Dates That Live in Infamy, Independently, and Indelibly
No one ever insists that Pearl Harbor or 9/11 be looked at "in context." Similarly, we need to find ways to protect the sacred separateness of October 7.
Click to watch video of hostages on Old City walls
Oct 7.
No prior day was ever like it nor will any day after it. The further we are removed from it, the more vividly we need to have its nightmarish visions in front of our faces, as vivid reminders. It is not too soon to begin concretizing forms of remembrance so that this date doesn't slide quickly into an amorphous jumble of events that both preceded it and followed it.
That is happening as we speak, as witness testimony is being collected and shown. Israel's Channel 12 interviewed a group of kibbutz children as part of that effort.
When I see those kids, and consider those who died, I consider that if, as President Biden remarked, Oct. 7 was like fifteen 9/11s, it was also like a dozen December 14ths - the day of Sandy Hook, another tragedy whose date will live in infamy.
Below you can watch one of dozens of interviews of hostage families done by renowned filmmakers like Ari Folman for the #BRINGTHEMHOMENOW project. Read about the project here and click here to see all the videos and subscribe to the project.
In L.A., a 40 minute film showing evidence of the atrocities was screened for 200 people, and not surprisingly, there was violent protest outside. Those who wish to deny or downplay and "rebrand" October 7 understood the power of that film.
They know the power of that branding. Much like Sept. 11, Dec. 7 and Jan. 6, Oct. 7 needs no further explanation. Just say the date and we know what it means.
But do we? Are we susceptible to confusing the events of that day with all that has happened after it and all the "context" from before? History zooms by so quickly and there is such a whirlwind of noise, much of it intentionally designed to create confusion and dilute the uniqueness of that day. Now more than ever, our memories are short, our minds constantly flooded with new information. We need to protect this one day's sacred integrity as a unique tragedy, an unparalleled act of evil.
The Gaza hospital social media frenzy last month was propagated to buttress an alternative narrative that cheapens the significance of Oct. 7 and downplays the extent of the evil. It's a form of "whataboutism."
Hamas killed over a thousand in a day? Well, what about what Israel did in firing on that hospital (which turned out to be a false accusation)?
Despite all the morally ambiguous events that followed 9/11, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with highly stressful incidents like the anthrax mailings and the hate crimes against Muslims, none of these could overshadow the fact of what happened on that singular day. The memory of 9/11 has been properly ritualized in the years since - it is embedded in our culture and consciousness and is not at all tainted by subsequent controversies. When we recall that pristine September day, our heads are not clouded by thoughts of WMDs or Abu Ghraib.
Similarly, Pearl Harbor is recalled independently of related historical events, like the internment of Japanese Americans and the bombing of Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Dec. 7 is not seen as any less "a day that will live in infamy" because controversial or morally ambiguous events proceeded or followed it. No one ever says that the carpet bombing of Tokyo was a disproportionate response to Pearl Harbor. No one ever insists that the Japanese attack be looked at "in context."
Oct. 7 requires the same treatment, in Israel, the US and around the world. It needs to be enshrined and frozen in memory, now, while those memories are freshest.
There are already Oct 7 deniers out there. For as long as the hostages are still captive, the 7th is in fact still going on, and we should see their faces everywhere as constant reminders, and the faces of the dead as well. Just as ritual objects like phylacteries are supposed to stand as reminders "between your eyes" and the fringes (tzitzit) of the tallit are mandated to be reminders of our responsibilities as Jews, we need a type of tzitzit for this.
In case you haven't realized, that's why they tear down the hostage posters. Not only as a disgusting way of spitting in our faces (like "owning the libs," Jewish version), but also to wipe this ongoing crime from our public memory spaces.
Psalm 16:8Â states, "I place God before me always." The first word in Hebrew is "shiviti," and that verb has become a noun. Many synagogues and Jewish homes contain artwork designed to remind us of our obligations to enhance the divine presence here on earth through acts of kindness.
We now need to find ways to place October 7 before our eyes always - even if we occasionally need to avert them to absorb still more of the never ending shock.
I share the poem below, in translation, as an example of how we might ritualize the memory of Oct. 7. It's by an Israeli journalist and educator who based her reflections on a passage from Passover Haggadah.
