Four weeks after the Simchat Torah pogrom, a national understanding is becoming clear that this was not just a war from Israel's wars, but another chapter in an attempt to destroy the Jewish people. In other words, Hamas did not have the means to "exterminate, kill and lose all Jews from boy to old man and women in one day," as the Book of Esther put it. Even an orderly plan for a "final solution" was not conceived by his heads. But the motivation, the ideology, the cruelty that flowed in the blood of the monsters, the adrenaline that drove them to slaughter and cut down, to slaughter and murder, to burn and rape – they all emerged from the depths of the ancient hatred that the nations of the world have for the Jewish people. Not from the "conflict."
This hatred, which has accompanied the Israelites since ancient Egypt, has not yet found a clear meaning. By the way, even in Egyptian slavery, the evil was particularly monstrous. Apart from throwing the male babies into the lake, as described in the Book of Exodus, he included imprinting them in the mortar walls from which Pitom and Ramses were built, according to rabbinic traditions.
Hanan Greenwood
In any case, the understanding that the Hamas attack is a chapter in the Jewish historical axis, and not "only" another campaign in a row since the wars of independence, the Six Day War, Yom Kippur, and so on, requires conclusions accordingly.
We will get to them immediately, but it is important to say that both among the general public and among the various elites, including political and security, the view that there was an attempt to exterminate the Jewish people is spreading.
That is, no serious person in Israel thinks that the context is the "Israeli-Palestinian conflict," or that it was an attack designed to achieve political goals. The term "terrorism," as a means of terrorizing, is also insufficient. Far above and beyond all this – especially after watching the atrocity video, but even without it – the recognition by many is that the murder of Jews as such was the goal. Statements in this vein can be heard from across the political spectrum.
The first operational conclusion from this is that "Hamas will not be in the Gaza Strip the day after," and this is not self-evident. Israel has never destroyed its enemies, only defeated them. Even during the Yom Kippur War, when our forces stabilized 101km from Cairo and 35km from Damascus, no one thought of eliminating the Egyptian or Syrian regime. Even the Palestinian Authority, which played a significant part in the second intifada, was left intact by Israel at the end of the fighting. This is not what will happen with Hamas.
According to MK Idan Roll, the far-reaching assumptions we made in the past to those who explicitly call for war against us will no longer exist. When we say "hello" from here on out, we will expect this concept in full. There will be no more eye shuts, swipes and games I think. Roll is a brave voice in his camp. Hopefully, more will follow.
"Hamas, with its psychopathic leadership and sadistic murderers, must cease to exist, that was the unanimous cabinet decision," National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi said this week. "The danger of annihilation will not be our lot, but the fate of those who seek our evil," said Benny Gantz, a member of the small cabinet.
The second conclusion is that anyone who took part in the call for annihilation should be killed, not simply punished. MK Amit Halevy (Likud) was the first to propose applying the Nazis Law to Hamas terrorists. His law enjoys broad support in the Knesset, and it is unclear why it has not yet been approved.
At the same time, MK Orit Farkas Hacohen (State Camp) is promoting an initiative to collect evidence against them so that they will be charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Or in the words of Benny Gantz, again: "There are not and will not be cities of refuge – not in Gaza, not in Judea and Samaria and not anywhere, near or far. We will persecute them night and day, in their cities and beds, in Gaza and Jenin, above ground and underground. It will be a continuous and long time. We will settle accounts with those who seek our evil."
The third derivative concerns the day after. Not in the entire political system, but certainly in large parts of it, the lesson is that the Palestinian Authority should not be allowed to receive Gaza at the end of the war. Of course, most of the Likud and its satellite parties reject the idea, but not only.
Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope opposes handing Gaza over to Mahmoud Abbas. MK Idan Roll Mish Atid also publicly opposed Mahmoud Abbas' return to Gaza this week. "His abysmal hatred of Israel is the main reason, but certainly not the only one. A creative solution is needed." Rolle explained his opposition to the return of the PA to Gaza by the need for "a real solution that will provide quiet and security to the citizens of the Gaza Strip for many years to come."
In other words, according to Rolle – and he certainly represents – the far-reaching assumptions we made in the past to those who explicitly call for war against us will no longer exist. When we say "peace" from here on out, we will expect this concept itself in full. There will be no more closing eyes, slips, concessions and "I think" games. Roll is a brave voice in his camp – hopefully more will follow.
Front of the West
Another person who places the events on the axis of Jewish history is Eric Zemmour, a French polymath who last year ran for president and came in fourth place. He is located on the French right, and as is customary in enlightened countries, was tried and convicted for his views. This week he came to Israel, and on Tuesday he visited the village of Gaza. The next day we met in Jerusalem.
"There is a symbolic issue here. Israel was established to protect the Jewish people. It is not only the Holocaust, but also the pogroms in Russia and Poland and anti-Semitism against the Jews. The notion that Israel's role is to protect the Jewish people has failed here. Therefore, Israel must restore deterrence, but also the myth that it protects the Jewish people."
"To restore deterrence, but also the myth that Israel is the protector of the Jewish people." Zemmour in front of pictures of the abductees, this week,
Zemmour – who is Jewish, by the way – also described the common contours between France's coping with the immigrant communities and the Simchat Torah massacre: "What was a conflict between two peoples, namely the Jew and the Palestinian, has become a conflict between two religions, which are Judaism and Islam. In recent years, it has been a conflict between two civilizations – the radical Islamic world, versus the Judeo-Christian world or the Western world. The Palestinians are already a symbol of the entire Arab world."
Zemmour certainly fears that the events in Israel will have implications for France, and the huge demonstrations of support that have already taken place on behalf of the Palestinians are a first step: "What happened here on October 7 is like the terrorist attack that took place on France in 2015. Then, in coordinated attacks on the Bataclan theater and other sites, 300 people were murdered using the same brutal methods. This is the same war between the Islamic and Western worlds."
If so, what is the solution? Zemmour has his own plans for France, which won him seven percent support last year. As for us, "you must restore deterrence and sign more agreements like the Abraham Accords." Howdy.
Honesty
"With a hand on your heart," I asked a cabinet member of the previous government this week, "if you were in power, would the attack have been prevented?" His answer was decisive: "No." In other words, nothing would have been different had the Bennett-Lapid government still been in power. Honesty matters.
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