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A Student’s Perspective on the One-Year Anniversary of October 7
Illustrative: A projection is seen with a picture of US President Joe Biden along with text reading “Genocide Joe” on the wall of the George Washington University during a pro-Hamas protest on campus in Washington, DC, May 7, 2024. Photo: Probal Rashid via Reuters Connect
October 7, 2023, marked a pivotal moment for the Jewish community. On that day, Hamas terrorists infiltrated southern Israel, unleashing unspeakable brutality on Israeli children, women, and men.
In the aftermath of the massacre, the world witnessed a profound outpouring of grief and solidarity from some, along with a deeply unsettling reaction from others.
I first saw this unsettling shift on October 8, 2023, when Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of Georgia held a rally celebrating Hamas’ murder, rape, and hostage-taking.
SJP claimed that “the Palestinian people, yesterday, fought back successfully,” and tried to tell uniformed college students that these terrorist acts were actually “resistance.”
Immediately after the October 7th massacre, National SJP (NSJP) released a “toolkit” for their national “Day of Resistance,” which took place on October 12th.
The toolkit referred to the massacre as a “historic win,” and taught its readers to justify the murder of innocent Israeli civilians (including small children) by calling them settlers.
Fast forward to this year, when NSJP is using their social media to announce a “week of rage” taking place Oct. 7-11, commemorating “one year of genocide.”
If NSJP claims their intent is to mourn innocent Palestinians — many of whom have died because Hamas only fights among the civilian population — many would share that sentiment. However, NSJP and their local chapters claim that October 7th — which they celebrated previously and before any Israeli ground response — was the beginning of a genocide against Palestinians.
The label of genocide carries immense weight, and in this context, is completely false.
To wield that word without acknowledging that the claim is false — and without acknowledging the specific contexts of both Jewish and Palestinian suffering — is irresponsible. This appropriation of Jewish pain is not just tone-deaf; it is a troubling manipulation of trauma. It reveals a disturbing trend in which pain is weaponized, where the suffering of one group is overshadowed by the narratives of others, and where solidarity is selectively given.
Hamas is the one who acted on their genocidal intentions, specifically intending to dehumanize and then kill as many Jews as possible. Its charter calls for the eradication of Israel, and all Jews living in it.
The problem of spreading this false claim is especially destructive on college campuses, where many students are uninformed on the issues, and want to stop genocide where it is actually happening.
We need to reject Hamas propaganda and focus on pressuring Hamas to lay down their arms, end their continued attack on Israeli civilians, and stop using their people as human shields.
As Jews in the Diaspora, we worry every day for the safety of our family and friends in Israel. Unfortunately, some of our worries materialize and we must mourn the loss of our loved ones taken without apology.
NSJP’s actions reflect a broader pattern of erasing Jewish experiences. Despite Hamas’ use of human shields, experts have determined that Israel has maintained the lowest civilian-to-combatant casualty ratio ever recorded in modern urban warfare.
In a world where conflict often breeds division, it is essential to foster spaces of genuine dialogue rather than exploitation. Mourning should not be a competition; it should be a pathway to understanding and healing. The glorification of violence and the trivialization of suffering only serve to deepen existing wounds and perpetuate cycles of hatred.
It is crucial for organizations like National SJP to reflect on the implications of their rhetoric and to acknowledge the profound impact their words can have. And if groups like SJP and NSJP won’t do that reflection — it is time for colleges to step in and stop them from incitement and hate speech.
The struggle for justice and peace is not a zero-sum game; it thrives in environments of empathy.
On the anniversary of October 7th, we must unite as a community — both at UGA and across American campuses — to honor the memory of those who lost their lives and to recognize the profound impact terrorism has on the Jewish community and those around the world.
We must acknowledge our pain without allowing it to be co-opted or misrepresented by others. We must stand firm in our commitment to education, empathy, and solidarity, ensuring our grief is respected and our stories are told authentically.
For us, the war on terror is not halfway across the world, but something we must fight in our backyards. Let us create space where we can finally heal. Let us advocate for understanding, respect, and a true remembrance of the October 7th tragedy.
As a senior at the University of Georgia studying journalism and social entrepreneurship, Gabriela Lefkovits’ commitment to advocating for Israel stems from personal experiences with antisemitism on her campus. Since then, she has collaborated with several national Israel advocacy organizations, and strives to create spaces for conflicting beliefs while fostering empathy for all.
The post A Student’s Perspective on the One-Year Anniversary of October 7 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Fresh conversations on the state of Canadian arts in a twice-monthly podcast from The CJN
Culturally Jewish debuted in April 2023 as an audio magazine highlighting stories of creators across Canada along with critical tips about new and upcoming events. Click here to listen and […]
The post Fresh conversations on the state of Canadian arts in a twice-monthly podcast from The CJN appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Trump Nominates Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as US Ambassador to Israel
Mike Huckabee looks on as Donald Trump reacts during a campaign event at the Drexelbrook Catering and Event Center, in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, US, Oct. 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to serve as the next US ambassador to Israel, adding another staunch ally of the Jewish state to a senior role in his incoming administration.
“I am pleased to announce that the highly respected former Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, has been nominated to be the United States Ambassador to Israel,” Trump wrote in a statement on Tuesday.
“Mike has been a great public servant, governor, and leader in faith for many years. He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East!” Trump continued.
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, has long been a stalwart ally of the Jewish state. He has repudiated the anti-Israel protests that erupted in the wake of Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7 and criticized incumbent US President Joe Biden for sympathizing with anti-Israel protesters during his speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC). The incoming ambassador also lambasted the anti-Israel encampments at elite universities, stating that there should be “outrage” over the targeting and mistreatment of Jewish college students.
