Why Americans Need to Remember Oct. 7
Soon it will be Oct. 7, again. This day will mark one year since Hamas attacked Israel, murdering, raping, and kidnapping hundreds of innocent civilians in the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
In many ways, Oct. 7, 2023 is not over. That is why all of us — American, Jewish or not, and our leaders — need to remember it.
For many, especially those directly affected, this deadliest day has still not ended. In fact it has grown more deadly, and continues to do so without end in sight. Personally, as a child of a Holocaust survivor and an American-Israeli who experienced Oct. 7 in Jerusalem with air raid sirens piercing the holiday calmness throughout the day and then attending the funerals of over 40 families and students from our institution who have been lost during this war, I feel like a survivor facing the 372nd day of October 2023, the month that never ended. (READ MORE: Nasrallah’s Death: Israel Takes Step Toward Victory)
Israeli and U.S. Security Depends on Remembering
We find ourselves in the midst of an existential fight for survival.
The high and ongoing stakes for Israel, Jews, and the free world make memory and awareness of what happened in Israel on Oct. 7 essential — not just for Israelis and Jews but for all Americans. For many who are directly connected with Israel, it is only by remembering — now and in the future — that the grief, hurt, and anger we are experiencing will be able to be processed, perhaps giving ourselves the permission to move on.
But for all Americans, remembering the attacks of Oct. 7 — and learning more about them — is essential because of their implications for U.S. national security. It is important to remember that Israel is on the front line against an Islamist terrorism that seeks to destroy America as well.
The Iranian-backed terrorist organizations responsible for attacking Israel, including Hamas and Hezbollah, pose a threat to American interests both at home and abroad. They don’t just burn Israeli flags; they burn American ones too. They don’t just murder Israelis, they also murder Americans, including some of those taken hostage.
Remembering Oct. 7 is essential for gaining the clarity and strength needed for the United States to continue combating the terrorism, extremism, and antisemitism that threaten our values and the future of democracy.
In Judaism, it is a Biblical commandment to remember the past; even difficult, challenging, and painful things about the past. Along with being commanded to remember great acts and miracles like the creation of the world and the Exodus from Egypt, we are commanded to remember the destroyed Temple, and Amalek, the great Biblical enemy of the Israelites who slaughtered innocent women and children.
In the Bible, these events were described as something to remember even as they were still unfolding: Moses instructed the Israelites to remember the exodus as they were still making their way out of Egypt; and they were to remember this event each year. Similarly, in the Book of Deuteronomy, they were commanded to remember Amalek’s attack while it was still fresh in their minds. We are directed to remember before we have a chance to forget.
Remember Through Actions
It is also interesting to note that in many cases in Jewish tradition, the remembrance of an event must be tied to a specific action.
We commence the Sabbath on Friday nights by reciting kiddush, a blessing in which we remember the creation of the world, over a glass of wine. We eat matzah and other specific foods at Passover to commemorate the journey out of Egypt. We break a glass at weddings to remember the destruction of the Temple and the fact that society is still experiencing crimes against religious freedom. And we read a special section of the Torah every spring to remember Amalek’s massacre and their brutal oppression of society’s weakest elements.
Memory requires intentional engagement. By engaging with memory we not only make meaning of the past, but we give a direction to the present and to the future. We are able to reign over and shape our destiny on a societal, communal, and individual level.
There are myriad examples in the modern world of the process of intentional memory leading to healing, action, deeper understanding, or the wisdom and ability to deal with future challenges. One of the most poignant examples is how since Holocaust Remembrance Day and related educational campaigns were institutionalized in the United States and elsewhere, millions of people, way beyond the direct victims or the Jewish community, interpreted the concept of “Never Again” as a modern mantra inspiring concern for human rights.
Among Jews and Israeli government officials, this phrase again became a call to action following the attacks of Oct. 7, to signal, based partly on the legacy of the past, that red lines had been crossed and the world needed to act.
Failure to Remember Leads to Tragedy
But in order for the world to continue to act, for citizens to speak out against antisemitism and racism, for policymakers to make the right decisions, at home and abroad, they need to remember Oct. 7, to see again and again how failure to strongly oppose terrorism led to elderly and young people being dragged out of their beds, raped, and killed; of children watching their parents murdered and parents watching their children murdered; of American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin being kidnapped from a music festival, held hostage for 11 months, then shot in cold blood.
The personal legacies and stories of the victims have a powerful effect on all of us, shaping the actions and thoughts of future generations. These murdered men and women live simultaneously in a three dimensional space. They have a past and they lived in the present, but the way in which we will remember them guarantees their legacy will continue to live into the future.
Intentional, formal memory is key to this; as long as people remember them, they live on, beyond any single human’s life. Abraham, Moses, President Lincoln, Anne Frank, MLK, Hersh, and so many other inspirational people are in a sense still alive, because people have made a concerted effort to remember them and the values they stood for. Their loss is painful and their deaths do not make sense, but through our collective memory they and their values will live for all eternity. (READ MORE: Unprecedented Operations and Attacks Intensify the Israel–Hezbollah Conflict)
In many ways, Oct. 7, 2023, is not over. That is why all of us — American, Jewish, or not, and our leaders — need to remember it. We must memorialize Oct. 7, remembering past events in light of future goals. The past takes on new meaning and propels us forward to a new destination. Only by looking back on that day can we move forward, and work toward a better future for our society.
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