Oct. 7, 2023, became one of those days — like the Kennedy assassination or 9/11 — that many of us will never forget. We know where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news. On that Saturday morning, I was heading to the local weekly organic market in Bethlehem when I heard that Hamas had broken through the barrier around Gaza and entered Israel. I quickly drove home, turned on Al Jazeera, and started hearing the details of what was happening. I called my cousin in Gaza, where all my mother’s family lived, and begged him to find a way out. I knew this was going to be a disaster, but by then it was too late. The family was stuck.
On that day and in the days that followed, instead of reflecting, analyzing and deeply questioning why all of this happened, the Israeli government — already labeled as fascist by many of its own citizens — immediately reinforced what had not worked for decades: more domination, more military power, more destruction toward the Palestinians and raising more fear within its population. Without time to grieve the Israelis who were killed or attempt to negotiate the release of hostages, Israel’s leadership escalated, demonizing the entire Palestinian population in Gaza, calling them “human animals,” and even comparing the attacks to the Holocaust. They invoked the Amalek, a reference from the Bible to the story of King Saul being ordered to annihilate every human and animal of the Amalek tribe. ….more
