Well, that's a hell of a column. Ten points for sitting through the 42 minutes. I don't think I could have. A lot of criticism is being levelled at Israel for not having an 'end-game' in mind with this war, that is, what happens after flattening Gaza? But I wonder even more - what the hell was Hamas thinking in terms of an end game? What was this massacre supposed to accomplish, beyond pure terror? How could Hamas not have not realized that this would spark an attack far different from any other in the past, one motivated by pure revenge? What has Hamas to show for this? Mass killing of their own people. Just complete utter madness, made worse by watching these stooges at rallies braying this crap about 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'. They have no idea what river and what sea and how it means to shove every Jew into the Med.
Thank you for bearing witness. The speed with which anti-semites have been denying these atrocities has been shocking. We all know about Holocaust denial, but I never thought there would be another event of this nature, with so much footage, that people would be so quick to disregard.
Sadly, I've seen much of what you're referring to as well - shared on social/other media. It's truly appalling. I realize that the Israel/Palestine issue is long standing and I don't have the answer to that. However, it's simply IMPOSSIBLE to look at this planned, cool-ly orchestrated attack and not be both revolted - and shocked at the reaction some have had to it as some kind of moral victory. I really just don't get it.
I am aghast...unable to comment intelligently. Perhaps that video should be compelled viewing at the universities hosting and enabling anti-Semitic protests. Think UofT, York, McGill, Western, Toronto Metropolitan University.
Canada's post secondary education system is a breeding ground for Jew-haters.
I’m in bed reading this. Clean sheets, comfy pillows, nice morning breeze ... I may throw up. I am numb. I am resolved to stay alive to the truth of this horror, celebrated by the P perpetrators. I will never support P. The repugnant P protest rallies should be condemned by all educated and humane citizens. They reek of the stench of death.
Thank you Matt, for bearing witness and sharing the horror. As much as I didn't want to read it, I couldn't not read it. And I appreciate all you went through to bring it to us.
I’m bawling at my kitchen table Matt. Feeling hopeless. Sad. Beyond sad. Reading this was heartbreaking 💔 please take care of your mental health in the days and weeks to come. 🙏🏻
I'm always amazed at the bravery of ordinary people in the presence of evil. Thank you for this article Matt.
Unfortunately, 30 days in, I fear that the will of Israel's allies in the west is fading. This is led, in part, by traditional media sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians and distrustful of Israel. The daily barrage of highly emotional stories and video from Gaza is taking effect, along with compliant media parroting the Hamas-reported casualty figures .
The 'root cause' of the Gaza war is Hamas and its actions - but that seems secondary now and the blame is being placed on the Israeli 'occupation.' No one knows how this ends, but Israelis must feel very alone right now.
You're not alone about the Halloween thing. This year I couldn't bring myself to watch anything despite it being a tradition for my Dad and I to do since I was old enough to watch Abbott and Costello.
I don't know about others but I don't think I'll ever be the same after October 7th.
The pure, raw, bestial hatred in this attack and previous events is why a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is out of reach. I was very much in favor of the Palestinian cause and a 2 state solution until the 2000 intifada, where there were images of a Palestinian man cheering as he showed the blood on his hands from an Israeli police officer he'd just murdered. That was a revelation for me: there was no real strategy behind many of these attacks, it's driven by emotion and anger. We can argue over how the Palestinians got to this place, but ultimately this genocidal bent is a fact that has to be acknowledged and confronted for there to be any lasting resolution that doesn't actually involve genocide.
Great piece Matt, thank you for relaying the brutality of what you saw. I'm curious out of the group of media that joined you, if any of them had been part of Team Ceasefire prior to viewing, and what their response to the images was?
This is the most powerful account relating to the Oct 7 attack that I have read. Your descriptions of what you witnessed are actions that are in some respects incomprehensible and in other cases heroic. Intellectually challenging and gut wrenching…
Well, that's a hell of a column. Ten points for sitting through the 42 minutes. I don't think I could have. A lot of criticism is being levelled at Israel for not having an 'end-game' in mind with this war, that is, what happens after flattening Gaza? But I wonder even more - what the hell was Hamas thinking in terms of an end game? What was this massacre supposed to accomplish, beyond pure terror? How could Hamas not have not realized that this would spark an attack far different from any other in the past, one motivated by pure revenge? What has Hamas to show for this? Mass killing of their own people. Just complete utter madness, made worse by watching these stooges at rallies braying this crap about 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free'. They have no idea what river and what sea and how it means to shove every Jew into the Med.
