The Struggle Israel

A Different Era. The impact of the attack really can't be overstated, it changed everything. Not since the Yom Kippur War over 50 years ago has Israel felt so vulnerable. But even compared to that this was different. First, this is an entirely different generation. In the 70's you still had nearly all the founders of the nation to rally around and they were a much more battle hardened people. Israel was still fledgling at just 25 years old but they were much more united back then.

In October of 2023 the political factionalism that existed had arguably never been greater and the country lacked the same type of leadership from the early years. Back then, the same faces who helped found the nation were still leading it a generation later, Golda Meir signed Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948 and was still prime minister in 1973, while generals like Ariel Sharon and Moshe Dayan had been fighting for the country's survival since its earliest days. That kind of continuity gave Israelis a built-in reason to rally around their leadership. That kind of unity feels like a distant memory today.

Shock and Horror. Beyond the unfavorable conditions there was something else very different about 10/7. Of course Israel had seen terror on civilians before, but not like this, nothing remotely like this. I simply won't go into the details here, but it was the stuff of nightmares. Not only was it medieval level barbarism, but it was strategic and directed from the enemies leadership. And they doubled downed by recording it and broadcasting it to the world. And then went even further and kidnapped hundreds of civilians. The message was clear, peace was dead.

The Fallout. As horrible as the attacks were, in truth, the fallout in the aftermath was the true gut punch. You see one thing I thought positive that would result in the wake of these attacks is that the world would finally see the futility of these peace efforts Israel is dealing with. Instead, even with the attacks filmed and broadcast by the perpetrators themselves, footage of Israeli women being paraded, sexually assaulted, and murdered, festival-goers hunted down, entire families slaughtered in their homes, the world still found ways to deny it, downplay it, or look away. That silence stung in a particular way. So many Jews had stood on the front lines of causes like Me Too. For most women, an accusation alone was enough to engender belief and support. For Jewish women, there was actual video evidence, and it still wasn't enough. The feeling of betrayal was devastating.

It begs the question how people are not outraged at Hamas using civilians as human shields and refusing them access to their own underground tunnel systems etc. Their lists of atrocities to their own people is nearly endless. You'd also think Israel's efforts to protect the lives of people who hate them might earn them some repute internationally.

The struggle is indeed real my friends. We now know with painful certainty, we are not entirely alone, but pretty damn close to it. There's unfortunately nothing too complicated to understand here. When Israel gets treated the way it does, with such glaring double standards, there can only be one explanation — Jew hatred.

Since 2006, the United Nations has condemned Israel more than every other country in the world combined, despite far higher death tolls and far worse human rights records in places like Syria, Yemen, Sudan, the Congo, and North Korea. And somehow, university campuses erupt in protest over Israel while staying eerily silent on all of it. We are officially living in a nutty world when Western activists march in pride flags and keffiyehs for a regime that would joyfully throw them off a rooftop, while boycotting the one country in the region where they could actually live, love, and march freely.

The Response. Sounds gloomy, I get it, but that is a fakakta attitude my friends! No denying these are challenging times, and I'd be lying if I told you I predicted I'd see this type of antisemitism in 2026. But the response the last 3 years has been amazing if you can just take a step back from the moment. Most importantly, let's look at where Israel stands. Their economy remains strong despite 3 years of war with one of the highest gdp per capita in the world. Israel's biggest threats Hamas and Hezbollah barely exist anymore and Iran's status as a regional power is very much in doubt.

Israel is also expanding economic and strategic relationships all over the map, in Asia, Africa, and all over South America. As far as politics and the surge in anti semitism goes, meh, we got work to do, but we are far better positioned to deal with it now than anytime in history. And more than anything, every Jew, whether living in Israel or the diaspora, can sleep a little easier knowing that if the worst ever happens, there's now an army of the fiercest, most capable soldiers on earth ready to answer the call. For most of Jewish history, that simply didn't exist, and we should truly feel grateful that it does now. Stay positive mishpucha!

The Design. Two sides, one story, here's what each half represents.

Never Again. Israeli President Isaac Herzog put the scale of October 7th bluntly: "Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed in one day." Israel's response was declared Operation Iron Swords, aimed at destroying Hamas and bringing the hostages home. In the aftermath, a doctrinal shift has resulted in a new policy where Israel will no longer allow hostile armed forces to entrench along its borders, whether in Gaza or Lebanon, regardless of ceasefires or diplomatic promises.

The Hope That Will Not Die. HaTikvah — "The Hope" — was written in 1878 by Naftali Herz Imber, decades before there was a state for it to represent. It became the anthem of the Zionist movement, and in 1948, the national anthem of Israel:

As long as in the heart within, the Jewish soul yearns, and towards the ends of the east, the eye gazes toward Zion, our hope is not yet lost, the hope of two thousand years, to be a free nation in our own land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.

The song has carried Jews through the worst of times. Five days after British forces liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945, survivors gathered for the first open Jewish Sabbath service held on German soil since the war began. Still surrounded by the camp's horrors, barely days removed from starvation and mass death, they sang HaTikvah. A BBC reporter on the scene captured the moment live, and it was broadcast to the world — a recording that still exists today. People who had every reason to believe hope was dead, somehow, amazingly, still found the will.

That's the tradition this design borrows from. Not blind optimism — earned hope, hope that's been tested by the very worst history can offer and has survived it every time.

Go Deeper

A video that adeptly goes into how the October 7th attack changed Israel.

Holocaust and 'Hatikvah': A Song of Hope in a Time of Despair — Israel Forever Foundation's article on HaTikvah as a source of strength through the darkest moments of the Holocaust.