column
The Cauldron of Horrors 
Is Both Real and Unreal
A

lmost three months 
into the Israel-Hamas 
war, Jewish leaders 
are being guid-
ed through 
the villages of 
the Gaza enve-
lope that were 
attacked on Oct. 
7. I was part of 
a World Zionist 
Organization 
board mission and another 
mission organized by B’nai 
B’rith International.
The horrific scenes in Kfar 
Aza and Ofakim remain hor-
rifying, despite the efforts to 
respectfully repair the signs 
of massacre. Body parts have 
been collected and removed. 
Pools of blood have been 
mostly mopped up. Untouched 

houseware and appliances, 
overturned furniture, torched 
and bent vehicles, even a 
Sukkah stand as the remnants 
of a once-peaceful life.
Yet the scorched houses are 
filled with reminders of what 
took place and who is fully 
accountable: Hamas. 
Something in this cauldron 
of horrors is both real and 
unreal. Not even the unpicked 
orange trees or violet blossoms 
can conceal the ravages of Oct. 
7. These violated towns can 
be reborn, despite everything, 
because the residents have the 
passion, pride, will and resil-
ience to live.
Meanwhile, the sounds of 
artillery and machine-gun fire 
break through the constant 
roar of jets and rescue helicop-

ters. Periods of silence inter-
rupt what an IDF spokesperson 
calls “a symphony of war.” But 
what we have witnessed speaks 
for itself.
There is no covering up 
what happened here in only a 
few hours. Hamas and Hamas 

alone is fully responsible, 
no matter what the court of 
public opinion — the media, 
depraved politicians, enemy 
activists and the United 
Nations — say about Israel’s 
military goals. Even most of 
the relatives of victims and 

Charles 
Kaufman
JNS.org

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The aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack 
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