It has been 366 days since the largest and most savage massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. A year since 1,200 people were slaughtered, beheaded and burned alive. A year since a large scale mass sexual assault of women in Israel by invading jihadists. 366 days, and counting, of 101 people remaining as hostages in Gaza, of the 251 who were abducted on October 7, 2023.
It is a time to memorialize the dead. To remember their lives, dreams and aspirations which were cut short.
It is a time to recount the bravery of those who fought off the barbaric invaders to protect the innocent.
It is a time to call out the mass sexual assault committed by Palestinian Arabs, a vile crime against humanity.
It is a time to pray for the hostages, cut off from light, food, family, friends and a normal life.
And it has been that time, every day, for a year.
Over the past year, people attended public events at the United Nations, the National Mall in Washington and Times Square as well as private events at synagogues and community centers.
People have done ‘Run For Their Lives’, heard from survivors and politicians and watched countless videos and movies about the atrocities committed by Palestinian Arabs. They’ve donated to Israeli causes and volunteered sending goods to Israel. They put signs on their lawns and ribbons on the trees and lapels.
They’ve wept at concerts of Israeli singers, as they remembered their crew who was killed at the Nova Music Festival, and seeing Israeli soldiers reunited with their loved ones.
And they’ve gone to Israel. Packing items for soldiers and their families, donating blood, serving soldiers on their way in and out of the terrorist enclave of Gaza.
While praying and fighting for Israel, they’ve done the same in combating antisemitism in the diaspora. They’ve attended protests, provided support for students on hostile campuses, attended lectures and rallied to expel toxic politicians from office.
People have written to the anti-Israel media and canceled subscriptions, emailed politicians and switched political parties. They’ve stopped giving money to their alma maters and started donating to Jewish and Israeli causes they never considered – let alone prioritized – before.
The trauma of the brutality continues past the year anniversary. Hostages remain. The Iranian Proxies War continues. The PTSD of raped women does not fade, nor for those who witnessed their family and friends killed.
Antisemites continue to rage on diaspora streets. Anti-Israel protestors rant on college campuses to burn Tel Aviv to the ground and to “Globalize the Intifada by any means necessary.” Politicians and university presidents appear unable or unwilling to stem the tidal wave of hate.
The world advocates to give peace prizes to those that torment Jews rather than those that normalize relations with the Jewish State. Politicians blame any real or potential personal misfortune on Jews. Leading Jewish politicians like Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Jerry Nadler lead the charge to vilify the Israeli government, paving the way for non-Jews to comfortably condemn Israel’s just defensive war.
There have been no great speeches by Israeli or Jewish political leaders. Jews have turned to podcasts for wisdom and to young Jewish men and women testifying before Congress to gain moral courage.
we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.
A year since the savage Palestinian Arab massacre of Israelis, the bitter chill of isolation has set upon Jews in Israel and the diaspora. Exhausted, they will continue to fight the menace for their basic human rights, ideally with allies, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.
The Anti-Israel And Anti-American Woke Grows (July 2024)
A Visit To A Nation Held Hostage (July 2024)
Antisemitic Wind Chill, Now In Westchester (January 2024)
Sharansky on Churchill’s “We Shall Fight Them On The Beaches” Speech For Jews Today (December 2023)
The March of Silent Feet (January 2020)
The Holocaust Will Not Be Colorized. The Holocaust Will Be Live. (May 2019)
{Reposted from the author’s blog}
