Recalling the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel

By Ken Reid

Judaism has a lot of holidays – plus, what are actually “observances;” days of recalling the various tragedies that occurred in our long history as God’s “chosen people.”

Tish b’Av (the 9th of Av) is the main day of woe, when read the Book of Lamentations and recall the destruction of both temples (586 BCE at the hands of the Babylonians and 66 CE at the hands of Rome) and other tragedies that Jews endured, which happened to fall on the same day or week.

But now we have Oct. 7, 2023 – a day that was supposed to be of joy, known as Simcha Torah, when we complete the cycle of reading the entire Torah the previous year. We just observed what Jews would call the “yarzheit” (anniversary) of the murders of 1,300 in one day -- the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, this time at the hands of Hamas terrorists from Gaza.

More than likely, Oct. 7 will be marked on the Jewish calendar for years and years to come. We Jews have a habit of doing this, like Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls in April to mark the Nazi clearing of the Warsaw ghetto in 1943.

I still went to Simcha Torah festivities that day, as did millions across the globe, but then, the atrocities that occurred that day were revealed - not just the 251 taken hostage from Israel, the US and other nations, but the rapes of women and girls and mutilation; beheading babies and putting them in ovens; killing innocent people, some of whom tried to make peace with Gazans up until the massacre. Some 1,300 were murdered in one day.

The IDF was nowhere to be found. I could not get my mind off how the administration of Benjamin Netanyahu, a hardliner when it comes to Israel security, could have let this happen – and then we learned that warnings and reports were written, but ignored, and the IDF diverted troops to the West Bank to oversee Simcha Torah celebrations.

Israel was at war, and Jews across the world, who thought we’d have the world behind our backs, would soon learn of the pernicious influence of the radical neo-Marxist, anti-Western, anti-American, and yes, anti-Semitic Left.

While President Biden and an array of Republicans and Democrats pledged full support to Israel, it was only a matter of weeks when Muslim and Leftist interests in this nation would start counterprotests and calls for a cease fire – before Israel even had a chance to retaliate.

As former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss said: “We expected Hamas to try to kill Jews. We didn't expect Americans to celebrate when they did.”

I attended a pro-Israel rally on Pennsylvania Avenue days after the rally, organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of DC. There, I saw Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Maryland anti-Trump congressman, make a passionate plea for Israel – and only weeks later, when the pro-Hamas Left in his district started breathing down his neck, was calling for a cease fire.

I happened to be running for Virginia State Senate that fall and attended a candidate forum for students at Oakton High School, two weeks after the attacks. It was largely a great event and enjoyable to see high school students ask questions about issues -- except this one Arab student, who screamed “Free Palestine” at the conclusion of my speech when I called for unity behind Biden and Israel.

He later came up to me in total denial about the reports of the beheadings. He was an angry kid, but as I soon learned in the coming months, the Leftist takeover of our schools and colleges creates millions like him.

A massive pro-Israel rally on the Mall in DC in November to fight antisemitism and support bringing home the hostages had some 300,000 attendees and a variety of speakers from BOTH parties, notably House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and CNN commentator Van Jones.

But a week later, the Democratic National Committee was attacked by pro-Hamas demonstrators, including the anti-Zionist Jewish group If Not Now. And, an anti-Israel rally garnered 300,000 on the National Mall.

The more the IDF pounded Gaza and the more and more we saw Arab deaths there, the worst it became for Israel from a public relations standpoint – despite the fact that the estimated 40,000 were killed because Hamas embedded its fighters and missiles in residential areas. We also learned how the gullible UN and U.S. gave billions in humanitarian aid that was diverted by Hamas to build tunnels and make bombs.

While 100 hostages remained after a release of 150 or so last November, Hamas broke the peace and launched missiles again. Meanwhile, Hamas leadership was hiding in a 5-star hotel in Qatar, shielded by the government there, and it seemed none of the Western powers or Israel had a means to bring them to justice.

The UN, of course, was worthless. We learned of how Hamas was involved with the UN relief organization, which became a funnel for aid for the tunnels and missiles.

A resolution tried time and time again to declare Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist groups failed in the General Assembly last October. And as the Leftist pressure and 2024 campaign came upon the Democrats, more and more including Biden and Vice President Harris began to waver in their support of Israel – notably, abstaining on an anti-Israel Security Council resolution condemning the war.

And then, the campus demonstrations became ugly, and we learned of their Leftist foundation and overseas funding. More and more attacks on Jews occurred. The anti-defamation league, headed by a former Obama administration political appointee, finally came around to face the reality that the 8,000 incidents in 2023 alone were virtually all at the hands of Leftists and Muslims – not much from white supremacists.

Luckily, Republican politicians remain unified for Israel, as do a majority of Democrat elected officials. The display of Speaker Mike Johnson and others gathered at Columbia showed to me, that Jews do have friends, where we had few in the 1930s lead up to Hitler, nor in the 40s when millions were being murdered in death camps.

And so, here we are, a year later. Some hostages liberated by IDF troops or escaped on their own, but most still in captivity or killed – like the six young men and women a few weeks back. The war continues and Hamas and Hezbollah show no sign of surrender.

The U.S. , EU, International court and UN only make it harder for Israel to complete the job of annihilating Hamas, Hezbollah and neutralize Iran, which is the prime financier and provider of weapons. It’s all politics because there are so many Muslim voters in the US and Western Europe now that politicians can’t stand up to them. But some 3 million Jews still live in Europe and none of the EU powers, nor the U.S., which has about 6 million Jews, seem interested in showing deterrence against Iran and terrorist groups.

Antisemitic incidents still occur – the Anti-Defamation League logged 8,000 in 2023 and 10,000 this year. Attacks at universities continue, as do assaults on Orthodox Hareidi Jews in New York -- and the assailants pretty much let go by police. This is what worries me the most -- the failure of authorities to arrest and try those who cross the line.

I, personally, have not experienced anti-Semitism, except a pro-Israel sticker torn from my car window. And, I witnessed a man waiving a flag across the street from where I live that read: "From the River toe the Sea, Palestine will be Free." I felt uncomfortable, although he was well within his First Amendment rights to do this.

Jews have to remain positive, as we observe the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur High Holidays. We must trust in Hashem (God) and recognize while our allies are weak, we still have allies and friends in the Christian world, too. It’s not like the 30s and 40s when we were helpless. But like the Holocaust, we cannot forget or forgive the terrorists, nor can we give in. And, American Jews must face the fact the far Left anti-Zionist crowd in the U.S. has become a problem for our safety and security -- not just the neo-Nazis.

Am Israel Chai. (Israel Lives Forever).