This is one of the most brilliant articles I’ve ever read.
It was written by Miriam Lopian, a British medical specialist who recently moved to Israel.

October 7th caught us all by surprise, but I must admit that my anxious brain has always been waiting for it, and I don’t think I am alone.

I was prepared because the modern Jewish state was reborn during an era defined by the cry of “never again.” Never again would we march like sheep to the slaughter, but not never again would there be another attempt to annihilate us.

I was prepared because our entire state is built to function with this threat etched in our hearts. We hand over our family members to serve in the Israel Defence Forces from the age of 18; in Israel you are never too far from a bomb shelter, lest you get caught in a rocket downpour and a massive concrete wall separates Israeli and Palestinian villages, purposefully built to defend against terror.

I was prepared because we have had to degrade ourselves and the spirit of our peace-loving people by enforcing military control over large territories and restricting the movement of fellow human beings because of the very real threat some of these people pose.

I was prepared because I know you can’t simply walk into a mall here without being searched for weapons and the world’s most brilliant minds are working around the clock to gather intelligence on every suspect across the Middle East and beyond.

I was also prepared, thanks to my education in Jewish history, which taught me the enduring precedent of millennia-long animosity towards the Jewish people. The Bible, the world’s most widely read book, introduces this narrative with the story of the Exodus, where the Israelites escaped 430 years of slavery and persecution by the Egyptian Pharaoh’s, and were led to their homeland—Israel—more than 3,000 years ago. This theme of persecution and resilience is a consistent thread throughout our history, with various civilizations such as the Greeks, Romans, Babylonians, Persians, and Crusaders each playing their part.

I was prepared because I personally know countless people alive today who bore witness to the ease with which the most civilized nation of its time systemically exterminated over 6 million Jews. I know that from its inception, the newly decolonized State of Israel has served and continues to serve as a refuge for Holocaust survivors and Jewish refugees from around the world, including those fleeing Western democracies, Arab dictatorships, and Eastern European communist regimes.

But I don’t need to evoke history to remind me of the threats our people continue to face. Our enemies, some of whom reside mere kilometers from me, behind the security wall, electrified fences, and checkpoints, and even some who sit in our university lecture halls, take great pleasure in regularly reminding us of their murderous intent.

I was prepared because I know what they are taught in their schools, and I know that they hide stashes of advanced weaponry in their children’s Disney-decorated wardrobes. I also know the financial reward they receive from their government, who receive billions of dollars in international aid, should they accomplish their deadly missions.

I was unprepared, however, for the barbarity and sadistic nature of the violence inflicted upon my people on October 7th, including the acts of burning, rape, and mutilation, and the sheer glee with which they carried out these atrocities—actions that have no precedent, even among non-human species on the planet.

I also wasn’t prepared for the aftermath, which began on October 8th and has continued daily since.

I was unprepared when I witnessed British citizens dancing along Edgware Road in jubilation on that day, while we were still counting our dead.

I was unprepared to witness old friends and medical colleagues marching in Trafalgar Square supporting the genocide of my people, chanting “From the River to the Sea,” while the Police looked on with indifference.

I was unprepared for the deafening silence and hypocrisy of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and the #MeToo lobby in the face of the widespread sexual violence extensively documented on October 7th, yet despite this, many claim there is still not enough proof.

I was unprepared to discover that the murderers who participated in this barbaric carnage were employees of the UNRWA and Al Jazeera, both of which continue to operate freely.

I was unprepared for the silence of Michelle Obama, who proudly campaigned to “Bring Back Our Girls” for the Nigerian girls held by Boko Haram but not for the American citizens, toddlers, teenage girls, or even the Holocaust survivor hostages from Israel.

I was unprepared for the sight of a one-year-old ginger toddler featuring on a ‘Kidnapped’ poster, still waiting for the Red Cross to visit, and I was very much less prepared for that poster being defaced with swastikas so many times and in so many countries.

I was unprepared for the fact that the British Police instructed someone not to walk next to a Palestinian protest in London because he was “openly Jewish,” and they couldn’t guarantee his safety.

I was unprepared to encounter “I love Hezbollah” signs in Central London, even after I had become accustomed to the “I love Hamas” signs and even though they are both designated terrorist organizations by the British and American governments.

I was unprepared for Iran to launch hundreds of ballistic missiles at my home, my family, and my friends with the sole intent to kill me and my people. At the same time, those around me continued engaging me in irrelevant small talk.

I was unprepared to learn that the esteemed halls of Ivy League institutions are infested with venomous hate and racism. Despite their privilege and education, thousands of their students remain painfully ignorant yet eager to be useful idiots, rallying to a cause they themselves fail to comprehend.

I was unprepared for a reality where Kamala Harris is commemorating the 7th of October by planting a pomegranate tree in her garden while the Ayatollahs in Iran are busy getting on with testing their nuclear facilities.

I was unprepared for the Asserson report to reveal that the BBC’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict violated its own guidelines on more than 1,500 occasions. Yet, the BBC would continue to spew its hate as usual.

I was unprepared for Kay Burley to accuse Eylon Levy on Sky News that Israel releasing 150 convicted Palestinian murderers in exchange for 50 Israeli civilian hostages underscored the disproportionate disregard Israel had for Palestinian lives.

I was unprepared for the New York Times to eulogise Hassan Nasrallah, as a “powerful orator, beloved by Shi’ite Muslims” who “provided social services for Lebanon.” and wanted “one Palestine, with equality for Muslims, Jews, and Christians.” All the while, Syrians, Lebanese, Iranians, and Israelis celebrated his assassination as it ultimately unloosened the noose around our necks a little.

I was unprepared for Naomi Klein to write an article in the Guardian yesterday entitled, “How Israel has made trauma a weapon of war,” nor was I prepared for Raz Segal’s “Israel must stop weaponizing the Holocaust” a year ago.

I was unprepared for UN Secretary-General Antonio Gueterre’s failure to condemn the Islamic Regime of Iran for lobbying 180 ballistic missiles into Israel. However, the UN’s shocking conduct warrants its own entirely separate article.

I was certainly unprepared for the fact that on October 7th, 2024, I would be writing this from my bomb shelter, which ironically reminds me of a gas chamber I saw in Majdanek, whilst thousands of Americans are converging on the steps of Columbia University in New York, chanting “globalize the intifada” and again, silence.

I never thought I would understand how the Holocaust happened, but now I do.