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.

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The world has become a more dangerous place since October 7.

In July, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in an airstrike in Tehran, shortly after Israel killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a targeted airstrike in Beirut. Right before that, a Hezbollah-fired rocket had murdered 12 Druze children — part of a series of 8,000 rockets that Hezbollah has fired at Israel since October 8, 2023.

In the United States, antisemitic forces have advanced with abandon — from taking over college campuses around the country with little, if any, consequences, to assaulting visibly-religious Jews in broad daylight, as well as vandalizing American war memorials and synagogues. The US political scene has also been turbulent, and American Jews have been the victim of a record-number of antisemitic attacks.

Despite these pressing national and international dangers, one threat stands out the most as Jews around the world continue to grapple with the post-October 7th reality: the erasure of Zionist Jews within the public square, particularly within America and the West.

Zionists believe that the Jewish people have the right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland, Eretz Yisrael.

Around the world, Zionist Jews have been targeted with violence, murder, and exclusion from all public and private spaces.

And unlike the threat from Hamas or Hezbollah, this dangerous reality cannot be countered with a targeted airstrike.

Antisemitism and anti-Zionism have spread throughout every corner of daily and professional life, with little to no consequences. Most of the anti-Israel protestors who took over Columbia University’s Hinds Hall in April and blocked pro-Israel and Jewish students from attending class, had their charges dropped by Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg.

Israeli scientists have been shunned by numerous Western European universities and academics who refuse to engage in collaborative research.

In June, Hamas sympathizers brutally attacked Jews outside the Adas Torah shul in my hometown of Los Angeles. And in July, during Prime Minister Netanyahu’s trip to the US to speak before a joint session of Congress and advocate for Israel’s right to defend herself, a rabid, anti-Israel mob burned American and Israeli flags, vandalized war memorials, attacked police, and graffitied “Hamas is coming” on monuments.

Although some charges were brought against the most violent offenders, the vast majority of these terrorist sympathizers who committed criminal acts were let off the hook, free to commit more crimes against likely Jewish and pro-Israel targets.

These public acts of hatred against pro-Israel supporters and Zionist Jews have deeply personal and negative effects.

Visibly-religious Jews must now make a calculation whether they use public transportation in major US and European cities, lest they be accosted for being openly Jewish.

Israeli and Jewish restaurants have to worry about their stores being vandalized simply because of their heritage.

Pro-Israel students may be denied employment or future educational opportunities by having identified support for Israel on their resume, or because teachers graded them poorly based on their views.

Jewish families may think twice about having a mezuzah on their door or a menorah in their window, for fear of their home being attacked. And any Jew who attends Shabbat services at his synagogue now feels the need to look over his shoulder, or check where the exits are, in case of an active-shooter scenario. (And, of course, there are now armed guards at a large number of synagogues).

Zionist Jews — which, to be clear, are the vast majority of Jews the world over — are put in an even more challenging position when the small minority of anti-Zionist Jews attempt to speak for the Jewish people as a whole, and support those who want to eradicate Israel.

These anti-Zionist Jews have bent the knee to forces that chant genocidal phrases like “From the River to the Sea,” and celebrate Hamas — and sometimes join in the chants.

These anti-Zionist Jews, including groups like Jewish Voice for Peace, believe that they will be spared the same fate as their Zionist brothers and sisters if they provide aid and comfort to terrorist sympathizers.

But the history of the Jewish people has demonstrated time and again that such collaborators will not be spared when the perpetrators of the hate they are supporting inevitably turn on them.

Under this new reality, it is of the utmost importance for Zionist Jews and their allies to do everything in their power to remain present and vocal to prevent the erasure of their place in society.

Mezuzahs should remain on doors, and menorahs in windows. Religious Jews should continue to don their kippahs and tzitzit in public. If and when acts of violence and vandalism occur, the incident should be documented — and the press, police, and politicians should be held accountable via constant engagement and encouragement to prosecute the perpetrators.

Zionist Jews in positions of influence should use their resources to provide scholarships and funding to pro-Israel and Zionist students, so that they can begin their careers, donate to pro-Israel and Zionist political candidates, and fund organizations like mine whose sole focus is to advocate for Israel and the Jewish people.

