The Blogs: Israel-Gaza War and Jewish Reflection: A High Holy Days Reckoning | Penny S. Tee

From Horror to Holiness

Time flies. This year, the High Holy Days arrive just after International Peace Day. Oy.

The Israel-Gaza war drags on, and not all hostages have returned. Let’s hope 5786 brings the hostages home—and Peace to Israel and Gaza.

The Hebrew calendar reminds me that we’ve been around for a long time — more than 5,000 years. Amen.

Hats off to the myriad Peace organizations we’ve interviewed on PEACE with Penny. They’re a hopeful bright spot amidst the gore.

So where do we begin? Jewish tradition points us toward Teshuvah — the act of returning, repairing, and realigning with our better selves.

Teshuvah: Returning to Our Best Selves

Teshuvah means returning to your best self and repairing relationships — with others, with God, and with your own conscience. We all have talents and flaws. Which are yours? The world needs your gifts. And for the moments we fell short, I like to remember: F.A.I.L. — First Attempt at Learning.

Judgment and Mercy in a Time of War

Jewish tradition teaches that God inscribes our fate for the coming year — who shall live, who shall die. But judgment is tempered by compassion. We’re invited to tip the scales through prayer, repentance, and acts of charity (tzedakah).

Judgment and Mercy? The October 7th Hamas attacks were drenched in barbarism. Yet too many refuse to see Hamas’s actions for what they are — even when perpetrators filmed their own mayhem. Mercy seems to be a rare commodity in the Israel-Hamas War.

Hamas’ Heinous Reality

1,400 people were murdered—mostly civilians slaughtered in their homes or at a music festival. At least 224 were abducted to Gaza. 48 remain captive; only 20 are believed alive.

Documented atrocities include:

Beheadings, mutilation, and crushing skulls—even of the deceased.
Rape and postmortem sexual violence. One militant confessed to being given permission to rape a corpse. Given permission? What creature would ask for consent — or approve it?
Mass executions of civilians, including children and the elderly.
Murder and abduction of foreign workers—16 Thai and Nepali nationals killed in Kibbutz Alumim.
Looting, desecration, and filming of these acts for propaganda.

These Hamas atrocities weren’t spontaneous. Captured fighters revealed the brutality was designed to terrorize civilians, provoke a military response, and destabilize the region.

Yet on college campuses and in media, these horrors are reframed as “resistance.” Really? No. These are not reactions to living conditions. They are calculated acts of evil.

Hamas’ Crimes Against Gazans

Hamas doesn’t just target Israelis. It torments its own people with political repression and torture, use of human shields, misappropriation of aid, failed rocket launches,  and suppression of free speech.

Many Gazans feel trapped between Hamas and Israeli military actions, with little agency or protection.

Yet Israel is often cast as the villain in global media narratives.

How many Gazans secretly hope Israel succeeds in dismantling Hamas?

Iran’s Strategy: Turning Israel into the Pariah

Iran’s long-term support for Hamas enabled a brutal strategy: provoke Israel, then frame its response as disproportionate.

Military assets were embedded in civilian infrastructures such as inside schools, hospitals, and homes. Rockets were launched from densely populated areas. Fighters were transported in ambulances and UN-marked vehicles.

Tunnel Networks Beneath Civilian Zones

The “Gaza Metro” runs beneath homes, clinics, and refugee camps—estimated at 350 to 450 miles long. It is used to move fighters, store weapons, and hide hostages.

Media Manipulation and Civilian Weaponization

Scenes are staged for journalists. How many “journalists” are Hamas operatives?

Coerced hostages deliver scripted messages.

Hamas atrocities are suppressed, and social media is flooded with emotionally charged, context-free images.

Civilian casualties have been weaponized, broadcasting deaths immediately to frame Israel as the aggressor.

Fighters fire from shelters, knowing return fire will be condemned.

Civilians are blocked from evacuating.

The October 7th attacks were launched on Simchat Torah, when Israelis were distracted by celebration, and global attention was elsewhere, reducing scrutiny.

Iran and Hamas’ strategy is brutal, calculated, and deeply cynical — weaponizing human lives and global empathy.

The distortion is relentless — truth twisted, suffering repackaged, and empathy weaponized. But clarity matters. In a world flooded with manipulated images and scripted narratives, we must return to what is real: the victims, the facts, and the moral imperative to speak plainly.
This is not just a war of rockets and tunnels. It’s a war of perception — and the stakes are human dignity, justice, and the right to mourn without being gaslit.

Self-Examination: What Would Israel Say as a Nation?

The High Holy Days invite us to scrutinize our deeds. Rabbi Nicole Guzik suggests imagining a letter to your children explaining your life decisions—would you be proud of what it says?

War Crimes and Polarized Narratives

In the face of politicized accusations and global misrepresentation, Israel must not only defend its actions — it must examine its soul.

Genocide

Accusations include killing civilians, inflicting harm, and creating life conditions meant to destroy a group.

Israel’s Response: It rejects these claims, calling them distorted and antisemitic. It argues its operations target Hamas, not civilians, and that Hamas embeds itself among civilians to provoke such accusations.

Genocide scholar Sara Brown notes that a resolution accusing Israel of genocide passed without debate — only 129 of 500 members voted.

The death toll—now reportedly near 65,000 — is calculated by Gaza’s Ministry of Health, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and fighters. War is barbaric. Analyzing the numbers is complicated. Who are the combatants when they don’t wear uniforms and are disguised in humanitarian transports or as journalists?

