Jewish people and their allies need to stand up in the face of renewed hatred

By MICAH QUINNEY JONES

Read as originally published on jpost.com

I firmly believe that Israel is the canary in the coal mine, and the forces of ignorance and hate that are attempting to consume Israel, will ultimately turn on the West were they successful.

Over 100 days have passed since the world changed. 

Like my memories of 9/11 when I was 13 years old, I recall exactly where I was and what I was doing when thousands of Hamas terrorists ravaged through Israel committing the most horrific acts of rape and violence.

I remember doom scrolling on my phone, constantly refreshing the news to read what was going on. And at the restaurant that my wife and I went to that evening – as part of a longed -planned date night – I remember not being able to enjoy the meal as all I could think of was the pain and sorrow my fellow Jews were enduring in Israel. 

In the last 100 days, the world has changed for the better and for the worse – although in many ways the worse seems to be much more prominent. The world has changed for the better in that the Jewish community, in both Israel and the Diaspora, has rallied to defend the Land of lsrael.

And freedom-loving people the world over have made small and large contributions in supporting Israel, whether it is American cowboys volunteering to take care of animals and crops on vacated kibbutzim, to a bubbe cooking hundreds of meals a day for IDF troops

The world, too, has changed for the worse as Jew-haters in every part of the globe have been galvanized to attack and demonize Israel and the Jewish people by simultaneously denying the October 7 atrocities ever occurred and wishing they had been even more devastating. Most tragically, it has been over 100 days that the remaining 136 Israeli hostages have endured in hell.

Control what you can control

During these tumultuous times, I have returned to the soldier’s mindset that carried me through US Army schools, my deployment to Afghanistan, law school, and studying for the bar exam: Control what you can control. 

Although while living in my little town north of Boston I am physically far away from the war in Gaza, I, as a proud Jew and Zionist, feel deeply close to what Israeli citizens are enduring on a daily basis because we share the same collective history and experience as Jews. As such, I have tried to do what I can, at my small, individual level to help Israel, the Jewish people, and by association, America and the West. 

At the beginning of the war, I corresponded daily with my dear close friend, Ozni (I have changed his name to protect his identity as he is actively fighting in Gaza with his reserve unit). Ozni and I had attended college together in San Diego, California, and had stayed friends ever since.

We had last seen each other in 2019 when I was in Israel as a MirYam Institute International Law and Policy (I-LAP) delegate. Despite the distance, we have remained good friends for well over a decade and send each other periodic updates regarding our lives and careers. 

When Ozni’s reserve unit was activated, he let me know that he did not have the proper equipment for what would be a likely deployment to Gaza. I was shocked. Having served a year in Afghanistan, I could not imagine Ozni entering Gaza without proper equipment. 

By controlling what I could control, I mobilized my US veteran and Jewish networks to begin procuring gear for Ozni and his reserve unit. This involved relying on the generous volunteer efforts and resources of a myriad of people and nonprofit organizations, including the Israeli-American Council in New England and the MirYam Institute. Family and friends from across the country further contributed in helping ship and purchasing necessary items.

Via this cobbled-together network, my contacts and I were able to raise funds to procure non-controlled items, like multi-tools, knee pads, water reservoirs, and headlamps, that we then sent to Israel. Through the coordination of Ozni’s sister and Benjamin Anthony and Rozita Pnini of the MirYam Institute, crucial equipment was delivered directly to Ozni’s unit.

Although such gear paled in comparison to a Merkava tank round or Iron Dome defensive missile, from my experience as a soldier, I knew that anything that would make Ozni’s life easier – or save him a second in combat – could make the world of difference. 

In reflecting on the last 100 days and steeling myself to the reality that this war will last hundreds of days more, I take pride in the fact that the Jewish community has united. I am also glad that the antisemites have removed their masks because they are now easy to identify.

Going forward, I will continue to do whatever I can – whether it is donating to organizations like the MirYam Institute, procuring more helpful supplies, or standing strong for Israel when speaking with people who may not feel as strongly as I do about the aftermath of October 7 – because we are in a collective moment where Israel, and by association, the Jewish people, are under attack.

I firmly believe that Israel is the canary in the coal mine and the forces of ignorance and hate that are attempting to consume Israel, would ultimately turn on America and the West were they successful.

