RADHARAO GRACIAS
No phones, no power, no roads, no television, no laptops, no nothing, only a faint glow of kerosene lamps light the night. Bedtime stories soothe you to sleep. Sometimes your mother doz es off, before the narration reaches a climax; you nudge her to wake up and contin ue. Senior citizens have all lived through it. Gen Z refuses to accept that life was such. Come to think of it, there was no Gen Z in those days. Life moved in the slow lane; well, that was the only lane availa ble. As I realise now, my views on the peoples of the world have been sculpted by the stories I listened to, mostly folk or biblical stories (which I read in original text in later years) and have had a deep and abiding influence on the way I look at the world. The Jews are an inseparable part of biblical lore; their achieve ments and contribution to the world is exceptional, be it in science, other intellectu al pursuits or even in music and sports. And all this in an atmosphere of extreme hos tility, throughout history. The Jews are natives to West Asia in a land with ill defined boundaries which included Canaan, Judea Sama ria, Idumea, Galilee and more, called the Promised Land by Jews, the Holy Land by Chris tians; it extends over parts of what is now Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt besides Isra el-Palestine. Israel came into existence after the UN General Assem bly adopted Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947 which recommended the creation of independent but economically linked Arab and Jewish States by partitioning Mandatory Palestine. The Arab State was to have a territory of 11,592 square kilometres, and the Jewish State a territory of 15,264 square kilometres; 176 square kilometres—compris ing Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the adjoining area—would become an international zone. Neither the Jews nor the Palestinians were happy with the plan though the Jews ac cepted it, with reluctance. The Arabs rejected it outright; the combined forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon (Arab League) attacked the newly formed State of Israel; the day after independence; when ceasefire was called an area of over 5000 sq kms had accrued to Israel, beyond what was allotted. More wars ensued in 1956, 1967, 1973 and 1982 with the Arabs fail ing to make a dent. Scores of terrorist acts followed from the heinous killings of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olym pics 1972 continuing with the hijacking of an Israeli plane to Entebbe airport. Israel sub sequently repelled the First Intifada (1987–1993) and Second Intifada (2000–2005). The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was cre ated in 1964 with the stated objective of eliminating Israel and creating an Islamic State in undivided Palestine. After decades, PLO, having realised its inability to challenge Isra el, softened its stand. It recog nised Israel in 1996 but sev eral of its coalescing partners like the Hamas demurred and laid the seeds for October 7 2023, on which day Hamas led a coordinated attack on Is rael by land, sea, and air from the Gaza Strip. The attack killed about 1,200 people, primarily Is raeli civilians, making it the deadliest day for Israel since its independence. More than 240 people were taken hos tage during the attack, and in the days that followed Israel launched a war in the Gaza Strip in an effort to rescue them and depose Hamas. By mid-February 2026, at least 75,196 people (73,158+ Palestinians and 2,038+ Israe lis) have been reported killed in the Gaza war including 248 journalists and media work ers, 120 academics, and over 224 humanitarian aid work ers, a number that includes 179 employees of UNRWA. Scholars have estimated 80% of Palestinians killed were ci vilians. And they died mostly because Hamas in an inhu mane and abnormal act used its own people as shields. Official reports indicate “the number of injured is greater than 100,000; United Nations agencies have report ed a surge in amputations during the conflict and that Gaza is home to the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world. The war has caused catastrophic, wide spread destruction of civilian infrastructure, with over 80% of buildings—nearly 200,000 structures—damaged or de stroyed, rendering large parts of the enclave uninhabita ble. The devastation includes the destruction of hospitals, schools, homes, water sanita tion systems, and roads, cre ating over 61 million tonnes of rubble that will take decades to clear.” By the time of the latest ceasefire on October 10, 2025 Israel was holding more than half of Gaza under its control. As Hamas refuses to disarm, sporadic killings continue. One thing is evident: nu merical superiority cannot outdo superiority of char acter and mind. The Arabs outnumber the Jews 50 to 1 but have been routed every time. Never before have peo ple so miscalculated their own strength as the Arabs have done. I believe the Is raelis were not unjustified in their onslaught to secure the release of their abducted ci vilians. What else could they do? Post war circumstances show there was no other way. Irrespective, was it not for the Arabs to have assessed their own capabilities before launching a strike? Has Ha mas not brought misery on its own people and must it not quit? Israel is prepared for any eventuality. If by some mis chance it faces defeat, it is ready and willing to re-enact the story of Samson and Deli lah that depicts the downfall of Samson the judge with supernatural strength. Be cause of his love for Delilah, (believed to be a philistine) Samson revealed to her that the secret of his strength lay in his uncut hair. Unknown to him, she was an agent of the Philistines, the mortal enemies of the Jews. She had his hair cut while he slept on her lap; Samson lost his power, leading to his capture and blinding. In a final act he prayed for and regained his strength and in one desperate heave brought down the pil lars of the Philistine temple, killed himself and everyone else. A single defenceless Jew killed so many Philistines and coincidentally in Gaza too! Does the Hamas debacle in Gaza not look biblical? Israel has amassed a nucle ar arsenal; if it has to die it will not die alone but will car ry all its enemies to the grave too. It is the Samson option! Hamas, better beware. (Radharao F Gracias is a senior Trial Court Advocate, a former Independent MLA, a political activist, with a reputation for oratory and interests in history and ornithology.)