Forced Displacement in Syria

Human Rights Watch accused Israel of war crimes in Al-Hamadiyah.

Israel’s Response: The IDF called the demolitions an operational necessity and emphasized its role in protecting vulnerable communities.

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

UN experts accused Israeli forces of systematic sexual violence.

Israel’s Response: It denies systematic abuse, investigates violations, and criticized the report’s reliance on uncorroborated sources.

Targeting Children and Infrastructure

Reports allege deliberate targeting of children and hospitals.

Israel’s Response: It uses precision strikes and blames Hamas for placing military assets in civilian areas.

These debates are deeply polarized. Critics cite scale and pattern; Israel cites context and Hamas’s tactics.

Netanyahu’s Strategic Missteps

Israel vehemently denies these allegations. But does Netanyahu’s government have the ability—or the will—to self-reflect?

Israel was born from Holocaust trauma. Freud’s repetition compulsion suggests victims can become violators in a quest for mastery. Oy.

Netanyahu’s uncompromising stance may have pushed Israel toward global pariah status. As a Jew, what I see on the news sickens me. The world was never going to tolerate this level of destruction, even if Israel had the right to defend itself.

Failure to Prevent October 7

These errors confused, frustrated, and angered Israelis. Never again will they assume the IDF will always come to their rescue. Surveillance soldiers warned of Hamas movements for a year, yet they were ignored.

Uncompromising Military Strategy

Despite Hamas’s use of human shields, Israel bombed civilian infrastructure—drawing accusations of war crimes. The world understands these are lives lost and homes demolished. Empathy for the victims is immediate and visceral.

When Israel warns civilians to evacuate ahead of a strike, often specifying the exact hour, it forfeits the element of surprise—a tactical advantage most nations would never give up. But Israel has done so for years, out of moral obligation.

Still, who qualifies as a civilian in this context? The lines are blurred. And while millions are forced from their homes, shlepping what they can on foot, Hamas threatens them for leaving. The complications are immense. Yet the world too often glosses over them, opting instead for the simplicity of a label—genocide.

Undermining Peace Negotiations

Attacking Hamas’s political wing in Doha disrupted Qatar’s mediation role seen as sabotaging diplomacy. Of course, Qatar as mediator has its own issues, given their longstanding financial, political, and logistical support of Hamas. While Qatar has played a key role in hostage negotiations and ceasefire talks, it also hosts Hamas leadership in Doha and has funneled millions in aid that critics argue helped entrench Hamas’s rule.

Empowering Hamas Through Policy

Qatari funds flowed into Gaza, stabilizing Hamas and sidelining the Palestinian Authority.

Alienating Allies

Far-right coalition partners made inflammatory statements while Netanyahu clashed with the ICC, UN, and even the U.S.

Iran’s Trap and Global Fallout

Iran and Hamas designed a trap: provoke Israel, then flood the media with suffering. Netanyahu’s actions have magnified that narrative, allowing Israel’s enemies to paint it as a rogue state.

Diaspora Danger and Antisemitism

For those of us in the diaspora, it’s both frustrating and dangerous. Antisemites now weaponize Netanyahu’s policies to blame all Jews—putting diaspora communities at risk.

Closing Reflections

Synagogues around the world have been attacked—firebombed, hit with explosives and Molotov cocktails, defaced with graffiti, threatened with bombings and have experienced attempted break-ins. Entering a Jewish building feels like passing through a checkpoint. The threats are real. The costs to protect ourselves are immense. And they’ve done the damage they intended: it’s hard to feel safe, no matter the precautions.

As a writer, I hold words accountable. Words tossed into the ether demand close examination. Israel has been condemned in countless ways—its enemies eager to see which accusations will stick, regardless of their accuracy. Weaponizing language that evokes Jewish trauma adds another layer of cruelty.

War is messy and complicated—too often, slapping a label on something is expedient but dangerously reductive. The consequences can be devastating. Terms like genocide, apartheid, Nazi (especially cruel), ethnic cleansing, colonialism (which ignores our ancient ties to the land), Zionist imperialism, war crimes, crimes against humanity, occupation, racism, genocidal intent, terror state, and rogue state—these are not just labels. They are weapons. And no nation would want to wear these monikers. Their use has decimated Israel’s relationship with allies.

So many “givens” have been challenged. Understanding what’s happening feels, at best, confusing.  It used to be instinctiveF: of course, Israel is acting morally — it’s a Jewish state held to high standards. But now, I find myself asking: are we crossing lines we never imagined?

We know there are outrageous distortions of Israel’s actions, and the propagandists distort events, framing how events are seen. This has serious consequences. Sorting fact from propaganda is no easy task.

Beliefs closer to home are also questioned. Is the United States acting in ways we could never have previously imagined? Minorities going to work being rounded up and deported? What? In America?

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…”

Emma Lazarus must be spinning in her grave.

These changes seem to spread like a virus. Principles that once felt like solid ground now feel like a shaky bridge. 5785 —

5785, as my mom would have said in Yiddish, “Gey kaken afn yam” which crudely means, go away!

I hope your own transgressions are less provocative, and that you find ways to make them right. When you look over your life during this past year hopefully it is filled with many wonderful occasions to remember and celebrate.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah (גמר חתימה טובה) – “May you be sealed for good” in the Book of Life.

We hope your new year is filled with smiles and laughter.

May You Live in Peace, שלום and سلا