Israel, October 12, 2023.

“Optimism and hope are not the same. Optimism is the belief that the world is changing for the better; hope is the believe that, together, we can make the world better. Optimism is a passive virtue, hope an active one. It needs no courage to be an optimist, but it takes a great deal of courage to hope. The jewish history is not a history of optimism, but it is one of hope” – Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

About Israel,

Last Friday night, before going to sleep, I watched the documentary “Ordinary Men: The Forgotten Holocaust” on Netflix, which shows real images of Jews being dragged from their homes and murdered in the streets of European cities and towns. I took those heartbreaking images into my dreams, I had nightmares.

Next Saturday when I woke up, still half asleep, following the not recommended routine of checking my cell phone, I found an unusual number of messages on my WhatsApp; I started to review them, first rumors, it was clear this was not just another “attack”, it is something different, it is big.

The scenes I saw on TV on Friday, in black and white, were repeating in full color and in real-time. It wasn’t a Holocaust documentary; they were news from Israel. My nightmares of the night before fell short of reality.

My first reaction was to call my sister who lives with her husband and her two baby children in Israel to confirm that they are safe and secure. I spent the next 3 hours unable to get out of bed, watching the news, scrolling endlessly on Twitter (X), feeling like never before in my life, feelings that to this day I cannot describe with certainty. It is a combination of sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness and shock.

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – First of all, because of what happened. Images of rapes, murders, kidnappings.

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – Due to the historical context. A black day for me and the Jewish people, since the liberation of Auschwitz so many Jews had not been murdered in a single day.

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – Because of the hatred and the lack of humanity. For the cruelty and the absolute evil.

Reality exceeds fiction; In all Hollywood movies – to give depth to the characters – the writers add a touch of humanity to the terrorists. Here, there were none.

“I don’t know whether to call them beasts, but they certainly don’t have human features.”

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – Due to the reaction and lack of empathy of many sectors of the world, either denying or justifying the barbarity of Hamas. Politicians, academics, “analysts”. I have always wondered how many of them are ignorant, how many are stupid, and how many are simply anti-Semitic. Today I put them all in the same category.

I saw a message on Twitter from a journalist that said “Breaking news, Hamas did not behead 40 babies; they murdered 40 babies and only decapitated some of them. Israel lies” Aahh, ok, sorry for exaggerating.

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – Due to human stupidity. Calling for a “proportional reaction”, a “ceasefire”, and other ridiculous things. Is it a proportional reaction for Israel to rape, kill and murder the same number of people? Will there be volunteers? Ceasefire when you continue burying your dead and your daughters are kidnapped?

How do you explain social media profiles with rainbows or LGTBQ+ flags expressing themselves against Israel? Don’t they know in Gaza, homosexuality is punishable by death?

To really be a “woke” progressive, within the basic admission manual, there has to be an unquestioning hatred of Israel.

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – Through the media and its coverage. Again, as always, the media attention to Israeli bombings is totally out of proportion to the coverage of other conflicts. In 3 days, we have seen more pro-Palestinian marches than pro-Ukraine, or in defense of the Syrian population massacred by its own government. This is not about defending Palestine; it is about demonizing Israel.

“We do not call them terrorists because calling them terrorists would be taking sides” – BBC. Can you imagine a similar reaction after 9/11?

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – Due to the failure of the intelligence bodies of the Israeli government. The time will come to investigate and judge them.

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – For the Arab and Muslim world. Their general reaction on social networks and in the streets where they celebrate and applaud the massacre. Where are the voices of the moderates?

Do you want the war to end without more destruction? Do you want to help the Palestinians? Demand the return of those kidnapped, and hand over to justice the terrorists who perpetuated and carried out the massacre, including the political leaders of Hamas. Make Hamas surrender. The war would be over in 15 minutes.

Demand that Egypt open its border with Gaza and allow the entry of Palestinian civilians. (Yes, Gaza also borders Egypt, not only Israel).

