The way the recent one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel was marked in the United States was, sadly, a perfect reflection of the absence of moral clarity during the last 12 months.
For those who do indeed seek such clarity, the competing gatherings commemorating the attacks, which left 1,200 people in Israel, mainly civilians, dead, dozens raped and took hundreds more hostage—97 of whom remain in the Gaza Strip—no doubt provided it.
It is not hard to see the difference between those who gathered to identify with and celebrate brutal murderers, rapists and hostage-takers, and those who stood up in support of a state defending itself from those who seek its annihilation. It was noticeable that supporters of Israel readily expressed regret at the loss of innocent Palestinian lives while many of those rallying for Gaza could not contemplate condemning the depraved barbarism of Hamas or the Iranian empire of terrorism.
In fact, this difference between the two sides has been on display throughout this year—one burning American flags, calling for the end of Israel “from the river to the sea,” and praising the actions of Hamas and Hezbollah, while the other grieved and prayed for peace.
Nearly as disturbing as the hateful chants is the fact that far too many people fail to see the sharp differences between the sides; rather, they seek “both-sidesism,” and this is where moral clarity is broken for far too many. These both-siders are promoters of moral confusion in government, in the diplomatic arena, in religious leadership, in the media and in academia.
In their pursuit of a false balance, they seek the end of hatred without noting that only one side is filled with hate; they cry over death and destruction without distinguishing between the aggressors and those who are defending themselves; they call for two states for two peoples without noting that the Jewish state will always welcome Arabs while the Palestinian territories are by law Judenrein (places that ban Jews); they call for de-escalation and ceasefires without realizing that one side will use that quiet to go back to create the next revolution in artificial intelligence, medicine or agriculture, while the other will use it to rearm and rebuild its terror tunnels; and they call for peace and coexistence without noting that it is one side’s dream and the other’s nightmare.
Over the last year, disturbing examples of this attitude include those university administrators who continue to try to see the violence of anti-Israel rallies on campus as a free speech issue—as an opportunity to teach students about making room for several viewpoints, rather than as a dangerous stream of hate threatening a specific group of students and safety on campus. Similar patterns are seen among some law-enforcement professionals and government officials, who hesitate to intervene and use the power they have to stop and prosecute hate speech and incitement to violence.
This anniversary of Oct. 7—and the anniversary of this disturbing desperate search to find equivalency on both sides—actually comes at a time of moral reckoning in the Jewish calendar.
The days start with Rosh Hashanah, which was just celebrated on Oct. 3 and Oct. 4. Yom Kippur arrives this weekend. The holidays end with Simchat Torah, which is, hauntingly, the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. Jewish tradition teaches that on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, God inscribes all the people of the world in either the book of the righteous or the wicked. The righteous are not perfect; they have failures and mistakes, too, and the wicked have their redeeming actions and qualities. Lines are nevertheless drawn between the forces of good and the promoters of evil.
Tradition also teaches that there is a third group: the beinonim—those in the middle who take no side. These people muddle and equivocate rather than standing clearly for what is right. For them, these days, including Yom Kippur and ending on the eve of Simchat Torah, when tradition holds the books are finally sealed, offer the opportunity to make a definitive choice to be a force for good. Their failure to do so will not leave them in the safety of a neutral middle but condemn them to join the ranks of those who harm the world.
As we mark these Days of Awe in the shadows of the commemorations of Oct. 7, America’s many beinonim (the “both-sidesers”) have been afforded the perfect opportunity to achieve moral clarity and choose to become a force for good. For ordinary citizens, this means learning the facts about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as understanding the aims of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.
This means understanding what constitutes antisemitism and hate speech, and supporting those who prioritize stopping these evils that are poisoning our democracy. For those in power—from university administrators to law enforcement officials to elected leaders—this means making sure the laws we are blessed to have against violence and hate, are enforced.
My prayer is that by the time we arrive later this month at Simchat Torah, the Hebrew anniversary of the attacks, more people will realize that they cannot remain neutral, as this would consign them to the ranks of the malign forces undermining America and harming the world. They should choose the side of life, freedom and seeking peace, and become a source of moral clarity and a force for good in our troubled world.