As we stand upon the anniversary of 7 October, it is impossible not to feel a deep and bitter resonance with the lessons of Yom Kippur. A day meant for atonement and reflection becomes, for Jews and Israelis, an occasion to confront the most ancient and enduring truths about our predicament. The solemnity of the Day of Atonement, a time to reconcile ourselves with moral failings, contrasts harshly with the brazen injustices we’ve endured over the past year—perpetrated not merely by avowed enemies but by those who parade themselves as moral arbiters on the global stage.
It has become glaringly apparent that Israel is not only fighting a battle for its physical security but also one for its very legitimacy. The hypocrisy of states and officials, eager to pontificate on morality and human rights, has never been more blatant. In the wake of unspeakable violence against Israeli citizens, the international response has been a case study in selective indignation. One is reminded, uncomfortably, of those past moments in history when Jews were expected to suffer in silence, without the moral right to defend themselves—let alone to be defended by others.
What we have seen over the past year is a grotesque willingness, by many who should know better, to throw Israel under the proverbial bus. The response to the terror unleashed on 7 October was not so much outrage as equivocation. The hand-wringing lectures on 'proportionality' and 'restraint' have been meted out as if Israel’s actions deserve more scrutiny than the very terrorism aimed at annihilating it. How easy it is for diplomats and bureaucrats, thousands of miles removed from the conflict, to opine on what constitutes an acceptable level of Israeli suffering, all while remaining silent about the butchery and fanaticism we face.
If Yom Kippur teaches anything, it is the need for introspection, the courage to confront uncomfortable truths, and the moral clarity to admit error. And yet, this clarity has been conspicuously absent in the response of much of the international community. Nations that proudly trumpet their commitment to human rights seem to falter when those rights are to be extended to Israelis. This double standard is as pernicious as it is familiar. We are lectured, in tones of nauseating condescension, about the importance of peace—by those who would never tolerate such assaults on their own populations.
There is a sickness in this kind of moral cowardice, a sickness that enables terror to masquerade as resistance, and that allows hatred to flourish under the guise of ‘criticism’. And let us not delude ourselves—antisemitism is not an aberration from the norms of global discourse; it is woven into the fabric of it. The hatred we witnessed on 7 October, and in the months since, is no historical accident. It is the natural consequence of a world where Jews and their state are held to standards that no other nation, no other people, is expected to meet.
On this grim anniversary, we remember not only the lives taken but the lies told—the cynical falsehoods that frame Israel as the aggressor, the deceptions that disguise the hatred for what it truly is. Israel is not merely a country under siege; it is an idea under attack. The idea that Jews have the right to a homeland, the right to self-defence, and the right to live free from the genocidal intentions of their enemies is, for some, intolerable.
But if Yom Kippur is about reckoning, it is also about renewal. Despite the betrayals and the hypocrisy of the past year, Israel endures. We will not be cowed by those who would prefer to see us obliterated rather than defend ourselves. Nor will we be lectured on morality by those whose own moral compasses seem to spin wildly in the wind of political convenience. The right of Israel to exist is not a matter for debate. It is a matter of survival.
We stand firm in the knowledge that history is not on the side of those who appease terror. Our resolve is steeled by the understanding that the world’s judgement has often been clouded, but our fight is just. As we reflect on 7 October, and on Yom Kippur, we find strength in our defiance. And we remain as determined as ever to secure a future for Israel—against those who wish to destroy it and in spite of those who dare not defend it.
We Believe In Israel Team
