Everyone knows someone who has died. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)
By choice, I’ve worked with victims of war and atrocity. During my lengthy career as a psychologist, I’ve cried with scores of Holocaust survivors and their children. I’ve visited the killing fields of Poland and written extensively on the psychological impact of genocide on survivors and their children. I experienced the rage, guilt and terror of traumatised Vietnam vets, abandoned by their country, left alone to battle the demons of a brutal war. One learns that the human heart was not constructed to comprehend loss on an industrial scale, so it compartmentalises and focuses forward.
I travelled to Beirut, Lebanon in 1980, five years after the civil war was presumed over. It wasn’t. The remnants of a once beautiful city lay scattered among mounds of rubble and ash. I heard harrowing accounts of torture, beheadings, and rape. And by the seventh day, when I thought I was beyond shock, I watched, horrified, as two children in a Beirut refugee camp kicked a human skull back and forth like it was a soccer ball.
I’ve lived in Israel for 37 years. Like many Israelis, I’m no stranger to rocks, bullets, suicide bombers, and the blast of missiles fired from Gaza and Lebanon. Confronted with these things, I was never confused about what I felt. I can recognise fight, flight, and freeze from the pumping of adrenalin, a racing heart, and a closed fist. Sadly, with enough experience, you learn your instinctive responses to danger.
But nothing prepared me — nor my fellow Israelis — for October 7.
October 7 was Simchat Torah, a holiday of love, joy, and gratitude. On Simchat Torah, we dance seven times around the Torah. Seven symbolises a cycle, a completion — both an end and a beginning. Time and growth are cyclical, according to Jewish tradition. Every seven days — on Shabbat — we read a portion of the Torah (The Old Testament) and on Simchat Torah we read the last parsha (portion). Completions deserve a day of joy. So we dance, sing, and eat.
Or run into bomb shelters.
On the morning of Simchat Torah, we heard booms from the Iron Dome shooting down missiles fired from Gaza. Because I don’t use devices on Shabbat and holidays, I asked Diana, my wife’s Filipino caretaker, what was going on.
“Doc,” she said, without her constant smile, “my best friend from childhood has been kidnapped and taken to Gaza along with her Alzheimer’s patient [an 81-year-old woman]. They dragged them into the trunk of a car.”
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SubscribeMay Israel and God be victorious. May evil be vanquished. May peace reign. May truth be spoken. May justice hold true.
And those pesky Arabs obliterated and banished from their lands. You forgot that line Sammy.
Obliterate? Better watch your language. The world is watching.
Have you ever looked at a map? The Arabs have millions upon millions of square miles of territory. The “two state solution” existed de facto from 1948 to 1967. All the West Bank Palestinians had Jordanian citizenship. East Jerusalem and the Holy Places were entirely in the hands of the Jordanians.
The problem is, and has always been, Arab and Muslim rejection of any Jewish state, in any boundaries whatever. The Zionists purchased land, not conquered it. The Arabs rejected the UN plan in 1947, tried on several occasions to obliterate Israel (1946, 2967, 1973). refused peace talks in 1967, resorted to terrorism at an early stage (recall the murdered Israeli athletes in 1972. And endlessly belated to the laughably named “international community” to reverse the results of wars they themselves started. There is simply no contesting these unfortunate facts for your position of innocent Arab victims.
There’s much to be said in favour of limiting oneself to only one perspective and holding on it for dear life. There’s too much nuance around that we don’t want and frankly don’t need for a successful human life in our community of choice.
An experience most westerners do not have to face. This is an existential war for a small country and I hope Israel succeeds, for all of us.
That’s probably because most western nations don’t go around violently evicting their neighbours from their homes in order to build illegal settlements
Hey Billy Bob, your memory or perhaps education is rather short. Most western nations, especially the US has have repeatedly entered their neighbors towns and homes and violently evicted the inhabitants in order to build illegal settlements. Witness the wars against Native Americans and the Mexican settlements as we moved west. It was the use of overwhelming force that ended it, and the survivors ultimately found that it was best to assimilate as best the could. In most cases they were successful and the country benefited by it. I suspect eventually if the outsiders leave Israel and the Palestinians alone it will end the same way. Otherwise the chaos continues.