As a proud American Jew, I stand firmly with Israel and the larger Jewish Diaspora. In facing the void that is the next 100 days, and beyond, I hope to provide as much strength and support to those Israelis and Jews who are being physically attacked – whether by Hamas in Gaza, antisemites in major Western cities, or verbally assaulted in university classrooms and public spaces.

October 7 changed everything. As such, it is up to us, the freedom-loving people of Israel, the United States, and the West, to call for the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas – and to meet the forces of Jew-hatred and jihadism in the breach, to ensure that they will be given no quarter. 

Am Yisrael Hai! The people of Israel live!

The writer is an attorney, a United States Army veteran, and a pro-Israel advocate. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service. Before attending law school, he served for over five years as a Military Intelligence branch detail Infantry officer in the US Army. He was honorably discharged as a captain in 2016. The majority of his military service was spent in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

Families of Hostages Campaign. Vail, Colorado

Continuing on our campaign with the families of hostages, we were welcomed at the Chabad of Vail in Colorado. We spent two emotional evenings sharing stories of families that have been on an endless campaign to advocate for their missing.

In several heart-wrenching testimonies we heard from Orit and Aviram Meir, seeking the return of their beloved Almog, missing since October 7th when he was violently abducted from Israel into Gaza. The only thing they have to go by is a horrific video shot and shared by Hamas.

We heard from Ily David and his mother Galia, seeking the return of Evyatar David, also missing since October 7th.

We would like to thank all those in attendance for their support and to thank Rabbi Dovid Mintz for the warm welcome into his synagogue and community.

Please join the Instagram pages of the hostages and help us to keep an international focus on their situation and the depravity of Hamas!

Why Hamas must be destroyed: The race to the bottom for terror groups - opinion

By Frank Sobchak

On October 7, the terrorist group Hamas perpetrated the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Many have explained away those crimes by blaming Hamas’s deep antisemitism, but while that explanation rings true, it is insufficient. 

Organizations such as Hamas compete with each other to obtain financial resources, public support, and recruits. Because media attention is crucial in all those factors, terror groups have been in a race to carry out ever more awful acts of inhumanity, vying to outdo each other. As brutal as October 7 was, if Hamas is not destroyed and made an example of, the next attack from a terrorist group will likely exceed its barbaric depravity.  

United States Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis coined the term “race to the bottom” to describe heightened competition between states or companies engaged in irrational economic decisions to gain competitive economic advantages. He observed that when competition increased in a particular geographic region or economic sector, governments engaged in deregulation to lower the cost of production to attract businesses. Hence, competition drove a race to the lowest standards possible so that those entities could continue to be competitive. The events surrounding October 7 are illustrative of a “race to the bottom” where terrorist groups compete to stay globally relevant and for allocations of limited resources such as manpower and money. For these groups to stay pertinent, they must generate as much fear and media coverage as possible and will race each other to the bottom in ever more brutal acts.  

Terrorism is fundamentally about using fear as a psychological weapon to generate effects far beyond the number of casualties in individual attacks. 

Traditional media coverage amplifies those effects because of the journalistic adage, “If it bleeds, it leads,” meaning that exceptionally sensational and violent stories are promoted above others. Social media, whose algorithms are often set to maximize viewing based on relevancy and popularity, has only accelerated this truism as our mobile phones now alert us when horrible things happen and demand that we take notice. Over time, repeatedly witnessing such extreme violence across different contexts leads to rapid desensitization and the public becomes numb to brutality. 

Therefore, to continue instilling deep levels of dread, terror groups must perform ever worse levels of cruelty.  

There is also an economic component to the vicious logic. Terror groups require money to function and carry out their attacks, and these funds come from various sources. The level of donations is often directly tied to the amount of publicity generated, with groups sharing short videos of their exploits along with links to send money. Funds from state actors, such as Qatar, are also intertwined with the amount of media coverage attacks create. 

Hamas fighters took advantage of this by using GoPros and phones to record the carnage they created and posting it on social media and/or sharing it directly with victims’ families. There was no shame in their depravity because they knew it would create a financial windfall that would put them far ahead of rival organizations. Competing in the media space and getting more social media views is economically lucrative and terrorism has become big business, with the head of Hamas’s worth estimated at $4 billion.  

Public support is also directly related to the media attention that terror groups receive.  

