World vs. Israel

And book recommendations

In 2018, legendary comedian Norm MacDonald did stand-up on David Letterman’s Late Show for the last time, and said:

“There is one country that worries me though: Not Iraq, not Iran, not North Korea, the only country that really worries me is the country of Germany! I don’t know if you guys are history buffs or not…but in the early part of the previous century, Germany decided to go to war. And who did they decide to go to war with? The WORLD! That had never been tried before. And so you figure that would take about five seconds for the world to win, but it was actually close! Then about 30 years pass, and Germany decides again to go to war, and again it chooses as its enemy, the WORLD!”

This clip comes to mind at a time now that is far from funny.

Today is October 7.

It has been 366 days.

The end is not yet in sight.

The conflict

On today’s anniversary of the 10/7 massacre, we are once again witnessing an imbalanced global conflict. However, rather than Germany versus the World, we are now into year one of: The World versus Israel.

On 10/7, sovereign Israel was invaded by fundamentalist murderers. About 6,000 Gazans crossed an internationally recognized border, where they pillaged, burned, raped, kidnapped, and murdered. They took over 250 innocent hostages into Gaza’s dungeons, murdered over 1,200 civilians, and left countless others physically and emotionally scarred for life. It was the worst single day in the Jewish calendar since the Holocaust.

The next day, 10/8, Hezbollah, comfortable in Lebanon, began indiscriminately launching rockets into Israel’s North. This has resulted in over 75,000 Israelis being internally displaced from their homes in the North for a year. They are still not home and their towns are on fire. Rocket fire from Lebanon has not stopped. Israel is reasserting its deterrence however, and doing what it can to return its people to their homes, risk-free. Hezbollah has suffered a significant weakening in the past month.

Almost immediately after last year’s October hurricane, before the Israeli military even had a chance to respond to this unprecedented slaughter, protestors took to the street.

Were they protesting Hamas atrocities? No.

Were they demanding peace? No.

Were they insisting on the return of the hostages? No.

Were they protesting the victims? Yes.

Israelis were blamed for forcing the Gazans to kill them.

In the last year, the protests have not stopped. The protestors have gotten more brazen. They call to destroy Israel, to “Globalize the Intifada.” Their antisemitism is showing. They have no regard for the truth. The crowds are growing.

In the year since 10/7, Israel has waged an overwhelmingly moral war in Gaza. Of course, one can point to some errors in accuracy or judgment - it’s war after all - but the Gaza War - and now ostensibly the Third Lebanon War - has been pinpointed and humane. If Israel wanted to perpetrate a massacre of Palestinians or “genocide” (a word flippantly tossed around these days by the uninformed), the Gaza War would have ended on 10/9. But Israel has sacrificed her economy, the lives of hundreds of her soldiers, and in some cases the goodwill of her citizens, all to fight a just war. 101 Israeli civilians are still held hostage in Gaza, half of whom are still alive. Caution in Gaza, is thus the watchword of the day.

And what has Israel gotten in return? The World vs. Israel.

The world will not call for Israel to win its war against Islamist terrorist organizations; they will only call for a ceasefire. Israel is not allowed to win wars. They must always fight to a draw.

Canada has been remarkably milquetoast towards Israel in recent months, holding up arms exports and making lukewarm statements about ceasefires and the antisemitism gripping Canada’s streets, endangering our Jewish community.

The United States, though steadfast in its support a year ago, will not allow Israel to wipe out its enemies. It too wants a ceasefire, opting for short term progress over long term solutions. It warns Israel against increasing attacks against Iran, a country that has armed itself to the teeth against Israel, that recently fired over 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, that is seeking a second Jewish Holocaust, that only Israel will stop.

Britain has famously suspended a high percentage of its arms export licences to Israel. Germany, shockingly, appears to be doing the same. France is siding with Lebanon, unwilling to acknowledge its takeover and endangerment by Hezbollah. Macron pathetically calls for an arms embargo against Israel until the Gaza War ends. These countries refuse to give Israel the benefit of the doubt. 

