The Need for a Palestinian David Ben-Gurion
Two Years Later: Palestinian, Israeli, and American Perspectives on Gaza
On the second anniversary of October 7, 2023, global and domestic crises continue to intersect, from the ongoing devastation in Gaza to legal battles over rights and accountability in the US, and broader threats to democracy. This article synthesizes key revelations from recent analyses, highlighting US complicity in international conflicts, domestic authoritarian drifts, and calls for justice. It draws from the Renew Democracy Initiative’s panel hosted by Ariel Epstein, featuring former US Ambassador Daniel Shapiro, Palestinian activist Samer Sinijlawi, and Israeli NGO leader Ksenia Svetlova, offering Palestinian, Israeli, and American perspectives. It urges a confrontation with eroded norms, drawing on expert perspectives to distill actionable insights. Central to resolving the Gaza crisis is the call for visionary leadership among Palestinians, akin to David Ben-Gurion, the founding father of modern Israel. Often hailed as the architect of the state, Ben-Gurion unified diverse factions, built institutions like the Israel Defense Forces, and navigated early wars and diplomatic challenges to establish a stable nation. His pragmatic yet bold leadership—balancing ideology with realism—inspires calls for a similar figure in Palestinian society to decisively address extremism, prioritize national interests, and forge a path to peace and self-determination.
Gaza crisis
US Efforts to Limit Casualties in Gaza Operations: Analyses emphasize the US’s role in mitigating Gaza’s humanitarian costs by advising Israel on operational strategies to reduce civilian casualties, while supporting Israel’s defense amid multi-front attacks from Hezbollah, Iran, and others.
Israeli Extremists Push for Gaza Expulsion and Settlement: Extreme Israeli ministers, like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, advocate for Palestinian expulsion, occupation, and settlement in Gaza, complicating hostage negotiations and regional stability.
Trump Plan’s First Phase Focuses on Hostage Release: The Trump administration’s 20-point plan’s initial phase prioritizes hostage release, a ceasefire, and humanitarian aid surges, though it falls short of fully defeating Hamas, requiring detailed negotiations for later stages.
Global Attention Driven by War’s Strategic Costs: The conflict’s worldwide focus stems from its strategic impacts, obstructing regional integration like the Abraham Accords and IMEC corridor, turning it into a global issue involving multiple nations in resolution efforts.
Fragmented Palestinian Identities Across Regions: Palestinians in Gaza differ from those in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, or activists abroad chanting “from the river to the sea,” with the latter often detached from on-the-ground realities.
Gazans Prioritize Survival Over Ideology: Most Gazans focus on feeding their children amid threats of death, aspiring for basic security rather than grand national goals, contrasting with distant activists’ slogans.
Majority in Gaza Opposes Hamas Leadership: Drawing from direct communications with thousands of Gazans, assertions indicate that, excluding 20-25,000 Hamas members, the majority opposes the group, evidenced by recent clashes where Palestinians killed 33 Hamas fighters, losing nine family members in retaliation.
Palestinian Authority’s Invisibility in Global Talks: PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s annual UNGA speeches go unnoticed, urging involvement of non-Hamas Gazan leaders like business and agriculture association chairs in peace processes.
Hamas Tactics Flawed in Conquest Plans: Hamas’s detailed post-conquest plans included assigning governance roles in Israeli cities like Yavneh, but flawed tactics and failure to reach key bases prevented broader success, though they hoped for Iranian axis involvement to weaken Israel.
International Accountability for US Role in Gaza Claims: International bodies like the UN Special Committee and Amnesty International have labeled Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide, with experts like Professor William Schabas suggesting the US could be held liable as an accomplice under international law; mechanisms include UN inquiries, potential ICJ cases, and calls for suspending arms sales, urging the US to condition support on compliance with humanitarian law.
Biden’s Responsibility in Gaza Humanitarian Crisis: Critics argue Biden bears significant responsibility for worsening Gaza’s famine through the 2024 UNRWA funding suspension based on Israeli allegations, alongside massive military aid to Israel; diplomats are learning from this by pushing for conditioned aid and emphasizing humanitarian safeguards in ongoing Trump-era negotiations.
Balanced Negotiations Essential for Palestinians: Emphasizing that Palestinians should not concede favors in talks, any deal must be mutually beneficial for both sides to ensure lasting peace, as one-sided agreements risk perpetuating conflict.
Electoral Defeat as Path to Overcoming Hamas: To sustainably address Hamas, proposals include defeating them through Palestinian-led elections, creating a democratic process that empowers moderate voices and diminishes extremist influence without relying solely on military means.
Need for a Visionary Palestinian Leader: Following elections, the emergence of a strong, unifying figure akin to David Ben-Gurion is seen as crucial, one who can decisively handle Hamas through Palestinian-driven solutions, prioritizing national interests and closing the chapter on conflict for the benefit of Palestinians.
Imagining Regional Peace and Integration: Calls advocate for envisioning a future of peace by detaching from European frameworks and integrating regionally, such as participating in Middle Eastern sports and competitions, fostering normalization with Arab states and building alliances that include Israel for mutual stability.
