Daniella Greenbaum Davis, a television producer and former editor of Commentary, the neoconservative, pro-Israel magazine, said she “grew up in a Holocaust household” (one of her grandmothers is a survivor) in which her family often claimed that the “The best revenge” against anti-Semitism was “to be Jewish, to be proud and to repopulate.” Ms Davis, who is Modern Orthodox, said the events of October 7 had strengthened her conviction to have another child soon. (She already has two.)
The lives of young people have taken on terrible importance in the war between Israel and Hamas, where each side has highlighted the brutality of the other by pointing out the number of children killed. According to the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, 33 minors were murdered on October 7. By January, according to Gaza health officials, more than 25,000 Palestinians, many of whom were women and children, had been killed since the Israeli campaign in the coastal area. the enclave began.
The same goes for the decisions of the Jewish diaspora to have more children that take on political importance in a conflict that has a lot to do with demographics. Israel rejects the right of Palestinians to return to the land from which older generations fled or were expelled in 1948, the year of Israel's founding. This “right of return” for some seven million refugees, long a sticking point in peace negotiations, could turn Jews into a minority in Israel. At the same time, any foreign-born Jew is a potential Israeli citizen, due to the country's law of return. (Israel also encourages reproduction within its borders through policies such as unlimited in vitro fertilization procedures for up to two children until the woman turns 45.)
“For every one of our babies they kill, we're going to make 1,000 more,” said Miri Roth Benjamin, 22, who works for a diamond wholesaler on 47th Street. Ms. Benjamin, who is Modern Orthodox, said He did not find out about the attacks until the next day, because he was not using any electronic devices while celebrating the Sukkot holiday. A friend found out about the murders from a security guard at his synagogue and word spread. Ms Benjamin said that as a result, she and her husband would now bring forward their timetable for having children.
For both Palestinian Americans and Jewish Americans, the experience of watching the war unfold from afar has been disorienting, raising questions about the value American society places on its communities. But some Palestinian American women don't have the same fixation on reproduction.
“I don't think we'll see a repopulation of Palestinians in the United States as necessarily a benefit for Palestinians on the ground,” said Yara Asi, a Palestinian American who is a professor of informatics and global health management at the University of Central Florida and an expert on health issues among populations in conflict zones. “Our hearts and minds are with the many children who already exist in the territories and how we can reach them.”
