October 7 marked two years since Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel, which is the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. The Hamas terrorists sexually assaulted young girls and women. 1200 people were killed, and 254 hostages were taken back to Gaza. This event was the catalyst that led to horrendous years of war.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza strip, is recognized as a terrorist organization by many countries. They use tunnels under Gaza to hide weapons and protect themselves while using civilian shields. Many innocent Palestinians have suffered immensely because of this war through casualties, displacement, and destruction of their cities.
Now, two years later, Hamas and Israel have signed a ceasefire deal that stated the rest of the hostages will be released and Israel will pull their military from the Gaza Strip. Both sides of the conflict celebrated this moment of peace, but uncertainty remains. What will the future look like and how will peace be maintained?
As soon as the ceasefire came into effect, a video of Hamas officials publicly executing several civilians began to circulate. It is concerning that most pro-Palestine supporters have stayed silent about this, when they were very outspoken during Israel’s military actions. If their goal is to advocate for human rights, they should not be selective in who they condemn.
Throughout the war, the United States and President Trump have been active supporters of Israel. It is important for anyone, no matter their political view, to support this peace. Even though the majority of Trump’s ideals do not line up with mine, I can celebrate this victory and acknowledge Trump’s part in it.
Throughout the past two years, Israel has faced a lot of backlash for its actions and by proxy Israelis and Jews. This has led to a disturbing amount antisemetic acts in the United States and all over the world.
One of the most concerning places that has had a surge of antisemitism is colleges. Many students hold Free Palestine rallies, but unfortunately some of them have become violent or hateful towards Jewish people. It is unacceptable that the line between peaceful protest and violence has been crossed.
According to the American Jewish Committee, 63% of Jewish students feel like their campuses promote antisemitism and 43% of Jewish students feel like they cannot express views on Israel. This is troubling because college should be a place where everyone is included and feels their voices are heard. College is the time students discover themselves, but the rapid rise of antisemitism is prohibiting Jewish students from feeling safe and growing. In a time of rapidly advancing technology, social media has also become hateful towards Jewish and Israeli people.
Throughout social media, the idea is spread that Zionism is inherently bad and is often used as a slur or bad word. Many people don’t know the textbook definition of Zionism. It is simply defined as the political movement that started during the 19th century. The idea is that Jewish people want a homeland and a nation that is safe for them to express their religious beliefs freely. It is true many movements can have groups within them that go too far, and is the same with Zionism. But people should not be afraid to call themselves Zionists because the majority believe it is inherently bad. The spread of misinformation on the movement has caused a lot of hate online towards people who use the term to show their support.
While there isn’t peace in the Middle East and probably won’t be for a while, I believe that there should be more celebration of the success they have reached now. Understanding that conflicts are multi-faced is important to help not make overarching assumptions about groups and their beliefs. It is important for people to remember to understand the true depth of extensive topics, such as war, and to call out hate. We should all respond to heavy topics with open-mind because in the end, we are all human with our own opinions and feelings.