Thank you for bearing witness. The speed with which anti-semites have been denying these atrocities has been shocking. We all know about Holocaust denial, but I never thought there would be another event of this nature, with so much footage, that people would be so quick to disregard.
Thank you Matt for watching so I won't have to.
And no one reading this needs to wonder why Israel is responding as it has.
Sadly, I've seen much of what you're referring to as well - shared on social/other media. It's truly appalling. I realize that the Israel/Palestine issue is long standing and I don't have the answer to that. However, it's simply IMPOSSIBLE to look at this planned, cool-ly orchestrated attack and not be both revolted - and shocked at the reaction some have had to it as some kind of moral victory. I really just don't get it.
I am aghast...unable to comment intelligently. Perhaps that video should be compelled viewing at the universities hosting and enabling anti-Semitic protests. Think UofT, York, McGill, Western, Toronto Metropolitan University.
Canada's post secondary education system is a breeding ground for Jew-haters.
I’m in bed reading this. Clean sheets, comfy pillows, nice morning breeze ... I may throw up. I am numb. I am resolved to stay alive to the truth of this horror, celebrated by the P perpetrators. I will never support P. The repugnant P protest rallies should be condemned by all educated and humane citizens. They reek of the stench of death.
Thank you Matt, for bearing witness and sharing the horror. As much as I didn't want to read it, I couldn't not read it. And I appreciate all you went through to bring it to us.
I’m bawling at my kitchen table Matt. Feeling hopeless. Sad. Beyond sad. Reading this was heartbreaking 💔 please take care of your mental health in the days and weeks to come. 🙏🏻
I'm always amazed at the bravery of ordinary people in the presence of evil. Thank you for this article Matt.
Unfortunately, 30 days in, I fear that the will of Israel's allies in the west is fading. This is led, in part, by traditional media sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians and distrustful of Israel. The daily barrage of highly emotional stories and video from Gaza is taking effect, along with compliant media parroting the Hamas-reported casualty figures .
The 'root cause' of the Gaza war is Hamas and its actions - but that seems secondary now and the blame is being placed on the Israeli 'occupation.' No one knows how this ends, but Israelis must feel very alone right now.
You're not alone about the Halloween thing. This year I couldn't bring myself to watch anything despite it being a tradition for my Dad and I to do since I was old enough to watch Abbott and Costello.
I don't know about others but I don't think I'll ever be the same after October 7th.
The pure, raw, bestial hatred in this attack and previous events is why a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is out of reach. I was very much in favor of the Palestinian cause and a 2 state solution until the 2000 intifada, where there were images of a Palestinian man cheering as he showed the blood on his hands from an Israeli police officer he'd just murdered. That was a revelation for me: there was no real strategy behind many of these attacks, it's driven by emotion and anger. We can argue over how the Palestinians got to this place, but ultimately this genocidal bent is a fact that has to be acknowledged and confronted for there to be any lasting resolution that doesn't actually involve genocide.
My first thought was to ask if you are ok Matt. Of course you're not ok. No one is ok in any of this. That is the horror we are confronted with.
Thank you Matt, for bearing witness.
Thanks for doing this. Take care of yourself.
For the victims of this depravity, it’s not enough to say they will always be remembered and honoured, but for now it’s all I have.
Israel must stop these criminal monsters.
Great piece Matt, thank you for relaying the brutality of what you saw. I'm curious out of the group of media that joined you, if any of them had been part of Team Ceasefire prior to viewing, and what their response to the images was?
This is the most powerful account relating to the Oct 7 attack that I have read. Your descriptions of what you witnessed are actions that are in some respects incomprehensible and in other cases heroic. Intellectually challenging and gut wrenching…