Answering the Hard Questions Posed by 10/7 and Its Aftermath

Peace, Not a Neverending War of Vengeance, Is the Only Fitting Memorial for the Victims of Hamas and of the Devastation Wrought by Israel in Gaza

It is a mistake to think of October 7th simply as an anniversary, a day to mark another day, to commemorate a horrible crime and the loss of 1400 lives.

October 7th is a prism through which to view that which came before it and that which has come since. Those lost in a monstrous, unjustifiable attack deserve a place in our hearts. Those who were kidnapped and still held certainly should remain at the forefront of our thoughts. Not a single terrorist who was behind the attack deserves anything but the most unsparing justice.

But we must also view October 7th in terms of that which led to Hamas sudden, brutal strike against Israel and in terms of that which has followed. We must recognize the crimes that have come before and after just as we seek to find a path to realizing the aspirations of all Israelis, Palestinians and their neighbors for peace and a world shaped more by hope than by hate.

We must grapple with the fact that much of what we have learned since October 7th defies our natural impulse to think of a great crime, like that perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli innocents, as part of a black and white narrative, a simple story of good and evil. Indeed, the best outcome that can be hoped for the unjustifiable bloodshed that occurred on that day a year ago, is for all of us to pose hard questions to ourselves and to those with the power to affect outcomes in the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians, the kind of questions we may have shied away from in the past, the kind of questions that must be answered if we are to ever have the kind of stable, positive outcome that really is the best memorial we could offer those who lost their lives on October 7th or in the carnage that has followed.

Here are some of the hard questions on my mind:

• Who will speak up for the hostages? Who will finally act to save them? Will they be forever lost to the twisted political calculus of Hamas and the Netanyahu government? There are, perhaps, 100 hostages still alive, still suffering a year later. Those who kidnapped them and who imprison them are ultimately the ones responsible for the horrors they still face. But why has their fate been neglected and what does that tell us about the degree to which Israel’s leaders are willing to sacrifice their own people to achieve the narrow political objectives of the Prime Minister and those closest to him or to advance their extreme agenda? It is not just a question that needs to be asked because it ties to the fate of innocents in captivity. It is also one that is linked in very real ways to some key aspects of how October 7th came to pass.

• Where is the investigation into the intelligence and security failure that allowed October 7th to happen? Who will be held accountable for the Netanyahu policy of propping up and funding Hamas? When? Who will be held accountable for the Israeli government’s failure to take into account warnings such an attack was possible? Their decision to shift resources north to advance their illegal West Bank agenda, a decision that left Israel more vulnerable to attack from the south?

• When will Hamas be replaced by an effective, legitimate Palestinian government? Destroying Hamas’ leadership has largely been accomplished. Eliminating its rank and file might never be achieved. But retribution is not an adequate path to ensuring a just and lasting peace. It is established that there will be no real end of hostilities or a chance at rebuilding Gaza until a new, effective government is established for Palestinians. The PA, as it is currently construed, is not the answer. It is old and corrupt. Israel cannot impose or have undo influence over the successor government. It must be acknowledged that Israel has sought to weaken and divide Palestinian leadership as part of its efforts to undermine Palestinian aspirations to statehood. When will that stop? Can that ever be stopped?

• If the past year has taught us anything it is that the only solution is for two states, one for Israelis, one for Palestinians, occupying the space currently occupied by Israel and the Palestinian territories. It is not going to be easy to achieve. The current Israeli government opposes it. It will require stopping and reversing Israeli efforts to make it impossible. But as big questions go, it is clear that one of the biggest is: “How do we get from here to a two-state solution?” Related to that for the U.S. is how do we communicate to our Israeli ally that we are now committed to this idea in a more serious way than we have been in the past.

• Anti-Semitism is on the rise in the U.S. since 10/7. It must be combatted just as Islamaphobia, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian and other forms of hate must be. But we must also be careful not to conflate legitimate political protest against the Israeli government or against groups like Hamas with hate speech. There has been a cynical effort by some political and special interest groups to promote such conflation. Being opposed to the slaughter of innocents in Gaza or the policies of the Netanyahu government is not anti-Semitism. Indeed, it can fairly be argued that opposing these things is both consistent with Jewish values and in the best interests of the Israeli and the Jewish people. We devalue efforts to eliminate dangerous hate with such efforts. Will we have learned enough from the past year to stop them and focus on the real underlying problems?

• Can we all just acknowledge that killing innocents is always wrong, that the lives of Palestinian and Israeli and Lebanese babies are all equally important? As straightforward an idea as this is, I have found in the past year that there is resistance to it. Arguing that there are always unintended civilian casualties in war has been used to paper over manifold horrors. Arguing that the U.S. has committed such crimes in past wars is not a justification either. It is easy to let a cycle of violence and revenge lead to false justifications for the unjustifiable. It is happening daily in this expanding conflict. When are we going to come to our senses on this?

• Why didn’t Israel decapitate Hamas in the efficient way it decapitated Hezbollah? Why do so many people believe that Netanyahu wants or even need for the sake of his political survival protracted war? The answer to this one is pretty straightforward. It’s because he does. He is as much a part of the problem as those he is fighting. When will the Israeli people make the change atop their government that is an absolute prerequisite to any kind of enduring ceasefire in this conflict?

• How much further can this war spread? How much longer will it go on? Because the answers to some of the above questions are unertain, a year after 10/7 the region is in flames, conflicts are likely to get worse before they get better, thousands of more innocents are likely to die, and Gaza is likely to remain an open wound for years. Perhaps Lebanon too will suffer that fate. Until we grapple with the answers to the above questions, these wounds will fester.