At this first anniversary of the Israel/Hamas war, it’s time to evaluate its winners and losers, none of whom have come out particularly clean.

The Winners

Hamas: This Jihadist gang of terrorists achieved an impossible feat. They conducted one of the most barbaric assaults ever on a civilian population but came out the heroes on college campuses where students were seemingly unaware that Hamas promotes “honor killings” of Palestinian women, and hates LGBT and women’s rights, freedom of religion and democracy.

Far from being “freedom fighters,” Hamas has plundered the Palestinians in Gaza and have spent millions of dollars on rockets, stockpiled weapons and constructed miles of tunnels for themselves. Their leader, Yahya Sinwar, has openly called for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state with the murder, expulsion or enslavement of its Jewish population as outlined in their September 2021 “Promise of the Hereafter” conference in Gaza.

Genocide: The Word of the Year used by millions who obviously don’t know its meaning. What’s happening in Gaza is indeed a war crime, but a genocide it isn’t. If you’re concerned about an actual genocide, go to Sudan, Congo or the Horn of Africa.

Benjamin Netanyahu: The Donald Trump of Israel (not a compliment.) Begore Oct. 7, Israel was on the verge of a civil war due to his attempts to cripple the Israeli Supreme Court, causing tens of thousands of protesters to march in the streets amid dire predictions that the nation would self-destruct. Bibi’s cynical prolonging of the war keeps him in office while his racist right-wing government is a warning for us Americans that we can follow down the same path.

Antisemitism: It’s grown bigger than before, poisoning both the Right and the Left. From the Right, Trump has threatened to blame the Jews if he loses in November. From the Left, despite claims that criticism of Israel doesn’t equal hatred of Jews, chants such as “Free Palestine” (from whom?) and “From the River to the Sea” do, in fact, refer to the destruction of the Jews in Israel which, as often stated, is the expressed goal of Islamic extremists.

The Losers

The Palestinians:As always, the Palestinians got shafted by everyone. Not just by the Israelis who responded to Hamas’ attack by bulldozing an entire population into the ground. They got screwed by Hamas, their corrupt leadership on the West Bank, their Arab “brothers” who have never cared about them, and especially by those demonstrating on their behalf. While chanting slogans, sporting wannabe keffiyehs, disrupting colleges and communicating in dog whistles are fun, they will forget the Palestinians exist once this current catastrophe comes to an end.

Israel: The country everyone loves to hate and the only one needing to “prove” its existence. Israel is rightly condemned for its cruel West Bank occupation and the appalling destruction of Gaza, where the conflict has degenerated from a justified war of defense into an atavistic bloodbath of vengeance against civilians. But Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran have all vowed to exterminate Israel which, understandably, has no wish to be exterminated. And would anyone care?

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Zionism: What began as a movement to return Jews to their ancestral homeland after 2,000 years of murderous exile is now vilified as a plot by white European colonizers, according to the current descendants of white European colonizers.

The American Left: There are those who are working to bring Israelis and Palestinians together to construct a peaceful and equable future, and I applaud and support their efforts. However, some organizations working in the name of “peace” aren’t among them. Since the beginning, they have excused Hamas while denying their atrocities.

Victims of sexual assault: I never thought I’d see the day when Jewish women and teenage girls could be targeted for mass rape, sexual mutilation and murder, and the response from progressives and even feminists has been silence, denial and outright lies. There was not a word of comfort, not one word of compassion for these victims of sexual violence. This hypocritical betrayal from those who should have been their allies will never be forgotten. All I can say is “shame on you.”

In the end, Gaza will be rebuilt, a new generation of Israelis and Palestinians will grow up to hate and fear the other, and this fratricidal cycle of violence will explode again in the near future.

Daniel A. Brown lived in Franklin County for forty-four years and has written a monthly My Turn column for over two decades. He lives outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife, Lisa and dog, Cody.