More coverage and social media hits result in increased popularity, and groups that are savvy can garner international credibility and backing. Press exposure, even of atrocities, can similarly result in increased recruiting. When faced with which group an individual decides to join, those with the greatest media presence are likely to benefit the most. But to stay relevant and keep getting views, donations, and supporters, groups have to keep outdoing each other in a race to the bottom of more and more awful acts of inhumanity.

Race to the bottom

Indeed, the race to the bottom amongst terrorist groups is nothing new as Islamic terrorist groups have been engaged in escalating violence against civilians for the last 20 years. Al Qaeda in Iraq split with its parent organization because it believed that Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden were not aggressive enough – and set too many limits on which groups were fit to be slaughtered.  

ISIS grew out of Al Qaeda in Iraq and took its depravity to the next level, which was so horrific that even Al Qaeda, an organization content to crash airliners full of innocents into civilian buildings, disavowed ties. 

Hamas has political competitors in Gaza, and across the Palestinian territories in general, and its abominations are driven in part by a desire to overshadow them. 

The best way to counteract this downward spiral is to utterly destroy Hamas – annihilate the organization’s military and political wings – so other terror groups recognize that copying them only will result in following them into oblivion. 

Respecting the laws of armed conflict is essential, but such a requirement is not mutually exclusive with ensuring the destruction of Hamas. At the same time, eradicating Hamas, which will be difficult militarily and politically, is not enough. It is also critical for the world to condemn what happened. Unequivocally. No platitudes that the barbarity must be contextualized, as if slicing off a woman’s breast could ever be put into perspective. In all likelihood, we will see even worse horror next time if we can’t stomach accomplishing both tasks.  

After the October 7 attacks, Ghazi Hamad, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, pontificated: “We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do it twice and three times. The Al-Aqsa Flood (the name Hamas gave its onslaught) is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth.” 

We should take Hamad and his organization at their word. Not just for the sake of Israel and the broader region, but also because other terrorists are watching the world’s response. They will undoubtedly be spurred to use the same level of brutality – or worse – in the future- if Hamas is not fundamentally dismantled. 

October 7 is a canary in the coal mine for terrorist violence. A new Pandora’s box of monstrosities has been opened and if an example is not made of Hamas, these horrors will happen again and again.

Frank Sobchak is a retired US Army Special Forces colonel and a publishing contributor at the MirYam Institute. Iris Sobchak has taught history at the US Military Academy at West Point and is a publishing contributor at the MirYam Institute.

Addressing Israel's Challenges and the Path Forward

Benjamin Anthony speaks to @i24 news, covering crucial topics affecting Israel. He discusses the War Cabinet's deliberations on a potential hostage deal and the psychological propaganda campaign by Hamas targeting hostage families. Despite the challenges, there's a strong sense of solidarity and support for the IDF among Israelis.

Critically assesses the Palestinian Authority's capability to govern Gaza post-war, citing their silence on Hamas's actions on October 7th as a key concern. He also highlights the internal challenges Israel faces, from the strain on reservists and their families to the impact on those affected by the October 7th attacks.

The ongoing threat from Hamas, with leaders like Ghazi Hamad vowing continuous attacks, underscores the need for vigilance. Benjamin argues that a ceasefire would be premature, emphasizing the importance of a decisive military victory for Israel's long-term security.

He also addresses the crucial issue of aid to Gaza, advocating for stringent checks to ensure it reaches civilians and not Hamas, especially in light of breached hostage release agreements. This comprehensive discussion sheds light on the complex dynamics at play and the critical decisions facing Israel.

Israel's Security Crisis: The Need for Clear Policy and Leadership! @i24NEWS_EN

Gain valuable insights from Benjamin Anthony, CEO of the Miram Institute, as he delves into the pressing security crisis in Israel. Discover the urgent need for a clear policy and decisive leadership in response to the escalating threats from the North and South. From analyzing the impact of recent Israeli strikes in Syria to dissecting the political rhetoric amidst the conflict in Gaza and Southern Lebanon, this discussion uncovers the critical issues at hand. Don't miss out on this thought-provoking analysis of the Israeli government's handling of the military campaign and the timing of elections. Join the conversation on losing confidence in the current leadership and the movement toward the extreme right wing. Gain valuable insights into the implications of the security crisis on Palestinian statehood and the overall stability of the region.

