@aaronjmate

“We did not start the war against the indigenous population that we’ve occupied, besieged, and displaced for 76 years and running.”

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@bariweiss

"It’s hard to describe what it is like to be Israeli after October 7.

Around the world we are condemned for a war we did not start and did not seek. Even the rescue mission is spun in the press as Israeli overreaction, and one BBC commentator asked an IDF spokesperson whether the Israeli military should have warned the neighborhood in advance of. . . a sting operation.

Meantime, at home, we are uncertain. Uncertain about the leaders who allowed this to happen—and a prime minister who has refused to take responsibility for the massive failure that occurred that terrible day. It was stark, then, on Saturday, when Netanyahu showed up to be embraced by the success of the rescue mission but has not reached out to any of the families of the dozens of hostages who were killed in captivity. And as Benny Gantz wavers over his position in the government—there are reports he’s going to resign today—we are uncertain of when it will fall.

In my own family, we watch with trepidation as the northern border heats up with constant rocket barrages fired by Hezbollah. Every young mother in my apartment building has a husband who will most likely get called up to serve, again, against an enemy far mightier than the one we’ve faced in Gaza. I am one of them.

But if there is one thing we are certain of, it is this: we live in a country of heroes. We live in a country in which strangers feel like family. A country in which other men and women will sacrifice their lives to liberate us, to bring us home."

https://thefp.com/p/when-hostage