10/7 was not Israel's 9/11 . . .

[Richard D]

. . . it was far worse.

With the one year anniversary of Yom Shabbat HaT'kefah rapidly approaching, I felt how I am still in shock and horrified by that event. I am more shocked by how the world has turned against Israel and even more horrified by how many in the Democratic party have joined in on the Israel hatred to and past the point of antisemitism. I wish I could say that I have not seen this demonstrated at DU, which has been my political home and support since shortly after 9/11.

I highly doubt that few, if any, non-Jews realize the significance to the Jewish people of the Hamas massacre of October 7 and how the tragedy of the kidnapped hostages is highly personal for every Jew. They were our relatives, family, friends, and beloveds, even if we had never met.

On September 11, 2001, approximately 2,977 were killed in the terrorist attacks. The population of the United States was around 285 million. This gives about 0.001% of the population of the US killed.

On Oct 7, 2023, approximately 1,400 Israelis were butchered by Hamas. The population of Israel was 9.7 million. That means that the percentage of Israelis killed was 0.0144%. This is about 13.85 times worse than 9/11 as a percentage of the total population.

If we compare the total world population, it gets dramatic.

The percentage of Jews in the world killed on October 7th is 0.009% of the total worldwide Jewish population. (sorry for the redundancy there, but I think that number deserves it).

The equivalent percentage of all Christians killed in the world would have been 214,200. Of Muslims, 177,300.

The equivalent number of Americans killed would be 30,060. Imagine if over 30,000 American citizens were killed on a single day by a foreign terrorist organization. What would we do? Would we let the other nations of the world dictate our response?

And kidnapping:

The percentage of Jews kidnapped on October 7th: 0.00127%

Equivalent number of Christian hostages: 30,226

Equivalent number of Muslim hostages: 25,019

Equivalent number of American hostages: 4,247. Imagine if over 4000 American citizens were kidnapped by a foreign terrorist organization. What would we do? Would we let the other nations of the world dictate our response?

(Calculations were made with the assistance of ChatGPT)

[jimfields33]

1. Both horrid. Both awful. But percentage wise, 10/7 was worse.

And add the rapes of woman and children, it’s no wonder Israel must beat these terrorists.

[Richard D]

2. Yes . . .

. . . only calculating loss of life, 10/7 was almost 14 times worse than 9/11.

[TBF]

3. That's the thing that gets me - Bibi is not allowed to defend Israel

and yet folks were A-OK with Bush destroying Iraq (even with most of the 9/11 terrorists being from Saudi Arabia!)

[Richard D]

4. Bibi is . . .

. . . the stereotypical "Evil Jew" archetype. He's got the nose and the ears. Talks like a Jew. He is more powerful than most other world leaders and is fiercely committed to protecting Israel - especially since 10/7 happened on his watch. He is Shylock, Scrooge, Fagin, and the Evil Jew from the medieval morality plays. At least, that is how the non-Jewish world chooses to see him. Had such an attack occurred in contemporary times on American soil and Bibi was the president, we'd see him as a hero - or maybe not as most would have wanted a far greater response.

[question everything]

5. It is not about population. It is about the sadistic brutality that the world has been ignoring

Many condemned Israel immediately, before Israel started retaliating.

Some now condemn Israel for “forcing” Lebanese to flee their homes.

About 65,000 Israelis had to be evacuated from their homes in the north.

The horror of 9/11 was a one time event. With the occasional capture of individual terrorists like the shoe bomber. Israel is under continuing attacks.

[JudyM]

6. Who is crafting the strongest, prevailing narrative, that's key.

I have long thought that Israel (like US Dems, until very recently) lacks a good communications team. Despite my gut level belief that our general moral principles stand as guide rails to actions taken by the Jewish state, I haven’t seen much in the way of cogent, coherent justifications for the level of destruction and loss of presumably civilian life in Gaza. I don’t think Israel would need to spend a ton of time on it, but currently the narrative supporting those actions seems more or less to be: trust that it’s necessary to root out hamas and locate the captives, and that Israel is our democratic bastion in the Middle East so there’s strategic value for our support. I stand with Israel, but with so much circulating narrative - here and on the world stage - painting its actions in a bad light, including, incredibly, “genocide,” it would be great to see a more substantive narrative emerge.

[Mosby]

7. The game is rigged though

Israel was being accused of genocide by the MSM journalists and guests just days after 10/7.

No one in the media has tried to get real casualty numbers, they just lazily report "according to the Gaza Health Ministry..."

Israel is in a classic lose-lose situation. If they don't fight back Israelis suffer and die, if they do fight back they get demonized by the world MSM and the UN. If they concede to Arab/Palestinian demands then Israel ceases to exist. There are literally "journalists" in Europe who speak about the end of Israel like its just a matter of time. Bibi is a distraction, their opinion that Israel was a mistake goes well beyond the current government.

[JudyM]

8. I agree, it is.

Last edited Sat Sep 28, 2024, 08:06 AM - Edit history (3)

And there’s so much viral ignorance. But we are all seeing the footage. I haven’t heard anything more substantive than what I noted above in terms of strategic disclosures … have you read something more? Not that Netanyahu “needs” to justify, in the face of the abject brutality and continued refusal to meet one-sidedly generous ceasefire terms, but that it would help public understanding.