A Conversation with Iris Haim, Mother of Yotam Haim, Taken Hostage by Hamas on October 7th, 2023

In an emotional and powerful episode of our podcast, we sit down with Iris Haim, the mother of Yotam Haim Z"L, who was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7th and tragically killed in a heartbreaking IDF operational miscalculation.

Iris shares her heart-wrenching story, from the day Yotam was taken hostage by Hamas to the devastating moment of learning about his death due to an operational miscalculation by the IDF.

Despite her unimaginable loss, Iris's message is one of unity, love, and unwavering support for the Israeli government and the IDF soldiers. Her journey of campaigning for the release of hostages and her efforts to foster solidarity within the Jewish state is both inspiring and moving. Join us as Iris talks about her son's memory, her dedication to Israel's soldiers and society, and her vision for the future. This episode is not just a tribute to Yotam's memory but also a testament to Iris's incredible strength and her vital message of unity and hope.

Mark Goldfeder, Opinion: What donors abandoning Penn and Harvard should do next

By Mark Goldfeder

read as Originally published on cnn.com

I would have hoped that, following the mass atrocities Hamas visited on more than 1,400 Israelis, US students who support Palestinian aspirations would want to separate themselves as quickly as possible from the scenes of depravity committed in the name of an explicitly antisemitic genocidal agenda.

Shockingly, however, several “pro-Palestinian” organizations on America’s most elite campuses showed no empathy for what happened to Israelis and instead blamed the victims for the unspeakable horror they suffered. (“Pro-Palestinian” is in quotations because you can, of course, be pro-Palestinian without supporting genocidal terrorism.) A coalition of student groups at Harvard University, for instance, put out a statement that they “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.” Some of those groups and students did eventually walk their statements back, but while Harvard’s was particularly egregious, it was not the only such incident.

Thankfully, some heroic citizens in the corporate world have issued a response. Students may have the right to openly support murder, but hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman explained that he and his fellow business leaders have a legitimate interest in knowing their names so they never inadvertently hire any of them. When a New York University Law student released a statement similarly hideous to Harvard’s, the law firm of Winston and Strawn exercised its own right to rescind the student’s employment offer.

Now these figures are going directly to the top. After mealy-mouthed administrators at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania seemed hesitant to respond to the massacre or to use the word “terrorist,” major donors announced they were closing their checkbooks and resigning from university boards in protest.

These actions are welcome, but more must be done. Donors and anyone else concerned about the climate on campus should urge administrators to hold accountable student groups whose speech crosses the line into territory not protected by the Constitution.

In particular, one of the major pro-Palestinian student groups, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), demands reining in. The national organization issued a “call to action” for students to participate in a “National Day of Resistance” last Thursday, and affiliates across the country have planned more events in the near future.

The words and imagery used in SJP’s call to action are nothing short of frightening. Its Instagram account featured a graphic of a paraglider in a clear reference to the means some Hamas terrorists used to infiltrate Israel. “Today, we witness a historic win for the Palestinian resistance … reminding each of us that total return and liberation to Palestine is near,” the accompanying text stated. “The Palestinian resistance has captured over a dozen settlements surrounding Gaza along with many occupation soldiers and military vehicles. This is what it means to Free Palestine: not just slogans and rallies, but armed confrontation with the oppressors.” The organization repeated that text in a tool kit it supplied for the action, accompanied by an extra line: “National liberation is near — glory to our resistance, to our martyrs and to our steadfast people.”

The presence of at least one anti-Zionist student group such as SJP has long been correlated with antisemitic incidents on campuses. But SJP crossed a new line when it openly encouraged its members to rally in support of a terror group whose charter calls for the annihilation of Jews, everywhere, separate from the clauses vowing the obliteration of the State of Israel. Many Jewish students have already been fearful of ostracization when attending classes or expressing their identity. But fear for their physical safety is becoming ever more acute.

Universities, take note: Your lack of action is complicity.


While several university presidents have spoken out, to their credit, many more need to join them. And they all must do more when students glorify the actions of Hamas — a US-designated foreign terrorist organization — and support “armed confrontation.”

First, under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, institutions that take federal funds have an obligation to protect their Jewish students — including from other student groups. Per the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, speech becomes harassing conduct when it is “sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent so as to interfere with or limit” the ability of students to join in or benefit from a university’s services or activities. Many Jewish students (even some professors) are literally afraid to go to class. Stanford Law School moved classes to Zoom last Friday out of concerns over violence. If the words of Title VI mean anything, they must protect against environments like this.

