Nowhere was the shock felt more acutely than within Israel’s small and now battered peace camp. Some of the victims on October 7 had for years been active members of the peace movement. After years of campaigning, anti-occupation activists felt suddenly betrayed by many progressives in the West who seemed uncaring or oblivious to their pain. In the days following the attack, the pages of the left-leaning Haaretz newspaper were filled with expressions of this anger and raw emotion.By magnifying old, festering feelings of isolation and victimisation within Jewish society, the callous or insensitive reactions to the October 7 attack ended up inflicting damage on the Palestinian cause, as well.As emotions in Israel continue to run high, more and more people have been adopting the view that if the world hates us so much (evoking the days of the Holocaust), we will forever have to live by the sword.Inadvertently fanning the victimisation narrative, the global outrage over Gaza has hardened Israelis’ defiance, as well. Why, many of them are asking, didn’t the same rage manifest over the bloody conflicts in Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia or Myanmar? Why is Israel being singled out?These feelings—and the delusional thinking that Hamas could be destroyed and all hostages freed by force—have overwhelmed all other considerations for the Israelis.For years, public opinion in Israel had significant influence over government policies in the occupied territories. The shock of October 7 may have amplified the importance of these opinions by upending many people’s long-held positions on the Palestinian “problem.” This has been more likely to be the case on the political left and in the centre, where many people have lost a sense of security and hope.The arguably more logical lesson of the attack—that peace and security for Israel are inextricably linked to the self-determination of the Palestinian people—has failed to gain many new adherents, at least for now.As a result, the death toll in Gaza has so far had little impact on the Israeli Jewish public. The only thing animating some calls for a ceasefire deal now is the ongoing risk to the hostages and the sense of national responsibility for their fate.
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