The last thing I read before publishing this, is that after recommendations from the police, Jewish schools and synagogues in London, Amsterdam, and New York, are considering not opening on Friday due to the risk of violent attacks.

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – For what I´m seeing is happening in the US Universities. Jewish students are just afraid to walk in Campus, they are to safe.

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – Because of my own worldview, which changed on Saturday. It is not the 2023 and the humanity that I imagined we would have by now.

Sadness, anger, disappointment, helplessness, and shock – For the coming war, where thousands of people will die, including Hamas militants (let them all die), Israeli soldiers, and Palestinian civilians.

In an ideal world, no innocent civilian would suffer. But we live in a tragic world, war is tragic. Israel has a commitment and a responsibility to its citizens; the consequences will be sadly tragic for many.

It is increasingly difficult for me to separate the innocent Palestinians from the guilty; and to separate the Palestinian from Hamas. Where are the voices against Hamas within the Palestinian population?

Since Israel left Gaza in 2005, billions of dollars have flowed into Gaza in aid. Where is that money? In the personal bank accounts and properties of Hamas leaders. In their weapons and war infrastructure.

Based on a study from Forbes, Hamas is the third richest terrorist group in the world, richer than Al Qaeda and ISIS.

 I continue to believe in the two-state solution, living in peace and harmony, but I don’t think I will get to see it in my life, maybe my children or grandchildren. It is impossible to think of peace with a Palestinian population indoctrinated from childhood to hate Israel.

In an interview, a Hamas leader said “Israel’s weakness is that they love life, we sacrifice ourselves. We consider our dead as martyrs.”

Israel has no choice but to destroy Hamas. In past confrontations, after Hamas “misbehaves,” the Israeli army pokes them in the eye or gives them a slap and hopes they will behave better. No more. Israel has no choice but to destroy Hamas, even if this means going house to house in Gaza and removing them from their hiding places (curiously many of them are inside schools, hospitals, and mosques). Again, Israel must destroy Hamas, for two reasons: 1) To ensure a massacre like this one doesn´t happen again. 2) As a message to other radical groups in the region such as Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad; take away any motivation and initiative to do something similar.

I am not a geopolitical or military analyst, but I wonder, what was Hamas looking to achieve with its actions? I see two options: 1) It got out of hand, they didn’t expect that level of “success”, they improvised, and now they don´t know what to do. 2) They have planned their moves, they knew Israel’s reaction would be to attack them, they are waiting for the Israeli army to enter Gaza and then make their next move, even involving other players like Hezbollah or Iran. This scenario scares me.

The Israeli citizens cannot live in fear, they cannot be afraid of going to a rave party, going out into the street, or simply going to sleep with their family without knowing if they are going to wake up with a terrorist inside their house. For this, Hamas and other radical/terrorist groups must cease to exist on their borders. This fight is not for territory, it is for the survival of the Israeli psyche.

My question to those who express themselves, whether digitally, physically, or even violently against Israel, is there any form of response from Israel that would be permissible for you?

Within this mix of feelings, there are also the ones of pride and unity. I have never felt so proud to belong to the Jewish people as I do today. Just as it bothers me to see marches and reactions from certain parts of the world, I am moved to hear the Hatikvah (Israel’s Anthem) in the streets of the world, to see videos of planes full of young men and women returning to Israel to defend their country, soldiers dancing while they wait for the order to enter the hell that will be the war into Gaza.

I´m moved and thankful for the support from President Biden.

I have spoken and written to as many friends and acquaintances in Israel as I could. To my question “How are you?”, the answer is usually the same: “I’m fine physically, not mentally. It’s horrible. But we’re going to be fine.”

To my non-Jewish readers, if you have Jewish friends, write to them. Most likely they are in shock just like me. A simple “I am with you” is enough and helps.

 To those who wonder what to do? Stay informed of the situation, donate much-needed money, stay close to your community, hug your loved ones, and participate in support events, be proud, have faith.

“As a Jew, I need Israel. More precisely: I can live as a Jew outside of Israel but not without Israel” – Ellie Wiesel.

Am Israel Jai!