Russia is arming Israel’s enemies, including Iran and Syria. China is fundamentally against any Israeli military operations, even in self-defence. Brazil, South Africa, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Chile, Ireland, Turkiye, Libya, and Egypt, have all accused Israel of genocide, and have taken her to the International Court of Justice. The international arena, including the UN and its agencies, are similarly awash in anti-Israel propaganda. History will not look kindly upon the cowardly UN Secretary General António Guterres.

One need only look at a globe to see that today, one year after Hamas militants burned children in ovens in front of their desperate parents, it is indeed the World vs. Israel.

A fight for civilization

But this fight is far different than Germany versus the World. Almost 80 years ago, Germany was defeated when the World stood up to its aggression. Civilization was saved.

Today however, the roles are reversed. The World no longer fights to defend civilization. Israel does. By not joining ranks to help Israel annihilate Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the regime in Tehran, and the agenda of Fundamentalist Islam, the world is at best turning a blind eye to the future, or at worst actively preventing a victory for civilization. This is the significant takeaway from a year of Mideast strife.

Yes, Israel has some friends. The UAE, India, Hungary, Argentina, Czechia, are some. But she could use more.

In the last year, many Israel supporters have taken to wearing dog-tags around their necks. They are meant to bring attention to the fight to release the hostages now held in Gaza for one year. Many of these dog-tags say, in Hebrew, beyachad ne’natzeach: “Together, we will win.”

One can never have enough friends, especially in a fight for civilization. As the second year of this war begins, consider looking for allies where you can find them. Seek friends more than you look for enemies, and notice who is quietly standing with us, fighting on the front of this war for civilization.

Moreover, we rely on each other, our community, more than ever. I for one, have never been more proud to be Jewish. To walk with my community, to stand with my people, and to hold my head, and flag, high.

Together, we can, and will, win.  

Book recommendations

In the last several weeks, I’ve read four books about 10/7 that are absolutely worth reading:

Seth Frantzman is one of Israel’s top military reporters. The October 7 War is an in-depth look at the military situation in and around Gaza immediately prior to 10/7, the failures of that infamous day, and the war that has ensued (up to about June 2024). It is well worth reading if you are interested in what has happened militarily on the ground, and if you want to better understand the failures that actually led to the full-scale invasion of Israel on October 7. On that very day, Frantzman tried to get as close as he could to the fighting to begin reporting on it, and has not stopped since.

Israel Alone is a magnificent piece of writing by one of Israel’s fiercest and most brilliant supporters, Bernard Henri Levy. A relatively short read (you can read it in a day or two), the book starts with Levy’s eyewitness account of Israel in the days following 10/7, after which he delves into the global response to 10/7, the utter inability of the world to side with Israel, and the way that antisemitism has become mainstreamed in the last 12 months. I cannot recommend this book enough if you are interested in the ideas surrounding the last year of war, and what Israel faces at a high level, when it comes to its standing in the world and trying to find its allies on the map.

Amir Tibon was a resident of Kibbutz Nahal Oz. On the morning of 10/7, he and his wife and two daughters rushed to their safe room, as their world collapsed around them. The Gates of Gaza tells not only Tibon’s excruciatingly personal story of living through the 10/7 massacre at Nahal Oz, but also the history of the kibbutzim and moshavim surrounding Gaza. It is a heart-wrenching and honest story, in which Tibon opens up about his own experiences as a resident of the Gaza Envelope, and what happened on that fateful day. I recommend this book for anyone looking to learn more about the history of the settlements around Gaza, and who wants to know exactly what happened on just one of the fronts of that fateful day.

In 10/7, Haaretz’s Lee Yaron tells 100 different stories about what unfolded on 10/7. Her writing is beautiful, despite the absolute brutality of everything described, and she has taken on this monstrous task with grace. Each chapter focuses on a different location hit during the 10/7 massacres, and tells the personal stories pieced together by memories of eye-witnesses and survivors. Despite how much I read this last year about what unfolded that day, I still learned a tremendous amount from this book, and felt that it was an important read, to be able bear-witness to the extent I can, as someone who has not yet been to Israel since 10/7. This book is worth reading if you are prepared for raw details of what unfolded on that tragic day, and gives you insight into the experiences of those who fought, lived, and died on 10/7.