Huckabee has defended Israel’s right to build settlements in the West Bank, acknowledging the Jewish people’s ties to the land dating back to the ancient world.
“There is no such thing as the West Bank — it’s Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee has said, referring to the biblical names for the area. “There is no such thing as settlements — they’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There is no such thing as an occupation.”
During Huckabee’s 2008 US presidential campaign, he stated that “there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian,” and that land for a potential Palestinian state should be taken from other Arab states and not Israel.
Huckabee will replace the current ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew.
Trump’s pick for ambassador to Israel during his first term, David Friedman, praised the president-elect’s selection of Huckabee.
“I am thrilled by President Trump’s nomination of Governor Mike Huckabee as the next Ambassador to Israel. He is a dear friend and he will have my full support. Congrats Mike on getting the best job in the world!” Friedman wrote on X/Twitter.
During Trump’s first term in office, his administration helped foster the Abraham Accords, a series of landmark normalization agreements between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Trump also recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic region on Israel’s northern border previously controlled by Syria, and moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing the city as the Jewish state’s capital.
Over the course of his campaign, Trump promised to resume efforts to strengthen the Abraham Accords upon his return to the White House. He has also urged Israel to move faster with its military campaign to eradicate the Hamas terrorist group from the Gaza Strip.
The post Trump Nominates Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as US Ambassador to Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Suspect Remanded Without Bail for Attempted Kidnapping of Jewish Boy in New York City
Masked male attempts to abduct Orthodox Jewish child in broad daylight in New York City on Nov. 9, 2024. Photo: Shomrim Crown Heights Rescue Patrol/Screenshot from social media
The man who was charged for attempting to abduct an Orthodox Jewish child in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York City this past weekend will remain in jail until he faces a judge again next month.
Stephan Stowe, 28, reportedly a gang member with 33 prior arrests, was arrested early Sunday and subsequently charged with attempted kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child. Citing court documents released on Monday, CrownHeights.info reported that a judge refused bail for Stowe and ordered him to be remanded to Rikers Island prison until his next court date on Dec. 9.
The legal action came after a masked man was caught on video approaching a visibly Jewish father walking with his two sons and grabbing one of the children on Saturday afternoon, in broad daylight. He was unable to secure possession of the child, whose father fought back immediately and did not let go of his son. The assailant put the child down.
This video is shocking. A perpetrator grabbed a Chasidic child who was walking with his father today at approximately 3:30pm on Kingston near Lefferts Ave.
Something is clearly going on in Crown Heights—there have been incident after incident over the past two weeks.… pic.twitter.com/7nIkZWhssk
— Yaacov Behrman (@ChabadLubavitch) November 10, 2024
The video was widely circulated online and fueled concern about a wave of violent crimes targeting Jews in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Following news of the arrest, a local Jewish leader praised what, for now, appears to be a victory for law and order advocates and a Jewish Brooklyn community reeling from a spate of hate crimes in recent weeks.
“The perpetrator has been arrested,” Yaacov Behrman, a liaison for Chabad Headquarters — the main New York base of the Hasidic movement — posted on X/Twitter. “Known to police, the perpetrator has allegedly been arrested over 30 times. He is under 30 years old and has also been arrested in [the] past for criminal possession of a weapon. What is wrong with our legal system? What is wrong with our society? How is this possible?”
Behrman also noted on Sunday that he spoke to the father, who expressed his appreciation for local police and Crown Heights Shomrim, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group. According to Behrman, the father also said that his kids were doing well.
Saturday’s attack was the fourth time in less than two weeks that an Orthodox resident of Crown Heights was targeted for violence and humiliation. In each case, the assailant was allegedly a Black male, a pattern of conduct which continues to strain Black-Jewish relations across the Five Boroughs.
Last Wednesday, a middle-aged Hasidic man was chased and beaten by two assailants after he refused to surrender his cell phone.
Earlier that week, an African American male smacked a 13-year-old Jewish boy who was commuting to school on his bike in the neighborhood, which is heavily Jewish.
Less than a week earlier, an assailant slashed a visibly Jewish man in the face as he was walking in Brooklyn.
Black-on-Jewish crime is a social issue which has been studied before. In 2022, a report published by Americans Against Antisemitism (AAA) showed that Orthodox Jews were the minority group most victimized by hate crimes in New York City and that 69 percent of their assailants were African American. Seventy-seven percent of the incidents took place taking in predominantly Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Of all assaults that prompted criminal proceedings, just two resulted in convictions.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” AAA founder and former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D) told The Algemeiner at the time. “Shouldn’t there be a plan for how we’re going to deal with it? What’s the answer? Education? We’ve been educating everybody forever for God’s sake, and things are just getting worse.”
The problem has become acute in recent years. In July 2023, for example, a 22-year-old Israeli Yeshiva student, who was identifiably Orthodox and visiting New York City for the summer holiday, was stabbed with a screwdriver by one of two men who attacked him after asking whether he was Jewish and had any money. The other punched him in the face. Earlier that year, 10- and 12-year-olds were attacked on Albany Avenue by four African American teens.
According to a report issued in August by New York state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, antisemitic incidents accounted for a striking 65 percent of all felony hate crimes in New York City last year. The report added that throughout the state, nearly 44 percent of all recorded hate crime incidents and 88 percent of religious-based hate crimes targeted Jewish victims.
Meanwhile, according to a recent Algemeiner review of New York City Police Department (NYPD) hate crimes data, 385 antisemitic hate crimes have struck the New York City Jewish community since last October, when the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas perpetrated its Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, unleashing a wave of anti-Jewish hatred unlike any seen in the post-World War II era.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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