And for those American Zionist Jews who are legally able, they should strive to meet the requirements for their respective state’s concealed carry weapons permits to become law-abiding firearm owners, in order to ensure that they are able to defend themselves, their families, and their congregations if they are ever violently attacked for being Zionist Jews.

The tide can be turned, and the antisemites and terrorist sympathizers can once again be banished from polite society, when Zionist Jews make clear that they will not be erased.

Micah Quinney Jones is a publishing Adjunct at The MirYam Institute, a US Army veteran, and a pro-Israel advocate. He is a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service.

The post A Year Since October 7: The Erasure of Zionist Jews in the Public Square first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Ron Lobel spent his career at the Barzilai Medical Center in Israel. After narrowly escaping the tragedy that befell many Israelis on October 7th, he volunteered to treat victims of the Gaza war.

What makes the situation even more personal for Dr. Lobel is that he trained Palestinian doctors until 2008, and helped in Gaza between 1988 and 1994, where he oversaw the building of an ICU at a hospital in Khan Younis.

Lobel’s home in Netiv Ha’Asara is 300 meters from the Gaza border. Lobel usually rushes to the hospital when he hears attacks near the border — which happen sporadically when one lives in the vicinity of the Strip.

But on the fateful day of October 7, his wife stopped him from getting into his car and driving towards the hospital .

“That saved my life,” he said.

Lobel and his wife stayed inside their bomb shelter throughout the ordeal.

“I had no time to be afraid, “ he exclaimed. “I had to save lives [even on the telephone].”

Miraculously, Hamas terrorists did not enter his dwelling, and he waited inside for 13 hours — helping the hospital by coordinating with them over the phone.

It was a very “intense ordeal,” he said. Many of his close friends died in the Hamas massacre.

Lobel grew up in Tel Aviv, and finished his medical studies at the University of Bologna in 1979. He then returned to Israel, and began working at Barzilai. Today he is officially retired, but stays on as a consultant.

Being the child of Holocaust survivors from Czechoslovakia and Romania, Lobel notes that Israel was built by people who came to a new nation with a lot of trauma.

“There is something called post-traumatic breakdown, but there is also post-traumatic growth, and Israel is a symbol of this,” he said.

During his many years in the profession, Lobel trained many Palestinian doctors — including in Gaza, until the mid 200s. Since then, he has trained doctors from the West Bank.

He told me that one of the biggest highlights of his career was the Ethiopian aliyah, where some of the new Olim came with severe medical problems.

He said that many of those he saved have now made good lives for themselves in Israel, and that some of those young Ethiopian Jews became doctors themselves, treating others and carrying forth the spirit of helping that Lobel believes in so strongly.

Lobel says there are many doctors of Arab descent in Israel, and believes that the proportion is much higher than Israel ever gets credit for.

Lobel is also known for taking care of a prayer site on the hospital grounds that was once the resting place for Husayn ibn Ali, grandson and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Mohammed. Lobel shows Muslim pilgrims from around the world the holy site, and he said that members of the Bohra group, a Shia Muslim sect who mostly live in India, especially like to visit.

The original mosque on the site was destroyed in the 1948 War of Independence. It remained forgotten for a while. But in 1980, a Bohra group from Egypt visited the site and after much petitioning by their religious chief, a new site was erected within the hospital premises.

In 2020, the site was damaged by vandals, but the Bohra community in India paid for its restoration. Lobel appreciated how the architects incorporated the Star of David into the Islamic architecture.

Lobel said that the hospital has treated several patients of the various wars with Hamas in Gaza over the years, including the current one.

After his decades of experience in Israel and Gaza and the West Bank, he still believes that co-existence is the path to peace, and hopes that a day will finally come when the wars will finally end.

Avi Kumar is a Holocaust historian/journalist from Sri Lanka. He has lived in many countries and speaks 11 languages. He has written about a variety of topics in publications worldwide. 

The post This Israeli Doctor Survived October 7; He Spent a Lifetime Helping Israelis and Palestinians first appeared on Algemeiner.com.