What made Oct. 7 possible?

A renowned historian's scholarly work examines alarming trends to watch out for

- By ATARA BECK

Award-winning historian Prof. Rafael Medoff (Jewish history at Yeshiva University) is founding director of the DC-based David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies and a leading expert on the American Jewish response to the Holocaust. His latest book is The Road to October 7: Hamas, the Holocaust, and the Eternal War against the Jews.

It demonstrates the similarities between the heinous pogrom in southern Israel in 2023 and the unspeakable horrors inflicted on the Jewish people throughout the centuries.

This scholarly work explains not only the reasons for the virulent hatred of Jews in Palestinian society that led to the atrocities committed on Oct. 7 but also the reaction of the Western world – including Israel – to the warning signs that enabled the worst attack on Israeli soil since its establishment. If one wishes to learn from history, Medoff’s book is essential reading.

The author sat down with The Jerusalem Post to discuss his work.

You described the profound indoctrination of hate in Palestinian society leading up to Oct. 7. What about other factors that made it possible?

Enemies of Israel watch carefully for signs of internal weakness. And it does appear that Israel’s domestic divisions may have affected the timing of the attack – seeing Israelis fighting among themselves encouraged Hamas leaders to perceive Israel as particularly vulnerable in the autumn of 2023.

But the root cause of the attack itself was the decades of anti-Jewish hate in Palestinian Arab schools, summer camps, mosque sermons, and television and radio programs.