Israel, the ancestral home of the Jewish people, was founded as a modern state in 1948 as a haven for Jews fleeing persecution from Christian and Muslim lands. However, it is important to understand there has been a continuous Jewish presence in the land since biblical times. While the history of persecution of Jews in Christian lands is better known, such as the Crusades and the Inquisition, Jews suffered under Muslim rule as well. 

To cite a few examples: Jews were forced to convert to Islam or face death in Yemen (1165 and 1678) and in Morocco (1275, 1465 and 1790 to 1792). Mass murders of Jews took place in North Africa in the 12th century, in Libya in 1785 and in Algiers, Algeria in 1805, 1815 and 1830. More than 1,000 Jews were killed in anti-Jewish riots in the 1940s in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were expelled from Arab lands following the creation of the State of Israel. 

Hamas started this war with its invasion of Israel Oct. 7, 2023, massacring over 1,200 people, burning some of them alive, gang-raping and mutilating women and taking approximately 250 hostages. I teach courses on the Holocaust at St. Joe’s; I do not take the use of the term “genocide” lightly. What is happening in Gaza does not meet the legal definition of genocide. No one doubts that the civilians of Gaza are suffering, and that is tragic.   

Still, the percentage of civilians killed in Gaza is less than the civilian deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan because Israel has taken measures to avoid civilian casualties. Furthermore, statistical analysis has cast doubt on the veracity of Gaza casualty figures which come from the Hamas-run Ministry of Health. Hamas has embedded its fighters in urban centers. It has created fighting tunnels in Gaza that are more extensive than the New York City subway. It uses mosques, schools and hospitals as fortified areas and rocket launch sites. Much of the blame for the civilian casualties lies with Hamas and its use of the Gazan population as human shields.

I fervently want a peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians. I have many relatives and friends in Israel, and lost two cousins on Oct. 7. But that peace will only be possible if both sides have new leadership who can see a way to a two-state solution. That means an end to Hamas rule in Gaza, since their stated goal is the destruction of Israel and the murder of as many Jews as possible. Demonizing Israel, Zionism and Jews will not help achieve a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Rabbi Alan Iser is an adjunct professor in the department of theology and religious studies.