October 07, 2024

A Year of Anguish for the Hostages in Gaza—and Their Families

By: Daniel Silverberg

365 days. 101 hostages still held in Gaza. The masking tape on the shirts of hostage families, reflecting how many days this conflict continues, serves as a painful hourglass of the last year and an angry reminder of the heinous actions of Hamas on October 7. Concomitantly, Jews in America over the last twelve months have experienced spasms of violence, intimidation, and outright hatred unseen in decades. The campus protests following the massacre epitomized dark forces of antisemitism at home and abroad that left American Jews feeling marginalized and unprotected. Meanwhile, Israel became a deeply polarizing issue across the political spectrum.

Amidst this unequivocally horrible year, a few bright spots emerged that provide the basis for humble optimism moving forward. First, notwithstanding countless stories to the contrary, support for Israel’s defense remained rock solid in both parties. Bipartisan congressional leaders stood behind Israel, advocated for the hostages, and pressed foreign leaders, whether Senator Schumer’s trip to Israel on October 15 or Senator Ernst’s frequent visits to the region.

October 7 gave rise to unexpected bipartisan coalitions of D.C. experts and legislators who lent their knowledge to help U.S. hostage families and victims of the conflict navigate Washington.

As a foreign policy professional and former Democratic staffer, the last twelve months were professionally trying and personally distressing. While President Biden offered extraordinary support for Israel over the last twelve months, some activists, with whom Jews had largely stood shoulder to shoulder during civil unrest in 2020, tried to drive the party to a place with which the Jewish community found, for the most part, profoundly unsettling. When those protests turned antisemitic or destructive, many universities failed to call them out, stop them, or recognize the maddening double standard at play.

Yet the center held. As the campuses raged, the heart of the Democratic Party remained centrist on foreign policy, including support for Israel and, most important, support for the U.S. hostage families. Vice President Harris repeatedly affirmed both Israel’s right to defend itself and the U.S. commitment to ensure Israel has the ability to do so, and she spoke unwaveringly about the brutality that unfolded on October 7, especially the sexual violence that Hamas perpetrated. Meanwhile, Democratic primary voters dispatched two “Squad” members particularly hostile to Israel and welcomed Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin at the Democratic National Convention (just as the Republican National Convention hosted the Neutra family).

Read the full article from The Liberal Patriot.

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