Opinion

(Oct. 6, 2024 / JNS) The first anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacres in southern Israel adds yet another sacred date to a calendar already filled with those devoted to mourning tragedies in Jewish history. But the fresh pain from this most recent instance of Jewish suffering is due to more than the fact that it happened only 12 months ago. The war against Islamist terrorists that began that date is ongoing with hostilities against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon. And more than 100 of the hostages taken on Oct. 7 are still unaccounted for or continue to be held captive by Palestinian terrorists.

The United Nations was in high dudgeon in the aftermath of the pager and walkie talkie attacks against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. According to the Associated Press, the UN’s human rights chief Volker Türk has said that “weaponizing ordinary communication devices represents a new development in warfare, and targeting thousands of Lebanese people using pagers, two-way radios and electronic equipment without their knowledge is a violation of international human rights law.” “Those who ordered and carried out these attacks must be held to account,” he said.

While I listened to a shofar-blowing outside on Rosh HaShanah afternoon, it dawned on me that the distant sound of fighter jets was totally unremarkable. No one even looked up. 

Ever wonder why so many in the foreign policy establishment push for de-escalation, a cease fire, or a two-state solution? Why are so many people who are responsible for the actions and decisions made by their nation and ours so blind to the facts that every person who davens next to you or sits around your table sees so clearly? Could it be that they all simply hate Israel and the Jewish people and want to see them both destroyed? That is certainly true with a core percentage of them, but it doesn’t account for all of them.

I wrote this article a number of years ago. Sadly, throughout this year, we find ourselves once again in a very painful and frightening period of time.

Orchestrator of Abraham Accords slams calls for ceasefire:
“There is no going back for Israel”

September 27, 2024, is the most important day in the Middle East since the Abraham Accords breakthrough.