Cultural Appropriation of Palestinian Food and Music: Reports highlight instances of Israeli establishments selling and profiting from Palestinian, Lebanese, and Syrian food while playing the Israeli national anthem, perceived as audacious cultural appropriation amid allegations of genocide and ethnic cleansing, prompting demands for respect and boundaries in shared cultural spaces.
Legal Developments
Bondi Should Learn to Answer Questions, Not Deflect Them: During her Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi was labeled the “worst attorney general in history” in analyses, as she defensively attacked senators like Dick Durbin and Richard Blumenthal, dodging questions and feigning outrage over integrity challenges. In a notable exchange, Bondi asked Senator Adam Schiff, “Do you have a law degree, Senator Schiff?”—a jab that backfired given Schiff’s Harvard Law degree.
Supreme Court Questions Signal LGBTQ+ Rights Rollbacks: Oral arguments at the Supreme Court showed unexpected scrutiny of conversion therapy bans for transgender individuals, alongside potential threats to same-sex marriage following the Dobbs ruling, raising alarms about broader erosions of LGBTQ+ protections.
Trump Denies Knowledge of Ghislaine Maxwell Amid Appeal Loss: Following Ghislaine Maxwell’s failed Supreme Court appeal on her child sex trafficking conviction, Trump claimed ignorance of her despite their documented history, while resisting DOJ releases of Epstein files despite public demands for transparency.
DOJ Leaks Reveal Resistance to Politicized Prosecutions: Prosecutors in Virginia’s Eastern District leaked refusals to pursue unfounded cases against New York AG Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, describing the DOJ as “on fire” under Trump, with 270+ ex-officials urging Congress for stronger oversight.
Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Insurrection Act Maneuvers: Trump reacted angrily to Oregon Judge Anna Immergut’s ruling preventing the federalization of the National Guard to intervene in Portland under false “war-ravaged” pretexts, highlighting his misuse of the Insurrection Act to quell protests.
Domestic
Trump Fully Adopts Project 2025 for Government Purges: Analyses disclose that President Trump has embraced Project 2025, a Republican strategy to overhaul the federal government by firing disloyal officials and installing allies, leveraging AI to target whistleblowers and critics.
Urges Unity Among Independent Media Outlets: Calls stress the need for left-leaning platforms to consolidate messaging instead of internal debates, contrasting this with the right’s unified narratives, such as on assassination attempts, to amplify impact against authoritarian threats.
Economic Failures and Epstein Survivors Highlighted: Emphasis is placed on Trump’s neglect of rising inflation and tariffs’ economic harm, while advocating for the release of Epstein files and elevating survivors’ testimonies, noting even conservatives among them are appealing directly to Trump without response.
Media Battle for Public Opinion on Epstein: With congressional delays on Epstein document releases, advocacy focuses on using social media to sway public opinion, pointing out Trump’s evident fear of facing survivors, including one who confronted him as a conservative voter.
Texas National Guard has landed in Chicago: Project 2025 is framed as a blueprint for authoritarian control, urging vote watchers and cross-platform unity to thwart Republican attacks and prevent the implementation of extreme policies. Reports indicate the Texas National Guard has landed in Chicago, with sources confirming Trump is coordinating with other red states to ready their Guard units under his command—this is described as the beginning of a dangerous shadow operation, a test run for Project 2025, and a direct assault on the Constitution.
Federal Agents Accused of Inciting Urban Violence: Warnings highlight potential clashes in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Portland, alleging federal agents may be provoking violence amid door-kicking raids in a nation with over 400 million firearms. Portland is next.
Supreme Court Eyes Conversion Therapy Amid Rights Threats: Analyses review the Court’s examination of conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ youth and possible same-sex marriage reversals post-Dobbs, calling it a return to brutal, archaic practices endangering vulnerable groups.
Fascism Targets Minorities Starting with Smaller Groups: Drawing on a German scholar’s warning about inaction, predictions indicate fascism would first hit LGBTQ+ and migrants, then Latinos, Blacks, and women, while infringing on First Amendment rights through demonization.
US Described as Sliding into Backward Fascism: America is portrayed as regressing to a “backwards time” with escalating government tensions, group vilification, and democratic threats, calling for recognition that fascism is actively unfolding nationwide.
International
Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Spotlights Undocumented Superintendent’s Arrest: The ICE arrest of Des Moines superintendent Ian Roberts, a Guyana immigrant who falsely claimed US citizenship and concealed a criminal past to lead Iowa’s largest school district, underscores Trump’s deportation surge, exposing lax vetting and challenging stereotypes of undocumented immigrants in elite positions.
Kremlin Accelerates ‘Phase 0’ Preparations for Potential NATO Conflict: According to assessments from October 6, 2025, Russia is intensifying “Phase 0” informational and psychological operations, including false flag claims (such as SVR accusations against the UK for planning attacks to blame China) and increased sabotage like GPS jamming and drone incursions, to sow fear in Europe, fragment NATO unity, reduce support for Ukraine, and set conditions for possible future aggression, though no imminent conflict is indicated.
These crises—US-enabled conflicts abroad, legal corruption at home, and fascism’s creep—paint a grim yet galvanizing picture. They remind us that silence enables tyranny, whether in Gaza or American streets. To counter this, amplify calls for accountability, demand oversight, and unite for justice. History is watching; act now by engaging with policymakers and supporting movements for reform.