Never Again Is Now: Israel’s Fight FOR Peace

By Inna Rozentsvit

Based on the powerful address by Guy Barak, former Israeli military attaché to the UN and Naval attaché to the US (Ret.), at the recent EASAPP UN NGO meeting on combating antisemitism (https://ngo-easapp.org/never-again-is-now-fighting-for-peace-with-guy-barak/)

In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, a stark truth has emerged on the world stage: Israel stands alone in a unique struggle. Unlike other conflicts around the globe, Israel is not fighting to conquer territory or acquire resources. It is not fighting against a people or an ideology simply for dominance. Israel is fighting for peace – a fundamental right that citizens of most nations take for granted.

As Guy Barak, former Israeli attaché to the UN and 26-year veteran of the IDF, powerfully articulated in his recent address: “When I say fighting for peace, I firstly refer to living a safe, secure, peaceful life for families in their houses, for children in their PJs in their bed, that no one will come to slaughter them in the middle of the night; for playing in the playground without having 15 seconds to run for shelter.”

This striking definition highlights the unique burden Israel carries. While other nations engage in conflicts over borders, resources, or political influence, Israel fights merely for the right of its citizens to exist without fear.

Barak powerfully connected the Holocaust with the events of October 7th, noting that “many Holocaust survivors experienced a second holocaust in the Gaza envelope, in the Kibbutzim, in the villages, as they saw their families burned alive. They saw people being slaughtered, females being raped and tortured. Kids who saw their parents brutally slaughtered in front of them, and parents who saw their kids killed, and then being kidnapped!” This stark reality underscores why the mantra “Never Again” has become “Never Again Is Now” for the Jewish people.

The international community often applies a troubling double standard when judging Israel’s actions. As Barak noted in his address, “Even in the UN communities, we experience double standards, especially when it comes to Israel and its rights to defend itself and promise its citizens a safe life.”

Barak shared the harrowing experience of having to review unedited footage from the October 7th massacre: “There are so many uncensored footages from cell phones of the victims, from cell phones of the terrorists, from dash cams, body cameras, GoPros, security cameras, so much stuff out there that we gather from the horror scenes.” He described showing this footage to senior military leaders from other countries, who were physically overcome by what they witnessed: “I saw high rank senior leadership choking, as they couldn’t breathe, from what they saw.” Even when he showed the 47-minute compilation to a renowned Hollywood producer, the filmmaker told him, “There is no such script of a horror Hollywood movie that can describe what I just saw.” This raw documentation serves as irrefutable evidence of the barbarism Israel faced and continues to fight against.

Perhaps more insidious than this diplomatic double standard is the battle Israel faces on what Barak calls “the eighth front” – fighting antisemitic propaganda, particularly on social media. He shared a revealing encounter with a military counterpart who, months after it was disproven, still believed Israel had bombed Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. When Guy informed him that evidence had conclusively shown this was a misfired Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket, the officer admitted he “never heard about this version.” Guy observed: “Sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard you shout your truth. If it’s not going through the right pipes, they’re not going to hear.”

No other nation faces such intense scrutiny when defending itself against terrorism. No other nation is expected to absorb rocket attacks, tunnel infiltrations, and civilian massacres without decisive response. This unfair standard places Israel in an impossible position – condemned if it defends itself, devastated if it doesn’t.

Barak’s perspective carries the weight of both historical and personal experience. As a grandson of Holocaust survivors and father raising children under the threat of terrorism, he shared how the reality of constant danger shapes Israeli life:

“My younger son, about eight years old, ran to me and said, ‘Dad, there was a siren right now. Where’s the shelter room in this house?’ When told it was just a fire truck, he persisted: ‘But what if we have a real siren? Where is the shelter room in this house?’”

This is not paranoia – it is the lived reality of Israeli children who have grown up knowing they may have just 15 seconds to find shelter when sirens sound.

Despite facing adversaries who use human shields and embed military infrastructure within hospitals, schools, and mosques, the IDF maintains its commitment to minimizing civilian casualties, often at risk to its own soldiers.

“We operate as the most moral military in the world,” Barak stated, “and I can guarantee you that in the most professional way, doing everything to mitigate casualties of civilians, many times, by risking our soldiers’ lives.”

This moral commitment extends even to the treatment of prisoners. Barak noted that during hostage negotiations, “For each of the four females that were released, we set free about 50 terrorists. So, for four women, we set free about 200 prisoners, terrorists; many of them with blood on their hands.”

Despite the devastating personal toll of the October 7th attacks, which touched nearly every Israeli family, Barak emphasized that Israel’s military response is not motivated by revenge:

“My wife’s aunt, Adina, was taken hostage from her house in their kibbutz on October 7, after watching Hamas killing her husband, my wife’s uncle in their living room… We were lucky enough that she was one of those who’s been released on the first hostage deal, but she’s not the same person, and many people in Israel are not. But I guarantee you, as a family member, as an Israeli, as a Jewish person, and as an IDF officer, that whatever we did, and we are doing during this war is not out of revenge. It’s because this is what needs to be done. This is the only way we can guarantee our people to come back to their houses and live peacefully.”

Israel’s struggle represents a universal truth: peace cannot exist without security. While other nations may have the luxury of abstract discussions about peace, Israel fights for its most basic form – the right of its citizens to live without fear of massacre, kidnapping, or rocket attacks.

As we support Israel in this difficult time, we must recognize that its fight for peace is not just about one nation’s security. It is about upholding the fundamental principle that all people deserve to live without fear of terrorism and violence. It is about ensuring that “Never Again” is not just a slogan, but a reality – for Israelis and for all who face hatred and violence around the world.

Adding to this complex reality is the disturbing educational environment in Gaza that Barak exposed: “Some of the educational materials that we found in Gaza during this war – in schools, in kids’ beds in houses, they are worse than the educational materials used back in the 30s by the Nazi regime in Europe. Mein Kampf, translated to Arabic, was found in many places, and comic books, with superheroes that kill Jewish people.” This systematic indoctrination of hatred presents a fundamental obstacle to lasting peace.

As Guy reminded his audience, quoting Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel: “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” In the face of such hatred, silence becomes complicity. Israel’s fight for peace requires not just military action but also a commitment to truth, education, and moral clarity.

Israel does not fight against peace; it fights for the only kind of peace that matters – one where children can sleep safely in their beds and families can live without constant fear. This is not just Israel’s cause. It should be humanity’s cause.