We are marking the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas. In the attack, nearly 1,200 Israelis were massacred, many women sexually mutilated, and 251 hostages were taken. 97 hostages are still missing. We must never forget who started this war on October 7, 2023, and this is not a war between Israel and the Palestinian people, but a war between Israel and Hamas. must be recognized.
I am a Jewish American whose parents fled Hitler and whose grandparents were killed at Auschwitz. I will never forget or forgive Hamas, but over the past year I have written about how poorly the far-right Israeli government has responded. They have every right to protect themselves, but it appears that many of the deaths of innocent Palestinian women and children should have been avoided. But Hamas must be held responsible for these deaths as well as Israel. They hide in hospitals, in tunnels under residential buildings, and among Palestinian civilians. Both sides have refused to agree to ceasefire terms. The reality is that many of the Palestinian deaths could have been avoided if Hamas had agreed to return the hostages, including 30 Americans and many foreigners. It is not even known whether the nearly 100 hostages they are still holding are alive or dead.
Over the past year, Palestinians in Gaza have had their lives torn apart. Their homes were bombed and thousands of women and children died. Most of Gaza has been destroyed. Health systems have been destroyed, and many people are starving and living without power. Once again, let’s not forget who started this war. The stated aim of some Hamas leaders when they started the war was to draw Israel into a broader war. Despite the wishes of Hamas, which may be happening now, Israel is winning and the Arab states surrounding Israel are not coming to the aid of the Palestinian people.
No one should take pleasure in this. That means more innocent people are dying every day. Israelis in the north were evacuated from their homes, many died, and no family in Israel was left unaffected. The Palestinian people continue to suffer, and although some people have voiced their desire to eliminate Hamas, they have not eliminated Hamas. I don’t know how you can do that. And while the Israeli people still have not gotten rid of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his right-wing government, there are better options to do so and we must embrace them if we want lasting peace.
Today, the terrorist organization Hezbollah continues to bomb Israel, and Israel is currently expanding its fighting in Lebanon. Hezbollah has been defeated and innocent people are losing their homes and lives in Lebanon. Hezbollah, like Hamas, is a terrorist organization funded by Iran. Lebanon’s legitimate government has no control over them. Iran, which funds terrorist organizations against Israel, has now fired a second missile directly at Israel. They did not expect that the Arab countries surrounding Israel would come to Israel’s aid for the first time, but in a sense they did so to protect themselves from the missiles. The US, with ships stationed offshore, shot down Iranian missiles, and Israel’s iron dome protected Iran from heavy casualties and destruction. Once again, if Hamas thought that the Arab states around Israel would come to its aid, they were proven wrong. If Israel attacks Iran directly, although the United States has officially urged it not to do so, the war could escalate further. Iran’s oil fields and ports are at risk, which will have global implications. There is no Iron Dome in Iran.
So, a year later, what has Hamas achieved? What have they done to the Palestinian people? Have the lives of Palestinians gotten any better? Obviously not. We’ve seen Palestinian students here in the United States and around the world trying to force universities and businesses to divest from Israel, just as the BDS movement has been trying to do for years. However, there was virtually no impact at all. No investment funds have been withdrawn from Israel, and no country has withdrawn from any treaty with Israel. Like many Jews over the past year, I have spoken out, written letters, and urged Israel to declare a unilateral ceasefire in its war with Hamas to allow food and medicine to enter Gaza. asked to do so. They haven’t done that, but Hamas hasn’t agreed to a ceasefire.
I support a two-state solution that would give the Palestinian people their own state, but when the United Nations proposed it in 1947, its leaders rejected it. Israel’s 1948 “War of Independence” (the so-called “War of Independence”) saw surrounding Arab states do nothing to help the Palestinians, but instead fought to take more land for themselves. I saw it. I believe that a final two-state solution is the only way for the Palestinian people to live in peace, and the same is true for the Israeli people. That will only happen if outside nations come together to guarantee Israel’s security. The rest of the world would then have to pledge hundreds of billions of dollars to help the new Palestinian state build a sustainable economy. All this may be wishful thinking, but it seems to be the only answer to ensuring lasting peace.
In the meantime, I join all those in mourning for the innocent lives lost this past year: Israelis, Palestinians, and those currently in Lebanon. The world must find a way to end this genocide.
Peter Rosenstein She has been an active LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist for many years.
This post comes a year later and we’re no closer to peace first appeared on Washington Blade: LGBTQ news, politics, LGBTQ rights, gay news.
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