(RNS) — Some of the biggest stories on the religious landscape this year saw faith communities reckon with changes in society at large, while both globally and in the United States, some of the most dramatic world events had religion at their center. A year in review:1. Hamas attacks Israel
The brutal assault by Hamas on Oct. 7 — in which 1,200 civilians and soldiers in southern Israel were killed, including whole families, and hundreds of others were kidnapped and raped — shocked Israelis and grabbed headlines around the world. In Israel, the United States and elsewhere, many Jews gathered to share their grief and pledged money for humanitarian aid and to rebuild communities that had been devastated by the attacks.
As shocking for many Jews, however, was the outrage at Israel’s ongoing military response in Gaza, as demonstrators in New York, London and Paris, some led by left-leaning Jewish organizations, called for an immediate cease-fire, seeming to focus not on Hamas’ violence, but on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Some American Jews, especially those on the political left, felt betrayed by erstwhile allies and connected the protests to the rising antisemitism of recent years.
With the U.S. Capitol in the background, tens of thousands of anti-war activists rally during a pro-Palestinian demonstration asking for a cease-fire in Gaza, at the Freedom Plaza in Washington, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Muslims, for their part, despaired at the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s bombing campaign, which to date has killed an estimated 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, …
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The brutal assault by Hamas on Oct. 7 — in which 1,200 civilians and soldiers in southern Israel were killed, including whole families, and hundreds of others were kidnapped and raped — shocked Israelis and grabbed headlines around the world. In Israel, the United States and elsewhere, many Jews gathered to share their grief and pledged money for humanitarian aid and to rebuild communities that had been devastated by the attacks.
As shocking for many Jews, however, was the outrage at Israel’s ongoing military response in Gaza, as demonstrators in New York, London and Paris, some led by left-leaning Jewish organizations, called for an immediate cease-fire, seeming to focus not on Hamas’ violence, but on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. Some American Jews, especially those on the political left, felt betrayed by erstwhile allies and connected the protests to the rising antisemitism of recent years.
With the U.S. Capitol in the background, tens of thousands of anti-war activists rally during a pro-Palestinian demonstration asking for a cease-fire in Gaza, at the Freedom Plaza in Washington, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Muslims, for their part, despaired at the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s bombing campaign, which to date has killed an estimated 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza, …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]