The Gates of Gaza: Critical Voices from Israel on October 7 and the War with Hamas

Following the horrific attack on October 7, support for a devastating military retaliation and resolution has taken center stage. Nevertheless, within Israel, numerous critical voices cast doubt on the sustainability of such approaches. They champion the principles of morality, legality, and common sense as the true keys to a lasting solution. This book focuses on these voices which are critical of Israeli government policies. They are deeply grieving and affected by the October 7 attack, while also able to hold both Palestinian and Israeli pain and aspirations not as mutually exclusive, but as an impetus for creating a better and more equitable future for all who inhabit the land. It chronicles the reactions of intellectuals and scholars to unfolding events. All the pieces in this volume were written within a few days to a few months of October 7 and comprise an archive of a particular discourse taking shape in Israel at this historical juncture.

The book is dedicated to the memory of Vivian Silver, who devoted her life to waging peace through valiant activism, and was murdered in her home on October 7. The editor’s royalties will go to support an annual lecture in her memory on the themes of peace and democracy.

Read the interview with Lihi Ben Shitrit on De Gruyter Conversations and learn more about the book and the editor!

With contributions by Shaul Arieli, Eva Illouz, Idan Landau, Yaniv Ronen, Yofi Tirosh, Assaf David, Ameer Fakhoury, Ghadir Hani, Eran Tzidkiyahu, Orit Kamir, Orly Noy, Noam Shuster-Eliassi, Jessica Ausinheiler, Meirav Jones, Tal Correm, Anwar Mhajne, David Kretzmer, Omer Bartov, Rawia Aburabia, Hannah Safran, Tanya Zion-Waldoks, Galit Cohen-Kedem, Avi Shilon, Hagar Kotef, Merav Amir, Ali Al-Awar, and Nicholas Kristof.

Lihi Ben Shitrit is the director of the Taub Center for Israel Studies and the Henry Taub Associate Professor of Israel Studies at the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU. She is also an Associate Professor at the School of Public and International Affairs, University of Georgia. She is the author of Righteous Transgressions: Women’s Activism on the Israeli and Palestinian Religious Right (Princeton University Press, 2015) and Women and the Holy City: The Struggle over Jerusalem’s Sacred Space (Cambridge University Press, 2020).

“This is a very timely book that presents reflections, personal and professional, of Israelis following what is arguably the most traumatic event in the history of modern-day Israel. The voices come from those who are typically peace-seekers, which moves us away from the polarizing binary and opens up a surprising diversity of thought and reflections. It is certainly a shift away from the drums-of-war kind of approach that has dominated popular and academic discussion thus far.” – Oded Haklai, Professor of Political Studies and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity at Queen’s University and Editor of Israel Studies Review.

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“The Gates of Gaza captures an essential snapshot of diverse Israeli voices reacting to the murderous Hamas attack on October 7th, 2023, and the horrific violence against Gazans and Palestinians writ large that it generated. While individual authors diverge in their understanding of root causes and horizons of justice-oriented peace, the book illuminates the possibility of holding complex thoughts amid sloganeering and zero-sum accounts of history, grief, ethical outrage, and visions of the future.” – Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies at Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies/Sociology, author of Days of Awe: Reimagining Jewishness in Solidarity with Palestinians (University of Chicago Press, 2019).

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“Since the nightmare that began on October 7, one of few things that has given me hope are those voices from Israel—few though they are— who hold the agony of that day and yet resist a war that only brings more death, rage and despair. I’m so grateful to have their humanity and courage collected in one place.” – Peter Beinart, Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the University of New York, author of The Crisis of Zionism (Times Books, 2012).

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“In the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, the vast majority of Israeli Jews enthusiastically supported their country’s massive military assault on Gaza, which killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians and inflicted devastating destruction. The Gates of Gaza lets us hear the voices of some of those in Israel who, despite their shock and despair, struggled toward a deeper understanding of why October 7 happened and a future for both Israelis and Palestinians beyond violence, occupation and injustice. Anyone interested in grappling with the complexities and contradictions of Israeli society in a moment of deep crisis will find The Gates of Gaza a valuable and compelling read.” – Zachary Lockman, Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, and History at New York University, author of Field Notes: The Making of Middle East Studies in the United States (Stanford University Press, 2016).