Luke Reed

Alon Levkowitz, senior lecturer and chair of the Social Science and Civics department at Bar-IIan University, one of the largest research universities in Israel attended a recent Pio Talk event at Utica University on Oct. 13 via Zoom to discuss the ongoing war in Israel with students and faculty in attendance.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article contains references to death and violence.

When the four students at the University of Idaho were tragically killed last November one of the victim’s mothers said “Stop everything, everybody in the whole world stop.”

On Aug. 28, the start of the school year, the University of North Carolina went into lockdown and later mourned the loss of one of its professors following another active school shooting, one of more than 500 mass shootings since the start of 2023. 

The world doesn’t stop, does it?

The acts of violence we see locally and across the globe are happening at high frequencies; despite every death and every tear shed the cycle continues and gets much worse.

In Israel, the death toll has surpassed 3,000 following the unprecedented Oct.7 attack by Hamas, a militant group dubbed a terrorist organization by the United States. As for Ukraine, their fight for sovereignty against Russian forces is far from over but whether gun violence hits close to home or not, the mother was right — the world should stop and address its issues because people are dying, and families are left distraught due to acts of senseless, premeditated killings.

Since the attacks, the Biden Administration has continued to support both countries with military aid and has announced the U.S. will send $100 million in humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the West Bank, according to the Wall Street Journal.

As a community seeing innocent families torn apart — images and videos of civilians in fear for their lives can be hard for anyone to comprehend. But through it, we’re able to grasp the seriousness of this war and how it can affect individuals with or without ties to Israel.

“People in Gaza and people in Israel will have a traumatic memory from this event,” said Alon Levkowitz, senior lecturer and chair of the Social Science and Civics department at Bar- IIan University, one of the largest research universities in Israel. He spoke at a PioTalk event held at Utica University on Oct. 13. “Just think about the trauma the United States had from 9/11. From the Israeli point of view this Gaza attack — slaughtering of kids — for some of us this is 9/11. [And] we want to find ways to prevent the next 9/11 that will occur in Gaza.”

The recent discussions among students and faculty showed that what’s happening in Israel or Ukraine isn’t their trauma alone to bear. Despite those in Gaza and across Israel losing loved ones and being without necessities, they have continued to show great courage in the mids of tragedy.

However, as we continue to emphasize and realize the implications of this ongoing crisis — know that crimes against humanity aren’t indifferent to any country or society. And we must denounce hatred in all its forms and take of ourselves and each other.