Second, all private universities have the right to shut down hateful protests without triggering any constitutional issues. Public universities are more constrained, but under Tinker v. Des Moines and its progeny — which courts have applied to universities — schools can shut down speech that will “materially and substantially interfere” with the “requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school” or “invad[e] the rights of others.” Schools don’t have to wait for trouble; they can ban expression in advance if they can “reasonably forecast” that it will violate those standards.

In Melton v. Young, for instance, school officials were allowed to prohibit the wearing of a Confederate flag because it was reasonable to assume it would be disruptive in an environment of racial tension. Shouting “all of us are Hamas” while declaring that support for Palestinians “includes violence” and condoning “armed confrontation” is certainly no less likely to cause a disruption. Moreover, SJP rallies have sometimes turned violent in the past. Predictably, some did last week as well.

Finally, it is a federal crime if someone “knowingly provides material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.” Under Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, that can include even some speech if done “under the direction of, or in coordination with foreign groups that the speaker knows to be terrorist organizations.”

For instance, United States v. Osadzinski held that merely translating ISIS videos into English for pro-ISIS media organizations “clearly constituted ‘concerted activity’” in violation of the statute, even if there was no interaction with an actual member of the terrorist group.

In sponsoring and prepping the Day of Resistance events, SJP provided its chapters with public relations materials, instructing, “We must act as part of this movement. All of our efforts continue the work and resistance of the Palestinians on the ground.” As such, the government should carefully monitor SJP’s behavior. Indeed, some lawmakers have already recognized the problem and started calling for action along these lines.

SJP and other student groups can take the side of barbaric baby killers, but as donors and employers taught them this week, free speech has consequences. And accountability does not end there; university and government officials have responsibilities as well.

If and when speech crosses the line into discriminatory harassment, schools must remove their imprimatur from that evil while making sure to protect targeted communities, and they should proactively shut down events that are likely to cause material disruption or infringe the rights of others. At the very least, schools with applicable conduct codes should defund and/or revoke the charters of any organization that openly supports a group whose stated desire is to kill other members of the campus community.

Dr. Mark Goldfeder, Esq. is director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

Rabbi Dr. Mark Goldfeder, Esq. has served as the founding Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Law and Judaism, a Trustee of the Center for Israel Education, and as an adviser to the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations. Read full bio here.

Mark Goldfeder: It's Only a War Crime if Israel Is Doing It | Opinion

By Mark Goldfeder

Read as originally published in Newsweek

Once again self-proclaimed international law experts are throwing around terms that they do not understand to accuse Israel of atrocities as it responds to a vicious attack from the terrorist group Hamas.

Today, these "experts" are concerned about the war crimes of "forcible transfer" and "deportation" as Israel tries to save innocent Palestinian civilians by warning them to leave Hamas strongholds.

Here is another short primer on international law: Saving civilian lives is not a war crime. Terms matter, and there is a difference between an evacuation and a forcible transfer. Saving innocent people is what any army is supposed to do and literally the opposite of what Hamas has done and continues to do.

But don't take my word for it, let's ask the United Nations what the war crimes "forcible transfer" and "deportation" mean when the entity involved is not Israel (emphasis added):

What are the crimes of deportation and forcible transfer? Forcing persons to leave the area where they reside can be a crime against humanity, a war crime or both. If they occur in the context of a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population, deportation and forcible transfer are crimes against humanity. Deportation and forcible transfer occur when individuals are forced by expulsion or coercion from the place they were lawfully present, and there was no basis under international law for their displacement. When persons are displaced across an international border, it is called deportation. When such displacement occurs within a national boundary, it is called forcible transfer. Forced displacement does not require physical force and can be caused by the threat of force or coercion, duress or psychological oppression. A person is lawfully present in an area if they have a right under domestic or international law to be there, including refugees and stateless persons. International law allows the involuntary removal of persons only where it is strictly for the security of the persons or for imperative military reasons, but only for as long as the removal is necessary.

This is not, in fact, a close call.

Israel is attacking Hamas, not targeting the civilian population.

