The Free Press
“I want you to know they’re just normal teenagers. They just love what normal teenagers love. They fight constantly between them. They can drive me mad. And I love them to bits. And I miss them. And I want them home. Where they should be. In their beds. This is where children should be. In their home. In their beds. Living their lives. And I’m asking every mother in the world to think of her children and help me make the effort to release those people and my children.”
These are the words of a mother whose two sons, ages 12 and 16, were taken from their home by Hamas terrorists and are now being held hostage in Gaza after Saturday’s attack on Israel.
It is just one heartbreaking story among thousands from the greatest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.
As of this writing, more than 700 Israelis dead. At least 2,200 are wounded. More than 100 hostages are reportedly being held in Gaza. Mothers and fathers have been slaughtered. Young women raped and executed. Children kidnapped.
Others in the media are equivocating and contextualizing and minimizing what happened. We refuse to do that.
In the past 48 hours, we have been overwhelmed by your support of our coverage. We will keep bringing you the most honest reporting and analysis over the coming days and weeks, as this war unfolds.
Today, we bring you three essential pieces.
First, Tablet editors Alana Newhouse and Jeremy Stern explain everything you need to know about this war. If you have questions about Hamas; about how it carried out this attack; about Iran’s role: do not miss this piece. This is the explainer you need and that you should share widely.
Second, a mother recounts the searing story of her teenage boys, now held hostage by Hamas.
And finally, Eli Lake explains the Biden administration’s missteps in the lead-up to the attack.
Scroll on for excerpts of these stories and click the links to read in full.
The death toll from the shocking attack in southern Israel this weekend is worse than the worst day of the Yom Kippur War. It is a massacre that will transform Israel and the Middle East.
What happened? How did the most sophisticated military power in the Middle East get brought to its knees? And what will this mean for the Jewish state moving forward? The answer to those questions will be the reckoning of our lifetimes.
But there are more basic questions that so many are asking. What follows are some answers that explain how we got here and where we might be going.
Listen now (29 mins) | I want to share the story of one mother who is desperate for help. Her two children, ages 12 and 16, were taken from their home by Hamas terrorists and are now being held hostage in Gaza, in God knows what conditions.
This is the story of just one mother. There are untold numbers of other mothers and fathers—and children and grandchildren, and brothers and sisters—like her right now in Israel. Hundreds of people are missing, including from her kibbutz, where, as you’ll hear, the terrorists came and took women, children, elders, and just disappeared them into Gaza.
All this mother wants—all any Israeli wants right now—is to bring their loved ones home.
As Hamas gunmen were in the initial stages of a raid that has left more than 700 dead, 2,408 wounded, and at least 100 held hostage in Gaza, the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs in Jerusalem weighed in on the unfolding horror.
“We unequivocally condemn the attack of Hamas terrorists and the loss of life that has incurred,” the official X account for the office posted. “We urge all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks. Terror and violence solve nothing.”
Observers of America’s policy in the Middle East will recognize the telltale talking points: the urging of restraint in the face of terror; the implied cycle of violence. The peace process has been dead for years, but the mindset behind it survives.
Let’s be clear. The timing of these diplomatic platitudes was grotesque. Here was the official bureau of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, which deals with the Palestinian Authority, calling on Israel to refrain from defending herself against a terrorist attack.
This administration has a serious problem. While the official rhetorical response to the assault has been strong, there is a wide chasm between the president’s words and his administration’s actions.
For more essential coverage of the war on Israel, read Liel Leibovitz’s shocking Eyewitness Account of the Rave Massacre in Tablet; Haviv Rettig Gur in The Times of Israel on why A Wounded, Weakened Israel Is a Fiercer One; and The Wall Street Journal’s exclusive report, Iran Helped Plot Attack on Israel Over Several Weeks.
And if you believe in our work, please support us by becoming a paid subscriber today:
It's fine to publish articles and produce podcasts about the heartbreaking situation in Israel, but you could accomplish a lot more by looking at the 2020 election and acknowledging the truth: The United States and the world were far safer and more stable under Trump. Look at what we've gotten under Biden so far: a disastrous pullout from Afghanistan that put the Taliban -- who may have helped Iran along with Hamas plan the attack against Israel -- back in power; a full-blown invasion of our own country through open borders; Russia's invasion of the Ukraine, and Hamas's barbaric invasion of Israel. Tell your readers how you will vote in the 2024 election if it comes down to Biden vs Trump. I can hear some say, "How dare you exploit this tragedy for political purposes?" I don't care about the timing. I care about putting an end to the reckless and immoral foreign policy pursued by the Democrats. I don't care about a woman's rights to abortion on demand, either -- not nearly as much as I care about the survival of our own country and the safety of innocent men, women, and children everywhere.
Thank you