On October 7, 2023, Hamas, a terrorist organization that controls the Gaza Strip, fired 2,200 rockets into Northern, Central, and Southern Israel. Hamas then broke the barrier fence between Gaza and Israel attacking towns and civilians resulting in hundreds of deaths, most notably at the Re’im music festival. Additionally, over 240 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza to be used as bargaining chips within this conflict.
The Palestinian and Israeli conflict is one that has been going on for a very long time and is extremely intricate. Two ethnic groups claim this region as their ancestral homeland which presents the difficult task of dividing the land in an equal way.*
Over the last couple of weeks, the media switched its narrative to be more focused on the humanitarian crisis happening in Gaza – requiring the recognition the citizens of Palestine and the governing body of Hamas (which is internationally identified as a terrorist organization.) are not synonymous. The net worth of Hamas is in the billions while the Palestinian citizens they represent live in abject poverty, some not having access to clean water or electricity. The strategy of Hamas is to launch rocket attacks from schools, hospitals, apartment buildings and other civilian entities, using its citizens as human shields. When Israel responds to defend itself, it targets the sites of these attacks. Hamas often refuses to allow civilians to evacuate, even when they know a counter-attack is imminent. The civilian intertwinement, and resulting casualties, is at the heart of the complicated international responses to this conflict.
The people living in Israel have bomb shelters accessible in homes, businesses, and in public places. Israel uses a anti-missile defense system coined the Iron Dome that is designed to intercept rockets mid air. The people in Gaza don’t have these types of physical protection which results in more citizen casualties. Israel cut off fuel and power too because they said that Hamas would use it to launch their rockets (CNN). However, six hospitals have had to shut down and others are rationing care because of limited power.
Protests going around all over the world showcase opposing viewpoints of the conflict. Some are pro-Hamas, some are focused on the humanitarian crisis, and some are pro-Israel. On college campuses across the country, there has been a rise in anti-semitism by over 400%. Many Israeli students don’t feel comfortable leaving their homes as violent protests are happening outside their doors. Earlier this month, an Israeli student was beaten with a stick outside Columbia University’s main library after she confronted a woman about tearing down missing posters that were victims of the kidnappings of Hamas. Threats were posted on a chat forum at Cornell University calling for the murder of the “pig Jews”. These two universities, like all universities, must take a careful approach in both protecting the safety of their students and not infringing on the right of freedom of speech and assembly of their students.
On the other hand, hate crimes are not exclusively happening to Israelis or Jews globally. Islamic groups have also seen a spike in discriminatory behavior. This is not the first time in the United States Muslim groups have been targeted. Islamic groups post 9/11 have had a complicated relationship with the U.S. government and even to the extent that the former President Trump sought to ban all Muslims from any future immigration to the United States. The war in the Middle East has further complicated this relationship, as many Arab countries are upset with the U.S. government because of their support for Israel. Biden has sent funds and other military aid which some Arab countries view as contributing to the continuation of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Boise has also seen some involvement in these protests as there was a pro-Palistine protest on November 4th at the capital and the following day, November 5th, there was an pro-Israel protest. Both sides feel very passionately about their position within the global conflict. The protests within the Boise protests showcase that even thousands of miles away, the conflict is felt deeply by members of the community.
*This article is one of two examining the current and historical conflict of this region.
The author of this article is an American-Jew who was studying in Israel at the time the conflict began.