So it’s ethnic cleansing you propose to solve the conflict? At least you’re honest.
So you support I presume, Germans returning to regions of Poland they were expelled from? If not, why not?
Native Americans and Mexicans!! I would have hoped that by the 21st century we’d become more civilised and respectful of ethnic indigenous people’s. Obviously not zionists.
And of course most western nations don’t live along side a hostile neighbour committed to their destruction firing barrages of rockets in their direction on a daily basis. Nor raise their children to hate and teach them to kill from the earliest age
Actually far worse happened in Europe in the middle to late 1940s, and even more so.in the Indian subcontinent. Whatever the many problems of these regions, especially the latter, This has not let to the great grandchildren of those fleeing or expelled being treated as refugees in a totally politicised way today.
The West is naively importing the same ideology that Israel’s at war with.
So what about the rulings of the ICJ?
Let me rewrite: so what about the rulings of the ICJ. Nothing to see there except a laughable case and then some political manoeuvrings.
A case so laughable that it convinced the judge that Israel put forward to the court in some of it’s significant aspects. As I understand it he used to be one of their Supreme Court judges, so I’m assuming he knows something of the law and the situation Israel finds itself in.
Israel finds itself under attack by Hamas. Again. It’s not a criminal justice issue to be resolved by lawyers and judges, and that argument would have far more merit if it considered October 7, not just what happened afterward.
The ICJ and its proceedings at least appear to be grotesquely biased today. Where, I wonder, are the rulings against China (the Uyghurs), Myanmar (Rohingas), Azerbaijan (expulsion of Armenians), Russia (Ukraine – many humans rights abused), wven Iran ( unprovoked attacks on completely neutral states).
Who needs the ICJ when you have “The Bible”?
Laws are for other people
Didn’t the GOD person say:
“You are my chosen people and thus can do as you damn well like”? Or something similar?
No, nothing like it. He is purported to have said “you are my chosen people, so here are a whole load of restrictions that I don’t expect from everybody else”.
I stand corrected, thank you.
Sounds like the UN today
The interim order from the ICJ ordered Israel to do all it could not to commit genocide and write a report to the court to detail how it is doing that. Israel is not committing genocide so that will be easy. If you are asking about the public feeling to wards that, then the answer is; deep indignation.
Perhaps read “The Genocide Double Standard” which appeared in the leftist magazine The Atlantic recently. The thesis, which is from a left perspective, is that the ICJ has poor legitimacy because it cannot address Hamas’ own *stated* genocidal aims; and that the South African submission itself is compromised because it avoids mention of Hamas’ own actions. In a nutshell, the ICJ proceedings were fundamentally one-sided. And I’ll say again: that’s a leftist perspective in a leftist publication.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/01/international-court-justice-gaza-genocide/677257/
Atlantic neoconservative to the core? Strange. You might say that of National Review, which I keep an eye on, but The Atlantic has a very different content and slant than NR. Atlantic seems much more like New York Times than any conservative outlet. I used to read Atlantic avidly until I realized the foe wasn’t Trump, but woke elitism with its predilection for suffocating moralism, extreme intolerance, and ideologically manufactured fake reality.
Anyway, the article I referred to is a substantial rebuttal to the ICJ proceedings.
ICJ is a kangaroo court, and South Africa, a corrupted nation with no room to talk about genocide, has clear political motives for pursuing such a case. So yeah… so what?
My impression was that Israel basically “won”. No injunction to stop the fighting. And “instructions” to not commit genocide (like saying “don’t kick the dog” to someone who has no intention of ever kicking a dog), and to do better in facilitating deliveries of aid. Which is a perfectly reasonable demand; the Israelis seem to be dragging their feet on this.
I’d be interested to hear of the author’s view on the psychological effects of it transpiring that an unspecified number of these deaths were caused by the IDF themselves? How many died by bullet, shell, missile and cannon fire as the IDF responded with great brutality? There’s plenty of evidence now from the likes of Haretz and Ynet of this – some of which refer explicitly to the Hannibal Directive.
What of the many relatives calling for proper investigations of the deaths of their loved-ones. How about the mother of an IDF soldier killed by IDF poisoned gas?
