Israel Update with Avi Ben Hur

In the early hours of Saturday, October 7, 2023, fifty years and one day since Egypt and Syria surprise attacked Israel on Yom Kippur in 1973, Hamas launched a terrorist invasion into the South of Israel.

The Gazans who infiltrated Israel attacked civilians and military personnel. They were undeterred by age, gender, ability, and even religion. Elderly were butchered, children were murdered, and even Arab Muslim citizens of Israel were executed. Israeli civilians as well as soldiers were kidnapped and dragged into the Gaza Strip. As of this writing, at least 700 Israelis, most of them civilians, have been killed and more than 2300 have been injured in these attacks. The numbers rise as time goes by.

These actions by Hamas were not a military operation, but a pogrom. Military operations do not target civilians and hold them hostage in foreign territory. As such, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other Gazans who invaded Israel crossed a line that civilized people do not cross. Israel has every moral and legal right to defend its people and national sovereignty, and to use all measures necessary to retrieve its captured citizens. Israel also has the basic human right of self-defense, promised to all people and states via the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which the United Nations ratified after World War II and the independence of Israel.

The attacks by Gazans and the response by the Israeli Defense Forces are ongoing. This is the start of a vicious conflict that will exact the loss of many innocent lives in both Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Avi Ben-Hur

CWB Scholar in Residence

A Brooklyn native, Avi Ben-Hur moved to Israel in 1983. From 2003-2008 Avi was Director of the Archaeological Seminars School for Israeli Tour Guides. In 2008 Avi participated in re-writing the curriculum of the National Guiding courses for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. As a “Scholar in Residence, Avi has lectured, taught and facilitated workshops in the US, Warsaw, Prague, Berlin and Greece. From 1996-2000, Avi taught in Yad Vashem’s International School for Holocaust Studies. As a guide, Avi has specialized working with organizations focusing on political issues (such as AIPAC & CIJA), inter-faith programs and Holocaust studies. At Present, Avi is an examiner for the Israeli Ministry of Tourism Licensing Boards and is the ongoing scholar in residence of Classrooms Without Borders. From September 2021 to June 2022, Avi led a course on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Avi’s course aimed to unravel its causes and core issues. Designed for educators, the course made this complex subject accessible and equipped participants with tools to address it in their classrooms and engage with breaking news. Q & A sessions after each lecture allowed for in-depth discussions, and suggested resources encouraged further exploration. Avi’s unique approach intersected critical angles, offering a comprehensive understanding of the complexities.