Lynn Schmidt: On Israel's Oct. 7 anniversary, America should remember 9/11
When thinking about Monday's one-year anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel, it is constructive to consider it with the context of another anniversary that was observed in the U.S. last month.
The aggression of Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists was to Israel what the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the United States by Al Qaeda was to Americans. Israel has every right to continue to safeguard itself as a sovereign country, especially in light of the continued threat of terrorism in the region.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a brief in Dec. 2023 titled "Hamas's October 7 Attack: Visualizing the Data." They highlight the Oct. 7 attack as the deadliest terrorist attack against Israel since the state's establishment in 1948, with an unprecedented 1,200 people killed that day and the deadliest per capita terrorist attack since the Global Terrorism Database started data collection in 1970, with a rate of slightly over one person killed per every 10,000 Israelis.
The CSIS data also cites Oct. 7 as the third-deadliest terrorist attack since data collection began in 1970, based on the number of fatalities, with the 9/11 attacks representing the worst mass fatality terrorist attack.
President Joe Biden invoked 9/11 with his initial reaction last October: "We remember the pain of being attacked by terrorists at home."
Tom Nides, Biden's former ambassador to Israel, said in an interview last Oct. 20: "The president has been particularly clear that Israel has every right to defend itself from what is the worst terrorist attack, probably, in the history of the state of Israel. Hamas is a terrorist organization that has one objective, which is to destroy the state of Israel. And given that they have taken more than 100 hostages, including some Americans, Israel has every right to do what they need to do to get those bodies back."
Less than a year later, it seems as if that sentiment has dissipated among many Americans. That's most likely because it is the state of Israel and the Jewish people who were the victims of the terrorist's onslaught rather than Americans.
Imagine if instead of offering support back in 2001, the world had grown impatient and chose to condemn U.S. efforts to defend ourselves and retaliate against the terrorists who killed almost 3,000 individuals within our borders.
The goal of terrorism is to create a state of fear in the public. In the case of Hamas' incursion, rape, murder, and kidnapping, this sense of panic has extended to Jews all around the world, in part due to the rise in antisemitism everywhere.
The Anti-Defamation League has documented the alarming trend. The ADL tracked 8,873 antisemitic incidents in the U.S. in 2023 — the highest number of incidents reported since the organization began tracking data in 1979.
The ADL's audit also showed there was a dramatic upward trend of incidents after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, with 5,204 incidents occurring between Oct. 7 and Dec. 31.
Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO, said, "The American Jewish community is facing a threat level that's now unprecedented in modern history."
Greenblatt added: "In this difficult moment, antisemitism is spreading and mutating in alarming ways. This onslaught of hate includes a dramatic increase in fake bomb threats that disrupt services at synagogues and put communities on edge across the country."
The St. Louis community is no different in this regard. Recently I spoke with a lifelong St. Louisan and the Board Chair of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, Robert Newmark.
Newmark shared with me that the terrorist attack unleashed shockwaves throughout the Jewish community and it shook their notion of safety and security. "It has been over 75 years since the Holocaust," he said, "and there was a sense that Israel was safe for the Jewish people." That sense of safety no longer exists.
Newmark fully recognizes the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza while also acknowledging the challenges ahead in the region before there can be a resolution. But he also said that eliminating Hamas is justifiable, as they are a terrorist organization that still poses a threat.
Hamas' leader Yahya Sinwar remains in charge, as of January 80% of Hamas's tunnels remained intact, and Hamas still has the support of Palestinians living in Gaza.
A poll conducted in March by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, a think tank based in the West Bank, revealed that 71% of Palestinians living in Gaza still supported Hamas' decision to launch the Oct. 7 attacks — up from 57% in December 2023.
Newmark told me that Jews have faced persecution and challenges throughout history, and they remain remarkably resilient.
Friends and allies should acknowledge the challenges that Jews face and speak up when they see acts of aggression and antisemitism.
The geopolitical situation in the Middle East is complicated but Americans' response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack shouldn't be. Americans should remember how we felt after 9/11 and remain supportive of Israel's right to defend its sovereign nation.
Schmidt is a Post-Dispatch columnist and Editorial Board member. . On Catch the latest in Opinion
