In 1974, Leonard Cohen released Who by Fire. The song is a meditation on death, inspired by the Unetanneh Tokef prayer which is recited in synagogues during the Jewish High Holy days. The prayer asks who will live and who will die and by what means.
Central to the song is the repeated lyric, a question, “who shall I say is calling?” It may be interpreted as a questioning of divine will, or perhaps a lapse of faith, but it also is simply a poignant and personal plea for understanding. Cohen wrote the song after performing for Israeli soldiers on the battlefield of the Sinai Peninsula, during the Yom Kippur War, the deadliest conflict at the time for Israel. 50 years later, on the 7th of October 2023, after the Hamas led massacre left a nation traumatized, a song written half a century ago with lyrics that stem from an ancient prayer almost a thousand years old, resonated with Jews around the world. It was difficult to comprehend October 7th whilst it was happening, the livestreamed footage of Kibbutzim being burned down, the kidnapped being driven to Gaza.
There was anumbing feeling of disbelief watching the BBC live reporting tentatively but steadily raising the death toll as the scale of the tragedy unfolded. There is no shortage of accounts of the massacre. Survivors reported seeing rockets fly above them as gunshots echoed around them.
Border communities describe hiding for 13 hours as they heard their neighbours be murdered in their own homes, as they barricaded their doors with all their furniture. Babies, the elderly, men, women and children alike, shot, burned, stabbed and kidnapped. Two years on, it is impossible to tie everything to October 7 th.
As images and stories poured out of Gaza, as we saw children covered in dust and blood, bodies pulled out of the rubble of buildings, the justification that this was a war for self-preservation wearing thin. Decades of simmering tensions, growing radicalism, and an increasingly polarised society. The warning signs had been there for years, the apathy towards settler violence, the military’s dehumanization of the Palestinians.
Statements from certain ministers that were steeped in racism, and incited hatred. Just weeks after Hamas’s attack, New York Times Columnist, Ezra Klein emphasized the need to learn from 9/11 “That attack” he reported on his podcast “drove us mad with fear.” And in response, we shredded our own liberties. We invaded Afghanistan.
We invaded Iraq. Our response to 9/11 led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.” 2 years of war and a reported Gazan death toll of nearly 70,000, Klein’s sinister prediction now rings true. Israel a pariah state, shunned internationally, led by Netanyahu, a man who besides facing a barrage of previous corruption charges, must answer for his accountability in being unable to prevent October 7th and the subsequent atrocities that have followed.
The country has never been more divided, 2025 has seen an estimated 30% increase in settler violence toward Palestinians. Various polls find that many Israelis feel indifferent toward the suffering in Gaza with the Pew Research center even finding that 34% of the public believe that the military had not gone far enough. There were always, however, glimmers of hope, voices demanding peace and signs of humanity.
Many Israelis feel indifferent toward the suffering in Gaza
After being released from Hamas captivity, Yocheved Lifschitz turned back and shook the hand of her captor, ‘shalom’ she said. The IDF has seen attendance amongst reservists, plummet and a small but growing group of veterans who have expressed their opposition and outrage. The hostage families, who protested almost daily and demanded a ceasefire. 20 years of a government that has shifted steadily to the right with a lack of strong left-wing opposition, Israel being in constant ‘survival mode’ has meant fertile ground for an ‘us or them’ mentality to fester.
Despite a pivotal turning point in public opinion, October 7th is not the sole reason behind the horrors of Gaza. As the future of Gaza hangs in the balance, propped up by a ceasefire orchestrated by the Trump administration, 2 years on and Leonard Cohen’s lyrics speak volumes. “Who shall I say is calling?” The Israeli public must now reckon with their government’s actions.