Greg Bouwer
IINZ
September 9, 2001. The day that changed America. Al-Qaeda struck a blow to the US by flying passenger planes into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. The enduring power of those attacks has been clear. For those old enough to remember the day (both Americans and others), they can most likely recall where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news.
It has been argued by some that October 7 was Israel’s 9/11. Maybe in an attempt to convey the catastrophic shock, horror, surprise and sheer enormity of the terror attack that Hamas unleashed on Israel. The scope, depravity and reach of Hamas’ genocide attempt, however, was much greater. As such, Israel’s response should be considered and understood with this in mind.
Consider this:
- The numbers
- By the latest count, the Hamas pogrom killed more than 1,200 Israelis and third country nationals, in a country of less than 10 million.
- In America, that would be equivalent to killing nearly 40,000.
- Intensity
- As terrible as 9/11 was, millions of Americans woke up not knowing any of the victims or their families.
- In Israel, not a single family was untouched by the attack, either directly or indirectly though neighbours, friends or colleagues/classmates.
- Rockets
- In America on 9/11, millions of Americans learned of the attack in safety.
- In Israel on 10/7 (and after), there is not that luxury. Hamas (and Hezbollah, another Iranian proxy) have complemented the barbarity of 10/7 with thousands of rockets, missiles and drone attacks. Not for any purpose other than to target civilians and to terrorise the population of Israel indiscriminately (Jews, Christians, Muslims) and drive them to seek safety in bomb shelters.
- Barbarity
- As challenging as it is to write, 9/11 was an example of mass killing. Many were killed through a series of single (horrific) acts – the smashing of aeroplanes into buildings, leading to their collapse.
- On 10/7, Hamas terrorists and Gazan civilians (as it now emerges) flooded Israel and perpetrated hundreds of individual, pre-meditated acts of barbarism – executing babies, murdering parents trying to protect their children, raping women and men alongside the corpses of their friends, burning alive innocents – all while recording these heinous acts to show the world what they did, with pride. Yet many in the world do not believe it.
- Hostages
- No hostages were taken on 9/11.
- On 10/7, more than 240 Israeli’s and third country nationals were abducted and taken back to Gaza. The composition of these hostages was especially outrageous, comprising children, women, the elderly and the mentally ill. With some hostage deals and executions of hostages by Hamas, there are still 101 hostages held in Gaza.
- The taking of the hostages has extended the horror of 10/7. Americans recall the taking of a much smaller number of hostages at the American embassy in Tehran in 1979, which paralysed the US government and dominated news cycles for 444 days. For Israel, it has ‘only’ been 340 days so far…
All of this, combined, provides the backdrop for the decisions that the Israeli government has made and is now taking regarding the war against Hamas (and Iran via her proxies – PIJ in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis of Yemen to name but a few of the more direct threats).
Israel’s task, therefore, is immense. Not only does she have the immediate task of retrieving the hostages, but also of eliminating Hamas and removing future existential threats from Gaza; of rekindling the confidence of the Israeli public in their government and defence force for their security; all while removing the perception of Israeli vulnerability that resulted from the attack for her neighbours – friends and foes alike. All of this while under a level of scrutiny that the US never faced in Afghanistan post-9/11.
The international pressure on Israel, as usual, is immense. More than the US ever experienced post-9/11. In fact, dozens of countries joined the US in Afghanistan. For the first time in its history, NATO invoked its Article V security guarantees. In contrast, Israel is facing enormous diplomatic pressure (the recalling of ambassadors, arms sale embargoes). This pressure has historically constrained Israeli actions in earlier conflicts with Hamas. That was, however, before the spectre of hostages. Regardless, the longer the conflict continues, the greater the pressure that will build.
This pressure is increasing with the addition of ‘lawfare’ to the mix – see the cases brought against Israel by South Africa at the International Court of Justice – and the weaponisation of genocide. Again, something that the US never experienced.
Despite all of the above, Israel has an obligation to defend her citizens, recover her hostages and deal to the threats that have caused the internal displacement of over 100,000 Israeli’s (of all religions and walks of life) from both the North of Israel and the Gaza envelope. Which highlights yet another difference between 9/11 and 10/7 – geography. The US was remote from the threat, whereas Israel lives next door to hers. The US could eventually leave Afghanistan, a decision that took two decades to arrive at, with the merits of that decision still open for debate. For the simple reason of geography, Israel does not have this choice. For better or worse, Israel and Gaza are fundamentally intertwined.
Israel thought that it had done the right thing by unilaterally withdrawing from Gaza in 2005, leaving behind infrastructure and opportunities for the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip to craft what could have been the Singapore of the Mediterranean, under its own rule and free. Instead, hate and corruption led us to where we are now. With the leaders of Hamas worth billions of dollars (stolen from the people of Gaza) and untold billions of foreign aid diverted away from hospitals, schools and economic opportunity to tunnels, rockets and hate. All while supported by the UN in the guise of UNRWA, funded by NZ tax money.
This article was originally published by the Israel Institute of New Zealand.
