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 have been written in the span of about a month from 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.

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).