Can we file all of this under “what we have to do?”
The proportion of soldiers killed from “friendly” fire (bad term, no gunfire is friendly) or accidents is indeed high and there was the tragic incident of the three hostages who were shot by our forces. Unless my memory deceives me (confirmation bias), most of the deaths of soldiers tend to have been from specific incidents as opposed to a general random rate of attrition.
The public reaction to the losses on our side are very much “stiff upper lip” and while the media has been promoting a narrative of stagnation and meaninglessness, the vast majority of public opinion is very firmly in favor of continuation of the war. In public statements parents of soldiers and of the hostages killed by our own side have spoken of their support for the war and not attributing blame to the soldiers responsible for the fatal errors. Last week, in the days following the tragedy of the 21 soldiers killed in an explosives accident, the public cried, but public resolve continued at the same high levels as before.
Two points:
1 – If you read “Haaretz” editorials you might think that the whole problem here is Netanyahu who is prolonging the war for his political ends. This view serves the political agenda of that newspaper but does not represent anywhere near the truth of Israeli public opinion.
2 – Palestinians and their supporters see Israelis as colonialist oppressors who, if the price is too high will eventually go away. Israelis see the fight as one of both national and personal survival, which must be won.
So yes, like the writer and like so many other Israelis, I have three children serving as reserves and they would all rather be home getting on with their lives. I would rather that they were in safety. I know several people whose children won’t be coming home and I know people with relatives being held hostages in Gaza. Yes, this is the price and this is what we have to do.
I hope your children all return safely to you, but if the articles in Yedioth Ahronoth are to be believed, an unknown number of the deaths of October 7th were not ‘fatal errors’, they were a result of direct orders from Israel’s supreme military command. According to those reports, which correspond to statements of released hostages and those who escaped on the day, from around midday, all units were ordered to prevent the capture of hostages at all costs – and subsequently at least 70 vehicles were destroyed on the way back to Gaza without confirmation of who was inside. Desperate and heartbreaking, but the facts of these deaths is of huge significance.
https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/yokra13754368
I think that this needs to be investigated as part of the investigation of the the catastrophic events of 7th October, but it does not change the basic facts or the need to pursue this war to the end.
I’m not so sure. What proportion of the deaths being caused by the IDF might chance the calculus of what kind of response is appropriate right now? 50%, 80?
Hamas launched vicious attacks against innocent civilians. Teenagers at a peace festival. Children in their nurseries, in front of their horrified parents. The elderly. Even against foreign workers, some of them their fellow Muslims.
And they filmed it themselves.
Obviously the IDF didn’t intentionally machine gun its own citizens, if they did so at all, which is doubtful. Obviously Hamas did what it has always said it will do, which is murder any Jewish person it can.
Obviously they also knew that Gazans would have to endure merciless reprisals that would leave many homeless and probably thousands of people, many of them bystanders, badly injured or dead. Obviously, they didn’t care.
Friendly fire casualties, while appalling, don’t excuse Hamas’ unhinged barbarism, nor do these “settler colonialist” notions, as if only Muslims may live in that region, or if some sort of nebulous, neo-Marxist “liberation” could somehow result.
It’s simply despicable to blame Hamas attacks on anyone but Hamas. Vicious as groups like the IRA or the UDF could be, they never even attempted anything comparable. Excusing this savagery by “placing it in context” or denying it occurred is comparable to excusing or denying the Holocaust.
Agreed. Absolutely.
So many commenters on the various sites I peruse seem to think this is some kind of game; that arguing about the rules is part of the game and is likely to affect the results.
Israel is the defensible place that the Jews haven’t had since the Roman conquest of Jerusalum. Years of pogroms and attempts at (actual) genocide, years of exile and hatred. They will defend it.
What in the name of all that’s holy is your point? Death by ‘friendly’ fire happens in war. Why are you using it as an additional stick with which to bash Israel?
There’s a world of difference between friendly-fire and direct orders to kill potential hostages.
Read some books about other wars and develop some perspective
If you can point me to a book that describes other conflicts where one side shoots it’s own citizens or troops rather than have them captured by the enemy I’d definitely read it. I’ve read a few where those attempting to surrender were shot by their own side, but that always used to be a strategy employed by the baddies.
