Hamas Might Win This War
Dispatches on culture, politics, and religion from Matthew Schultz, a rabbinical student and writer living in Tel Aviv.
People are tired of the war in Gaza. They are tired of images of rubble and crying children. They are tired of protests. Their compassion is maxed out. Their sense of outrage stretched to its limit.
Biden is also tired of the war in Gaza. He’s tired of being called “genocide Joe.” He’s tired of Netanyahu’s intransigence. He’s tired of absorbing the collateral damage from the world’s hatred of Israel.
Israelis are tired as well. They are tired of worrying about their sons, brothers, fathers, and husbands. They are tired of seeing images of hostages who still haven’t come home. They are tired of the callousness and hypocrisy of the west’s pious condemnations.
Palestinian civilians are the most tired of all. They are tired of being moved from one place to another, of not knowing what the next day will bring. They are tired of mourning, of explosions, of tears.
The only ones who are not tired are the leaders of Hamas. Indeed, Yahya Sinwar—the architect of the October 7th massacres—is reportedly in great spirits. He has been said to be in an almost “messianic” mood. For him, everything is going according to plan.
The plan, of course, was to make the rest of us tired. Then, when Israel wearies of fighting and the world wearies of Israel—he can emerge from underground to a future in which Hamas has won the war it started.