Three years ago today, more than 5,000 Gazans led by Hamas crossed the border into Israel with the intent of raping and killing as many Israeli civilians as possible.
asserted
Gazans → lead → civilians
The invaders gleefully filmed themselves killing 1,200 people, including 47 Americans.
asserted
themselves → film → Americans
They took 251 hostages, including 12 Americans.
asserted
They → take → Americans
Investigators have documented at least 15 cases of sexual assault, including gang rape and mutilation.
asserted
Investigators → document → rape
It was an orgy of violence and nihilism that would ultimately cause not only the reordering of the entire Middle East but also the transformation of one of America’s political parties.
asserted
that → cause → parties
Israel’s response, backed by American force and diplomacy, has since devastated Hamas’s military organization and eliminated leaders responsible for the massacre, including Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif.
asserted
response → back → Sinwar
The surviving hostages have been returned home, and the dead have been recovered and laid to rest.
asserted
dead → survive → rest
Hamas survives, but its ability to threaten Israel has been severely diminished.
asserted
ability → survive → Israel
To Israel’s north, Hezbollah lost Hassan Nasrallah and much of its senior leadership.
asserted
Hezbollah → lose → leadership
Israel’s campaign weakened the Iranian proxy that had dominated Lebanon and helped create the conditions for Bashar al Assad’s overthrow by Syrian rebels.
asserted
that → weaken → rebels
His departure deprived Tehran of an important ally and disrupted its supply route to Hezbollah.
asserted
departure → deprive → Hezbollah
The network Iran spent decades building to encircle and terrorize Israel has been shattered.
asserted
Iran → spend → Israel
Israel and the United States have also struck Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure, further weakening a regime that has long threatened American interests and allies.
asserted
that → strike → interests
The war has lasted longer and cost more than the White House anticipated, but Tehran’s setbacks offer an opportunity to build a more secure and prosperous region.
asserted
setbacks → last → region
Washington must now turn those military gains into a lasting settlement that prevents Iran and its proxies from rebuilding their capacity to terrorize their neighbors.
asserted
that → turn → neighbors
At home, however, the aftermath has pulled Democratic politics in the opposite direction.
asserted
aftermath → pull → direction
Criticism of Israeli policy has long had a place within the party, but the salience of the issue has changed dramatically since 10/7.
asserted
salience → have → 10/7
The Democratic Party’s activist wing is now demanding that candidates brand Israel’s defense of its borders a genocide and distance themselves from the American organizations that support the alliance.
asserted
that → demand → alliance
Gaza has become an ideological loyalty test for Democrats, even surpassing foundational bread-and-butter issues such as Medicare for All.
asserted
Gaza → become → All
In Pennsylvania, Democratic congressional primary winner Chris Rabb demanded that his rivals join him in calling the war genocide.
asserted
rivals → demand → war
He won backing from the Democratic Socialists of America, the Working Families Party, and members of the “Squad.”
asserted
He → win → Squad
In New York, Brad Lander defeated incumbent Dan Goldman in their Democratic primary after condemning the Gaza campaign as genocide and challenging Goldman’s support for Israel.
asserted
Lander → defeat → Israel
The pressure extends beyond deep-blue congressional districts.
asserted
pressure → extend → districts
Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed attacked primary rival Rep. Haley Stevens as more committed to Israel than American schools and healthcare.
asserted
Sayed → attack → schools
Opposition to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has become a credential that candidates advertise.
asserted
candidates → become → that
Economic progressivism alone increasingly fails to satisfy activists who demand allegiance on Gaza.
asserted
who → fail → Gaza
The term requires an intention to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, wholly or partly.
asserted
term → require → group
Civilian deaths, even high numbers of them, do not establish that intention.
asserted
deaths → establish → intention
Neither does the destruction of buildings where terrorists operate.
asserted
terrorists → do → buildings
The distinction matters precisely because warfare always inflicts terrible suffering.
asserted
warfare → matter → suffering
Israel’s evacuation warnings and efforts to facilitate humanitarian relief are evidence against the claim that destroying Palestinians is its objective, although they do not by themselves settle the question of intent.
uncertain
they → facilitate → intent
Specific military decisions can warrant investigation without making the entire campaign genocidal.
asserted
campaign → warrant → investigation
If civilian casualties and urban destruction alone establish genocide, then virtually every major modern war qualifies.
asserted
war → establish → genocide
That standard empties the word of meaning while making defense against terrorists morally impossible.
asserted
defense → empty → terrorists
Fortunately, three years later, Israel has administered justice to thousands of those who crossed its borders that day and will not rest till all of them have been punished.
asserted
all → administer → them
But on this anniversary, we should recognize what the U.S. and Israel have accomplished and renew our determination to protect Americans from terrorism at home and abroad while building a Middle East whose future terrorists cannot dictate.
asserted
terrorists → recognize → future
The Aporia
