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How Israelis Lost Empathy for Palestinians

(Ynet News) Dr. Michael Milstein - The Oct. 7 massacre and the war that followed undermined many basic assumptions that prevailed in Israel: it became clear that those who were not considered an existential threat to the state caused one of the most serious atrocities. Until Oct. 7, there was a perception among some Israelis that the majority of Palestinians in Gaza are different from Hamas, which controls them through fear and oppression, and that they share a universal human longing for a good life. This led to the assumption that by improving their situation it would be possible to ensure security stability. The horrors of Oct. 7 shattered these perceptions. Thousands of the Gazan public took an active part in the massacres, kidnappings, rape and looting, and participated in the victory celebrations that included abuse of the kidnapped and the bodies of Israelis. The testimonies of survivors and hostages describe teenagers who participated in the war crimes, women who had held hostages, and bargaining by civilians with Hamas members for the sale of Israeli captives. In addition, the reality revealed by the IDF in Gaza showed the presence of weapons, tunnel shafts and rocket launchers in many homes, embodying the merger of the civilian and military realms into a single entity whose focus is jihad against Israel. Israelis understand that the broad Gazan public sympathizes with Hamas. It is therefore not surprising that the long-standing distinction made by Israelis between the Gazan public and Hamas, let alone the empathy expressed for their suffering in the past, have greatly diminished. Israelis are required to recognize that there is a profound cultural difference between the two communities when it comes to morality, truth, acceptance of the "other" and the value of human life. For change to occur, it would only come from within Palestinian society. In the meantime, Israel must establish a buffer between the two communities in a way that will not compromise its security. The writer is head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University.
2024-01-18 00:00:00
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