Compendium of Writings on the October 7 War and Western Reactions to it

Over the last year, I have written a number of pieces on the war, and Western reactions to it, such as campus anti-Israel protest movements.

Today is the one year anniversary of the horrific October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. The resulting war continues. I wish there was something I could say to ease the pain of the victims of the attack, and their families. But that task is far beyond my very limited eloquence.

Still, over the past year I have written pieces on various aspects of the conflict and the reaction to it in the West, that may be of interest. This post is a compilation of them. I haven't written as much about this conflict as the Russia-Ukraine War. But there is enough to be worth compiling.

I hold a somewhat unusual combination of views on the conflict. I am no great fan of the present Israeli government, or of the ideology of Zionism (the latter because of my general opposition to ethno-nationalism). Yet I nonetheless hope Israel wipes out Hamas and deals a decisive defeat to its other adversaries, as well. For all its serious flaws from the standpoint of liberal values, Israel is incomparably superior to its enemies.

A small anecdote can help illustrate the point. In December, I am scheduled to be a visiting professor at Uriel Reichman University in Israel. One of the meetings tentatively planned is one with Arab Israeli legal academic Mohammed Wattad; since we last met in 2016, he has become the president of one of the country's major universities.

Can you imagine a Jew leading any major institution under the rule of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, or even the Palestinian Authority? The question answers itself. Indeed, a Jew probably could not even remain alive for long under these regimes. Hamas and Hezbollah severely repressive even towards Arab Muslims who dare dissent from the rulers' quasi-medieval theocracy.

As Wattad will likely remind me, Arabs still face considerable discrimination in Israel. That is wrong, and deserves condemnation. But the rule of Hamas, Hezbollah and the PA is vastly worse. Arabs under Israeli not only have more rights than ethnic and religious minorities under the control of Israel's enemies; they even have more rights than do Arab (or Iranian) Muslims under the latter regimes. Things are worse for West Bank Palestinians than Arab Israelis. But even they are unlikely to be better off with a Hamas victory that would put them under the rule of a brutal theocratic dictatorship.

In any conflict, I prefer the victory of the side that better approximates liberal democratic values—at least in situations where there is a meaningful difference between the two. In this case, there is no question that side is Israel.

Without further ado, here are links to my writings on the post-October 7 conflict. For convenience, I have put them in chronological order, and divided them into one section on the war itself and one on the Western reaction, including resulting protest movements. All of these writings are posts published here on the Volokh Conspiracy blog:

Writings on the War and Related Policy Issues

"Those Who Support Israel Against Hamas Should also Back Ukraine Against Russia, Oct. 12, 2023. There are many parallels between the two conflicts. The post is primarily directed at right-wingers who back Israel, but not Ukraine. But most of the points it makes apply equally to leftists who hold the exact opposite combination of views.

"Hamas Attack Should Teach Us the Folly of Hostage Deals with Terrorists,"Oct. 17, 2023. This may be one of my most unpopular takes. It may seem like only a cruel and heartless person could possibly oppose deals that release hostages. But, as I point out in the piece, such deals incentivize further terrorism and hostage taking. The October 7 attack itself was masterminded by Yahya Sinwar, a Hamas leader released in the 2011 Shalit deal, in which the Israelis released some 1200 terrorists in exchange for one soldier captured by Hamas. I was one of the few critics of the Shalit deal at the time it happened. Things turned out much worse than even I expected.

"The Moral and Strategic Case for Opening Doors to Gaza Refugees," Oct. 24, 2023. Granting refuge to Palestinian civilians who wish to flee the war and Hamas's repressive rule is both a moral imperative, and a way to make it easier for Israel to crush Hamas. For somewhat different reasons, this view is fiercely opposed by a combination of Western right-wingers, far leftists, and supporters of Palestinian nationalism. This combination of opponents actually increases my confidence that it is right. Interestingly, this is an issue where I find myself largely in agreement with my much more conservative colleague and co-blogger Eugene Kontorovich.

"Biden is Right to Grant Temporary Refuge to Palestinian Migrants Already in US, but Should go Further," Feb. 15, 2024.

"Why I Don't Buy the Idea that You Can't Kill an Idea," Feb. 24, 2024. It's often said you can't defeat movements like Hamas and Hezbollah by military means, because "you can't kill an idea." This post explains why that ubiquitous claim is wrong. Though I also emphasize that doesn't mean the Israelis should rely on force alone, or that they need not observe any moral constraints on their military measures.

Writings on Western Reactions to the War and Protest Movements

"Some Cancellations are Justified," Oct. 15, 2023. Why employers and others are often justified in refusing to hire people who express support for Hamas terrorism. As noted in the post, this is not a new position adopted in response to controversies arising from the October 7 war. It builds on arguments I advanced years before.

"Far-Left Support for Hamas is not an Aberration,"Oct. 30, 2023. Western far-leftists have a long history of supporting repression and mass murder. Thus, we should not be surprised that many of them now support Hamas. As noted in the post, "far left" is not a pejorative term for anyone to the left of me. As used here, it has a far more specific and narrower meaning.

"Student Movements Are Often Wrong," April 26, 2024. The idea that causes espoused by student-led movements are always or almost always right is a myth. Today's student anti-Israel movement is just the most recent of many counterexamples. Obviously, movements led by older people are often misguided, as well.

"Campus Anti-Israel Protests and the Ethics of Civil Disobedience," June 5, 2024. Violence and other lawbreaking perpetrated by many campus anti-Israel protesters can't be justified by theories of civil disobedience.