BY THE VILLAGE SUN | Supporters of both sides in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East converged at Washington Square Park on Wednesday.
Following the Oct. 7 savage terrorist rampage by Hamas in southern Israel, in which 1,400 Israelis were killed and 200 kidnapped, Israel has kept up an aerial bombardment of northern Gaza, killing around 3,000 people, according to news reports.
Also on Wednesday, it was reported that hundreds of people had been killed at a Gaza City hospital. The Palestinian side immediately claimed it was the result of an Israeli airstrike. However, Israel countered that it was due to a rocket misfire by Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas — and released an audio recording of two Palestinian militants discussing what went wrong.
President Biden also now says it was a Palestinian rocket that hit the hospital, and mainstream news media is also reporting this. During the initial Oct. 7 attack on Israel, thousands of rockets were launched from Gaza toward the Jewish state, but hundreds of them reportedly landed in Gaza.
Meanwhile, a trio of smiling New York University students were videoed on campus tearing down posters of Israelis kidnapped by the Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, according to the New York Post. Confessing to doing it, one of them blamed her actions on “misplaced anger [that is] not an accurate representation of who I am as a person.”
The N.Y.U. chapter of Students Supporting Israel posted photos of the incident.
Today, we witnessed 2 NYU students violently tearing down posters of kidnapped babies, mothers, and grandmothers hanging outside of NYU Buildings. This was done in a laughing manner, exhibiting complete disregard for Jewish lives and Jewish safety.
HERE ARE THE PICTURES. pic.twitter.com/VfEkkQ06sR
— SSI_NYU (@ssi_nyu) October 16, 2023
The Israeli “Kidnapped” posters are reminiscent of the “Missing” posters from 22 years ago of loved ones missing after Islamic terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, killing 3,000 people. Israel is calling Oct. 7 its own 9/11.
For their part, Palestinians and their supporters decry Israel’s retaliation against Gaza as “genocide.” Israel intends to wipe out Hamas.
There are alternatives to social conflict besides murder and kidnapping on both sides. I suggest checking out J. Ramos-Horta Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and president of Timor-Leste, who makes some rational and experienced based suggestions for a way out. The pro-Israel folks might heed President Biden today, who cautioned against making the same mistake of another forever war that the U.S. made after 9/11. And Hamas should free its hostages — it’s always wrong to target civilians.