Israel has an overwhelming imperative military reason to ask civilians to leave (stopping a genocidal terrorist organization) and is doing so for the security of those persons. Not a war crime—quite the opposite. This is what just war looks like.

Actually, Israel is quite literally following the letter of international human rights law.

Per the Geneva Conventions, Article 58(a) of the 1977 Additional Protocol I: the parties to the conflict shall, to the maximum extent feasible, "without prejudice to Article 49 of the Fourth Convention, endeavor to remove the civilian population, individual civilians and civilian objects under their control from the vicinity of military objectives."

Per Article 57, 1(c) "effective advance warning shall be given of attacks which may affect the civilian population, unless circumstances do not permit."

To review—Israel is engaging in a lawful, proportionate attack against a genocidal enemy force. The war crimes of forcible transfer require evidence of illicit intent; the opposite is true here. Israel has already evacuated hundreds of thousands of its own citizens to keep them out of harms' way; now Israel is desperately trying to save the lives of Palestinian civilians as well ,even at the expense of telegraphing its own attacks. Meanwhile, Hamas is ordering people to stay in harms' way, as human shields, so they can then complain to an undiscerning media about how many civilians Israel killed.

By any definition, Israel's warnings are an act of morality, if not grace. But once again, when it comes to Israel, somehow the rules are different.

Dr. Mark Goldfeder, Esq. is director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center.

The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.

Rabbi Dr. Mark Goldfeder, Esq. has served as the founding Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series on Law and Judaism, a Trustee of the Center for Israel Education, and as an adviser to the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations. Read full bio here.

Only the elimination of Hamas will do; Israel can accept no less

By SHARON ROFFE OFIR

In a meeting I held as a Knesset Member with a foreign parliamentary colleague I told him that the difference between us is that when he comes to visit me at home, in addition to the living room and the bathroom, I will also show him where the rocket-proof safe room is. To be Israeli, I said, is to be intimately familiar with the sound of air raid sirens and to understand that as a citizen of the country, one is also exposed to an existential threat.

Yet nothing prepared us for the murderous terrorist attack we experienced on Saturday, October 7. The sights, the horrifying videos distributed by the Hamas terrorist organization, and the voices of my people whispering on the phone, telling me that terrorists are in their homes. It will take us time to heal and the moment for questions will come, but one thing is already clear – victory in Israel’s military campaign must be defined as the elimination of Hamas. We owe this to the hundreds of dead, to our children and parents who were abducted, and to the future of the State of Israel.

The ancient Midrash states, “He who is compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate.”

 We must acknowledge the truth: The State of Israel has never really uprooted this murderous terrorist organization. What happened on 7/10 was the Israeli 9/11, and from this point onward, everything will be different.

The images and voices from the atrocities haunt me. The parents who hid in their homes with their children in the house and were murdered before their eyes; the elderly grandmother who was kidnapped to Gaza; the young girl who left the party with her boyfriend and was dragged away by terrorists while she cried and begged for her life; the cries of parents looking for their missing children; the rising number of dead. Those who committed these terrible crimes are not human beings. I write from the depths of my heart and hope that maybe now, finally, the world, as it sees the pictures and hears the voices, will understand what the State of Israel is facing.

In the weeks leading up to the mass murder, there were incidents in which Palestinians threw explosive devices, launched incendiary balloons that set fire to agricultural fields in border communities, and opened fire. These events join a long line of attacks, terrorist incidents, kidnappings of soldiers, and missile and rocket fire that have been occurring since the organization was established in the Gaza Strip in 1987—events that did not stop even when Hamas became the ruler of the Strip in 2007.

While the world saw the ‘return marches’ – violent rioting and attempts to breach the Gaza-Israeli border in 2018 as a legitimate event and criticized the Israeli military's response, and while the UN claimed that Israel was committing war crimes, Hamas continued to arm itself and attack Israel. In fact, for the last twenty years, the sound of Qassam rocket fire is something that every child living in southern Israel has been familiar with. Try to imagine another country that would agree to a reality in which its children sleep entire nights in a bomb shelter.

The policy led by Israel in the past decade, mostly under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was one of containment. It allowed the transfer of suitcases of money from Qatar to the Gaza Strip and approved the entry of goods to the Strip. Although Netanyahu promised in 2009 to topple the Hamas regime, in practice, he refrained from attacking initiatives. This policy continued with a decision taken a month ago, after an assessment that took place in the Prime Minister's Office, not to respond to a new wave of border riots.

