don’t know know much. They even admitted to me that they didn’t know much. So, at some point I stopped wasting my energy and instead chose carefully with whom to associate. Also: put limits on your social media apps on your phone!!!

6. It’s more important to own your truth than to follow the crowd. On that note, I was recently speaking with someone who was worried that this war will be viewed in history as a genocide, not because he believed it was, but that’s how it will be known to the rest of the world, causing more antisemitism and damaging international relations with Israel. I said I don’t think it will be labeled as a genocide, judging by the way mainstream media calls it what it was: the Israel-Hamas War. Plus, society today doesn’t think of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan as a genocide, but rather as what ended WWII. While I do think Israel could have conducted the war better, and it’s important to take Israel’s relations with the rest of the world into consideration, the fact that Israel scaled back its major operations as soon as we got our hostages back and Hamas was no longer a major threat proves Israelis in general want peace and a better future. People live in their own narratives; there’s no changing that. As long we carry our humanity with us (read point 2) and hope for a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians, only by standing tall and writing our own narrative can we move forward, instead of allowing others to do it for us.

   

7. Jewish stories are needed now more than ever. Wow! What a segue, it’s almost like I planned that! Clearly, the world needs more Jewish stories, more Jewish education, more Jewish pride. So, speaking of…

🎈Happy 3rd Shabbat Dropiversary 🥳

Three years ago, I started this blog as a small experiment in reflection and connection. Somehow, it’s grown into this beautiful corner of the internet where we think, feel, and wrestle together. I can’t wait to see where year four takes us, but I bet it will be full of interesting Jewish insights! Hopefully I can stop writing about antisemitism and war and focus on the fun and deep stuff.

Whether you’ve been here since week one or you just subscribed, thank you for being part of this community of almost 700 readers made up of both Jews and non-Jews of all ages, spanning 35 states and 25 countries (I see you, Nigeria!).

Here’s a look at the top posts from the past year:

Good Shabbos from the Poconos,