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Dov Waxman

@dovwaxman.bsky.social

2.1K followers 410 following 150 posts

Gilbert Foundation Chair of Israel Studies and Professor at UCLA. My research and writing focus on Israel-Palestine, contemporary antisemitism, Jewish politics, US-Israel relations, Israeli politics, and Middle East politics.

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Standing Together @standing-together.bsky.social · 21h

Today marks two years since Hamas’ October 7 massacre and the start of Israel’s assault on Gaza. We asked Palestinians and Jews on our team how they felt about their home then — and how they feel now. To see the full post, click here shorturl.at/msoVq
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Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

To reiterate, this is only a partial list of the many consequences of the Oct 7 attack and the subsequent war in Gaza (end of thread).

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

22. A majority of American Jews have come to condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza, with 61% calling them war crimes and nearly 40% describing them as genocide (according to a recent poll by the Washington Post).

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

21. The war has accelerated trends in American public opinion that were already underway. More than half of American adults now have an unfavorable opinion of Israel. Support for Israel among older Democrats and younger Republicans has significantly declined during the war.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

20. In the U.S., unconditional American support for Israel is now under much greater scrutiny. In particular, U.S. military support for Israel has become more controversial, even among Republican lawmakers.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

19. Antisemitism has surged around the world. Most Jews have experienced antisemitism over the past two years. Social media has been flooded with antisemitic messages. Jewish students have become reticent and even fearful about publicly identifying as Jewish.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

18. Palestinian statehood has been recognized by more Western governments, including major allies of Israel (France, the UK, Canada, Australia).

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

17. Israel is on trial at the ICJ for committing the crime of genocide, and its leadership has been indicted at the ICC for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

16. The war has reverberated around the world. Israel's global standing has significantly declined. Israel is more isolated than ever before around the world.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

15. The geopolitics of the region has been transformed. Israel has secured its military hegemony. Iran has been weakened. Assad's regime in Syria has been overthrown. Hezbollah has been decapitated & defanged. Normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia is now off the table.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

14. Israeli settlement building in the West Bank has accelerated. Thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank have been forcibly displaced from their homes.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

13. Gaza is in ruins. Roughly 60% of all buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged. The vast majority of homes and most infrastructure have been destroyed. Only 14 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are still functioning, and only partially.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

12. A humanitarian catastrophe has unfolded in Gaza, including a near-famine, resulting in the death of 460 Palestinians from starvation or malnutrition, including 154 children. Over 14,000 Palestinian children in Gaza have suffered from acute malnutrition (according to UNICEF).

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

11. More than 100,000 Israelis have been internally displaced due to the war (according to Israeli officials).

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

10. About 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza, or 90% of the population, have been displaced, many multiple times.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

9. Nearly all Palestinians in Gaza are deeply traumatized, and most children will likely suffer from PTSD.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

8. Thousands of Israeli combat soldiers now suffer from PTSD. Dozens of soldiers who’ve returned from fighting in Gaza have committed suicide.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

7. At least 913 Israeli soldiers have been killed and more than 20,000 injured since the war began (according to Israel’s Ministry of Defense).

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

6. Many of Gaza’s journalists, intellectuals, writers, poets, artists, academics, and scientists have been killed.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

5. At least 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, nearly half of them women and children (according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights). The actual death toll likely exceeds 100,000. Nearly 170,000 Palestinians have been seriously injured.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

4. The war in Gaza has been the longest and deadliest in Israel's history and in Palestinian history.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

3. The families of the hostages have endured two years of heartache and agony waiting for the return of all the hostages, living and dead. The Israeli public as a whole has been endlessly grieving and longing for the release of the hostages.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

2. Subsequently, the hostages suffered in terrible conditions, many kept underground, starved, beaten, tortured, and some were murdered. 148 hostages so far have come out of Gaza alive. 48 hostages, living and dead, are still in Gaza.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

1. On October 7, 2023, 1200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, were killed, and another 251 people, including women, children, and elderly adults, were taken into the Gaza Strip as hostages.

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 19h

On the second anniversary of the outbreak of the Gaza war that Hamas initiated with its horrific surprise attack in southern Israel, it’s worth taking stock of the war’s devastating toll. Here's a long thread, which is not exhaustive, of the toll: