Shavit Rootman ’20 was in Israel for a friend’s wedding when Hamas attacked the country Saturday. 

“There is a lot of shock,” Rootman said. “A lot of heavy-hearted spirits, but we remain united as a people here in Israel.”

Although he’s an Israeli citizen, Rootman lives in the United States, but he says he’s planning to stay in Israel to defend it from further aggression.

Another Hillsdale alumnus, Nathan Steinmeyer ’18, now lives in Jerusalem with his wife, an Arab Israeli. 

“This is a full-scale war, complete with the most unimaginable atrocities committed by man. This is not just another conflict with Gaza, this is something completely new that Israel has not faced in many decades,” said Steinmeyer. “The brutality and indiscriminate nature of the attacks are beyond measure.”

Steinmeyer is an editor at Biblical Archaeology Review and is pursuing a Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University.

The fighting in Israel began when at least 1,500 Hamas militants broke through the fences between the Gaza Strip and Israel, raping, murdering, and kidnapping more than 1,000 soldiers and civilians in Israeli communities near the border, according to the New York Times.

Rootman said it is important to understand the horror of the situation in Israel.

“Israel is dealing with animalistic and barbaric terror groups who are not conducive to peace,” Rootman said.

The assault, which took place on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War of 1973, happened simultaneously with Hamas firing more than 3,000 rockets from Gaza into Israel. The Iron Dome, Israel’s air defense system, intercepted some, but not all the rockets, according to Business Insider.

Since then, Israel has gone on the offensive. Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu issued a formal declaration of war, and Israel has begun to strike hundreds of targets across Gaza. 

Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic terrorist movement​​ known to be funded by Syria, Lebanon, and Iran, specifically targeted civilians in its attack, including attendees of a music festival taking place just three miles from the Gaza border. At least 260 people have been found dead at that festival, according to CNN.

Joshua Fincher, assistant professor of classics and faculty adviser to Hillsdale’s Jewish Club, said the attack has impacted not just Israelis, but Jews around the world.

“The Jewish community has reacted with grief and shock; it was especially upsetting given that it occurred on the festival that ends the holiday season, Simchat Torah, which is one of the most joyful holidays in the Jewish calendar as a celebration of the Torah,” Fincher said. “I think it’s important that the Hillsdale community knows that many of us have friends or relatives in Israel, and so this can be extremely distracting and upsetting.”

Alumnus Nathaniel Birzer ’21 is also currently in Israel studying at the Polis Institute.

“Everyone is staying indoors right now, partly in fear of any rockets actually getting past the Iron Dome, partly in fear of the invaders breaching so far inward, and partly in fear that some radicalized individual, driven by fear or hate, might just start attacking people,” Birzer said.

Since the weekend, Rootman has volunteered to re-join the Israel Defense Forces unit he did his mandatory service with, but it’s up to the government to decide if he will be able to fight.

 

“I served in a special ops unit called Duvdevan, which specializes in counter-terrorism in the West Bank, dealing with high-profile terrorists,” Rootman said. 

Israel has mobilized more than 360,000 reservists since Saturday, more than any other time in Israel’s history, according to the Washington Post.

Even if he isn’t allowed to rejoin his unit, Rootman said he plans to find some way to serve.

“I enlisted on the waitlist and am hopeful to assist my comrades in Duvdevan as soon as possible,” Rootman said. “If I cannot do that, I am eager to find another way to volunteer.”

Steinmeyer also said he has friends who have been sent to the front lines. 

“One of the hardest things with this is knowing that they are in the line of fire, and I am sitting on my couch,” Steinmeyer said. “Nothing is worse than knowing that you are under imminent threat and having nothing that you can do about it.”

Since Rootman’s unit was first called into combat on Saturday to save hostages, it has already taken losses.

“Some of the same people that I’ve had at the wedding with me have been deployed in southern Israel,” Rootman said. “We lost three of my unit, my teammates and comrades, in an operation.”

According to the U.S. State Department, at least 22 American citizens have already been reported dead, with others missing or believed to be among the more than 100 kidnapped by Hamas from Israel and taken across the border into Gaza.

Hamas, which is known for using civilians as human shields, has said it will begin to kill a civilian hostage every time Israel targets civilians in Gaza.

Rootman said the support of the international community is critical for Israel in the face of the horror of the situation they are facing.

“The vocal support of Israel and condemnation of the actions of Hamas are of chief importance to help Israel on the international level,” he said. “We will do whatever it takes to fight for our families and our country to bring this to an end.”

Steinmeyer added it is important to understand the root of the conflict.

“This is not a war between the Jews and the Arabs. This is a war between Hamas and Israel. Hamas wants to maintain power in the Gaza Strip and beyond, and this is their play to prove that armed resistance is still viable,” he said.

So far, the Hillsdale College Passages trip to Israel is still planned for winter, but Don Westblade, assistant professor of religion, said no one knows what will come in the coming weeks.

Senior Abigail Snyder hosts a show on WRFH Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM called “The Virtual Voyage,” which features different sites in Israel. For this week’s episode, she is interviewing Hillel Fuld, a Jewish technology business adviser who lost his brother in a terrorist attack in 2018. Fuld spoke about the situation in Israel, where he lives.

“I asked him about what he and Israel are experiencing and he shared the sickening things Hamas is doing to Jews,” Snyder said. “We have to talk about what is happening and share the truth. There is no other way to put it: terrorists — and that is what they are — attacked Israel. This situation is actually not at all complex.”

Since the attack, both Birzer and Steinmeyer said most people in Israel are staying inside.

On Saturday rocket sirens were going off almost nonstop, Steinmeyer said. They continue to go off regularly, sending everyone to the nearest bomb shelters. 

“It isn’t a constant state of fear,” Steinmeyer said. “You find a way to get on with your life anyway.”

For Rootman, the conflict is still very immediate for the hundreds of thousands of Israelis working together as a nation.

“The Israeli people are some of the most tenacious people,” he said. “Thousands of people are volunteering to do everything from delivering food and equipment, to going into the frontline.”

Rootman said Israel will rise out of this crisis and defend itself.

“The Israeli people are a nation of lions who pursue liberty and peace,” Rootman said. “What’s happening is not about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the road to peace; it is about Israel defending itself against the devil.”

Birzer said he hopes the conflict won’t spiral out of control, but that he is afraid things could get worse.

“If other countries like Lebanon and Iran start to get more involved, things could get really ugly,” Birzer said. “Please, please keep all the inhabitants of the Holy Land in your prayers.”