Members of the United Nations Security Council meet on the day of a vote on a Gaza resolution, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 25, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

We are in the middle of the nine days preceding Tisha B’Av, a precarious time for Jews. One important warning during the nine days is not to engage in baseless hatred among Jews that led — or at least made a major contribution to — the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Unfortunately, we are doing the opposite, and infighting in the Jewish community is rampant. It is right against left and left against right, Zionists against anti-Zionist, Reform rabbis against Orthodox rabbis, haredim vs. the rest of Israel, etc.

Right now, Jews worldwide — and especially Israel — are under attack. Many in the European Union and UK want to impose sanctions on Israel over the humanitarian situation in Gaza. These moves are easier for Europeans to plan when they sense infighting in Israel and among Jewish organizations. Antisemitic and pro-Palestinian groups are very astute in taking advantage of discord among us, and it is causing real harm on the ground.

Contradictory news is coming out of Gaza about who is stealing food, not delivering aid, and starving people. Many US and European media outlets go into detailed descriptions of inhumane treatment of Gazans by Israel. Does anybody mention the hostages suffering in Hamas tunnels who have not received real food since October 7 — along with no medical care? And who is talking about the problems with the aid being delivered by the UN or stolen by Hamas?

Yes, it is troubling to see the photos coming from Gaza — and Israel is responding by increasing the amount of aid and access to it. Is this going to be appreciated or acknowledged? It’s highly unlikely.

The accusations made by the UN about famine in Gaza a few months ago were retracted later by UN officials themselves. Whether that will happen again this time, we do not know. And yes, we don’t want civilians to starve. But why isn’t it also reported that Hamas started the war, and gives food to its fighters but not to the population?

Does anybody realize that the EU and UN encourage Hamas in sabotaging hostage release talks and imposing more demands and conditions to seal the so-called deal when all they do is amplify this coverage?

This week, I read a statement by Khalil al-Hayya, one of the exiled chiefs of Gaza, that “ceasefire negotiations were meaningless under continuing blockade and starvation.” The irony of this statement cannot be missed, but it is ignored by Western sources. Don’t European governments, and various Jewish groups, organizations, and prominent personalities, realize that they should press Hamas (and Qatar) to reciprocate Israeli increased humanitarian aid with pressure for an unconditional release of the hostages ?

By the way, I wonder how many people demonizing Israel know about the IDF protecting the Syrian Druze population from assaults and massacres by the new Syrian regime — or are paying attention to more acute crises involving food insecurity across the world, like what is happening in Sudan.

Dr. Jaroslava Halper has been a professor of pathology at The University of Georgia in Athens, GA for many years. She escaped from communist Prague because of antisemitism, and lack of freedom and free speech. The gradual increase of antisemitism and anti-Zionism in certain circles in her second homeland, and the devastating October 7 massacre by Hamas, led her to realize that more active engagement is necessary to combat antisemitism, including anti-Zionism.