Defying global fears that the war in Gaza would never end, all 20 of the surviving Israeli hostages are back in the loving embrace of their families. And in the days following their release, their giddy countrymen literally danced in the streets. I might have danced too, had I been a year or two younger.
As joyful as the moment was, however, it also bore a grim warning. For Jews around the world, this was a wake-up call: antisemitism, which we thought was long gone, is alive and well. And there’s only one antidote: Israel’s continued strength, resilience, and firm resolve.
One needn’t look too far back in history to find glaring examples of the double standard separating Jews from nearly all others. Both the 9/11 attack on New York’s World Trade Center and Japan’s 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor killed far fewer people, proportionately, than the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. In contrast, the wars they sparked extinguished many more millions of lives worldwide, including 1.4 million Filipinos just in World War II. And yet no one ever accused the United States or its allies of committing genocide.
Imagine what would happen if Mexico invaded Texas, murdering 42,000 civilians and taking 9,000 hostages—the proportional equivalent of what happened in Israel. Or, closer to home, what if the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao attacked Manila, killing 15,000 innocents and seizing 3,000 prisoners? Both of whom, incidentally, could claim, with some justification, that their enemies were colonial occupiers.
Most of us, I hope, would nevertheless side with the victims of those attacks and root for their ultimate victory. Because after all, only the Jews are not allowed to win wars.
Which raises the question of whether Israel has really won this one. Naturally, of course, its citizens were embroiled in the ecstasy of welcoming their hostages home. But Hamas, which viciously attacked them on Oct. 7, has shown no inclination to disarm. Nor has it expressed any willingness to relinquish control over Gaza. Instead, in fact, the surviving terrorists—who quickly came out of hiding in the wake of Israel’s withdrawal—have already brutally executed dozens of their rivals. And, more recently, violated the ceasefire agreement by killing two IDF soldiers prompting a brief-but-ferocious Israeli response.
It’s clear that any solution to the Middle East morass leaving that bloody band of hooligans armed and intact is no solution at all but merely a postponement. And that the much-ballyhooed “two-state solution” can only happen when Palestinians commit to living peaceably alongside their Israeli neighbors rather than actively pursuing their annihilation.
Which, in case you’re wondering, is the only actual “genocide” ever contemplated or attempted in this battle between neighboring nations.
Ah, but this is a time for hope rather than woeful finger-pointing. My main takeaway from an August visit to Israel with a Philippine media delegation was a renewed appreciation of the country’s jubilation and resilience. Yes, there certainly was pain. You could see it everywhere; on the posters massed at random places bearing pictures of those murdered or still held captive. And in the sad overtones of a lone pianist playing dirges at Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, more recently the site of enormous crowds gathered to await the release of those long-held captives.
But there was also a spirit of resilience—even joy—along with the promise and vow of survival that has carried Jews forward through many centuries of anguish. Here’s how I described it in a column upon my return: “You can see that too in the laughing faces of young people jumping and shouting at an outdoor restaurant where the chef dances with them as he cooks.
“You also hear it in the voices of the black-coated religionists blandly hurling their prayers against the hard longevity of the ancient Western Wall. And you can sense it in the exuberant applause of the crowd as it watches a heartfelt dance. Israel is broken. Eventually, I believe it will heal, though deep scars are likely to remain.”
Today, I hope, that healing has begun.
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David Haldane is an award-winning American journalist and author with homes in Southern California and Northern Mindanao. His latest book is Dark Skies: Tales of Turbulence in Paradise.. This column appears weekly in The Manila Times.