Is the IDF shooting Israeli citizens or troops, to avoid troops being captured by who? Hamas?
Aren’t the Gaza Strip and Hamas under an intolerable siege, which would limit their power to capture Israelis?
Read any book ever written about a war, to understand the fact that simplistic moral absolutist binaries are often not applicable in times of war.
Also, propaganda plays a part in every war, so be watchful of that
As at 14.20 GMT only 3 comments remain of the original 19.
This is censorship on a simply EPIC scale! Why?
It’s obvious that the system is automated, silly sausage
All I have to say is, Amen.
I’m sick of hearing about this mythical ‘genocide’ of which Israel stands accused by the ICJ.
Genocide as a word is losing all its horror due to the way in which Israel’s opponents bandy it about for every single act of war that Israel carries out.
I hope Israel succeeds in its attempt to destroy Hamas and deter other potential aggressors. I admire its singlemindedness and determination to protect its own citizens. I only wish I could trust our government to do the same, given the same circumstances.
Replace genocide for massacre then. If 1200 dead Israelis can be classed as a massacre surely 25,000 dead Palestinians can be labelled the same?
The grief of a mother mourning a daughter killed in a bombing raid is not the same as the grief of a mother whose daughter was raped to death after having her breasts cut off and thrown around by Hamas “fighters”. I always supported Palestine until October 7th but no longer.
That remains an unsubstantiated claim.
Why? Because it was made by a Jew?
No, because despite Hamas live-streaming the whole terrorist attack there doesn’t seem to be any photographic evidence
It occurs to me that a good historical parallel is the Battle of Berlin, in 1945. As you will recall, the Russians fought their way in, after encircling the city. The carnage was frightful, with around 80,000 Russian dead, and 200,000 German dead.
Yet no one, then or now, blames the Russians. The war was Hitler’s doing, so he was to blame for the dreadful death toll. We do hold the Russians responsible for the mass rape of German women.
So it’s odd, is it not, that some hold Israel solely responsible for the dead of Gaza? What do you think, Mr. Bob?
I believe Israel hold more responsibility you’re correct. Firstly it’s their policies of evictions in the West Bank and an effective siege of Gaza that causes the bulk of the unrest, and secondly they’re the much more powerful military so there’s no need for the indiscriminate bombing campaign in order to force their way into Gaza. The parallels with the Second World War isn’t really valid as the Allies had no choice but to unleash the heavy artillery as they couldn’t have dislodged the Germans without it. The disparity between the IDF and Hamas is vastly different.
If the British Army had carpet bombed the Republican areas of Belfast and killed 10,000 children in order to take out a few IRA Commanders in response to the numerous bombs they set off would you say that was justified?
Hmm…Does the IRA use human shields in your analogy? Are their military installations in schools, churches, and hospitals?
They lived and operated on the council estates of Northern Ireland yes, they didn’t build bases or stash arms out in the open where the Army could find them
As someone born and raised in Republican West Belfast I can testify to this.
Billy Bob your arguments are well reasoned and valid and I agree with all you say but you’re whistling in the wind against these zionist and religious zealots and fanatics.
It’s certainly a different crowd populating the message board these days. Much less nuance and opposing views, much more strong ideological beliefs being shouted back at each other unfortunately
I agree – not enough big perspective reading being done…
No… because words have definitions, bro. The fact that you think what Hamas terrorists did to the Israelis is equivalent to IDF collateral damage of human shields is a stretch. I recommend yoga instead.
So Israel deserves no criticism for killing around 10,000 children?
No, Because the propaganda is baseless.
Why is it baseless? The casualty figures given during previous flare ups have often proved to be fairly accurate so why is it false this time?
BB, show me the mass graves of those 25k.
That photograph is amazing. Heart-breaking.
The human capacity for love is a terrible burden. In that way we are all chosen.
Kudos for Amir Levy, the photographer.
Wow .. wow .. as a proud UK Jew, I have followed this dreadful event since October 7 .. I had the most meaningful trip to Israel from January 11 to January 17 .. now I have read your passionate piece on ‘eretz Yisroel’ and I lone to return .. world, I plead with you, recognise the difference between good and evil ..