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Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-872798
Why October 7 Strengthened Israel
(Jerusalem Post) Rabbi Avi Weiss - Israel is suffering from deep PTSD. Almost one thousand soldiers were killed, forever altering the lives of their families and friends. Thousands of wounded face years of rehabilitation. Yet there is another side to the story. Some say Oct. 7 proved that Israel's founding purpose was breached, that Jews were once again slaughtered mercilessly. I contend the reverse: Israel's reason for being was reaffirmed. In the past, when attacked in pogroms and massacres, Jews lacked the means to fight back. Now we did. Reservists donned their uniforms again, some returning from abroad, putting their lives and limbs on the line. Israelis fought like lions and lionesses - with courage and with a moral compass unmatched in the history of war - proving to the world, and to ourselves, that Jewish blood would never again be cheap. There remained a deep sense that we are not only a nation but a family. Walking through the streets of Jerusalem these days, one senses a weight lifted from the nation's shoulders. We can finally breathe again: the living hostages are home. The writer is founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, N.Y.