Beit Ha’am Educational Booklet- Oct 7th

On October 7, 2023, at 6:30 in the morning, thousands of Hamas terrorists streamed into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Riding on vehicles and equipped with weapons, they infiltrated IDF bases, kibbutzim in the Gaza envelope, and the nearby towns. They murdered hundreds of citizens, raped women, looted and burned down homes, and kidnapped hundreds of children, women, soldiers and elderly Israelis to Gaza. Hamas caught the State of Israel and the IDF off guard. The army pulled itself together quickly, and Israel declared war on Gaza, whose aims are to eradicate the Hamas government and its military capabilities and to bring the hostages home. Any way you look at them, the events have been unprecedented. The resulting shock waves and upheaval in Israel’s civil society and among Israelis and Jews worldwide have been some of the most difficult we have ever known. The huge surge in antisemitic incidents, the media coverage, and the mass demonstrations against Israel across the globe have challenged everything we knew before and were familiar with. Questions relating to identity have emerged with great force. Using videos, items from the press and websites, we have tried in this Beit Ha’am booklet to broaden the scope of the topic and raise basic and relevant questions. We invite you to choose the sections that interest you the most and devote time and thought to them. We also encourage you to hold a candid and open-minded discussion dealing with them.