The massacre of hundreds of civilians and soldiers must lead to a change in the rules of the game. Israel now faces one choice: we must now strive to end Hamas rule in Gaza and destroy the organization, down to its very foundations. Attacking targets and damaging military capabilities will not provide the answer. It will merely buy quiet for a period and allow Hamas to return to another round that may be even more violent than what we are experiencing now. We must take dramatic steps to cleanse the Strip and recognize that Hamas is the enemy, even if the price to be paid is a painful one. The citizens of Israel give full backing to this move; this will be the image of victory.

Sharon Roffe-Ofir served as a member of the 24th Knesset and is a strategic advisor, as well as a lecturer in Israel and internationally on politics, government, and women’s leadership. Read full bio here.

Israel is at war with a bloodthirsty Hamas.

By Yochai Guiski

Israel awoke Saturday, October 7 to a shocking reality; Hamas launched a large-scale incursion into communities near Gaza, employing aerial gliders speedboats, and heavy machinery and explosives to bring down parts of the border fence, all the while launching thousands of rockets at Israeli towns and communities.

The brutal nature of the Hamas assault was self-evident, as Hamas “fighters” massacred old women at bus stations in scenes reminiscent of the Russian assault on the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut. Hamas also brought Israeli “prisoners” to Gaza, showcasing themselves brutalizing captured Israeli soldiers or joyriding through the area with an Israeli senior citizen. Other, vile images show abuse of the bodies of dead Israelis.

Some images have emerged from the communities overrun by Hamas, but the devastation and the final death toll will become clear only after the IDF retakes the area and learns of the state of the local civilian residents. The Hamas raid also coincided with a music festival held where young people held an outdoor dance party – many of them were killed or wounded, while others were kidnapped and taken to Gaza, as were some residents of the area. Hamas is notorious for its ill-treatment of Israelis, holding them without any communication or access to the Red Cross for years.

Gazans also pillaged the communities they entered, taking heavy machinery, cars, and other equipment, which they then paraded in Gaza.

The attack came out of nowhere and was a major surprise to Israel and its intelligence community. This at a time when Israel was working on securing additional aid to Gaza; it has allowed thousands of Gazans to work in Israel and was in the process of allowing the Palestinians to drill for natural gas off the Gaza coast.

Hamas decided to throw all this away and plunge the region into war, claiming it was doing so as a response to Israeli Jews entering the Temple Mount during the holiday of Sukkot, thus, in their view, defiling the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

We do not know why Hamas did so. Was it their Jihadi identity asserting itself at the expense of the Gaza population, was it a coordinated plan with their Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah partners, or did they seek to take advantage of the internal turmoil within Israel?

What we know for certain is that Gaza is about to pay the price for the hubris of its leaders; we can certainly see the cruelty they have unleashed on Israeli civilians.

It is a stark and painful reminder that even as Israel pursues additional avenues to advance peace in the region with Saudi Arabia and others, some would rather see it all burn down to serve their religious zealotry and unhinged willingness to use force.

Israel will need to take an extremely hard look at its defenses and intelligence. The concept of defense based on technological superiority came crashing down, as simple numbers and ingenuity allowed Hamas to overwhelm, overrun, or bypass them altogether. The lack of strategic intelligence on Hamas’s intentions and of tactical intelligence on its widespread assault along the supposedly secure border should prompt a comprehensive assessment of the failure.

The political echelon should not receive a free pass. The government’s dogged obsession with a one-sided judicial reform tore Israeli society from within. Internal security deteriorated markedly and little time was allocated to security issues not related to Judea and Samaria.

The opening phase of what will be the Gaza war was a spectacular failure. Let us hope things get better from now on, and not worse, and let us also hope that Israel is going to learn from its mistakes and that it will never repeat them. Let us also hope that the internal divisions that have marked the tenure of the current government will ease and that both sides of the political divide learn the old maxim attributed to Benjamin Franklin – “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”   

LT. Col. Yochai Guiski is a 23 year veteran of the IDF. He retired in 2020 as a Lieutenant Colonel after serving in the Israeli Military Intelligence. Yochai served in various roles including: Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (C.O.G.A.T.), Strategic Planning Division and the Ministry of Defense (politico-military directorate). Read full bio here.