Israel

Ilya Somin | 10.7.2024 3:13 PM

Today is the one year anniversary of the horrific October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. The resulting war continues. I wish there was something I could say to ease the pain of the victims of the attack, and their families. But that task is far beyond my very limited eloquence.

Still, over the past year I have written pieces on various aspects of the conflict and the reaction to it in the West, that may be of interest. This post is a compilation of them. I haven't written as much about this conflict as the Russia-Ukraine War. But there is enough to be worth compiling.

I hold a somewhat unusual combination of views on the conflict. I am no great fan of the present Israeli government, or of the ideology of Zionism (the latter because of my general opposition to ethno-nationalism). Yet I nonetheless hope Israel wipes out Hamas and deals a decisive defeat to its other adversaries, as well. For all its serious flaws from the standpoint of liberal values, Israel is incomparably superior to its enemies.

A small anecdote can help illustrate the point. In December, I am scheduled to be a visiting professor at Uriel Reichman University in Israel. One of the meetings tentatively planned is one with Arab Israeli legal academic Mohammed Wattad; since we last met in 2016, he has become the president of one of the country's major universities.

Can you imagine a Jew leading any major institution under the rule of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, or even the Palestinian Authority? The question answers itself. Indeed, a Jew probably could not even........

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