The Clashing Casts of Minds Led to the Gaza War of October 7, 2023

In our global world, where interfaith and interracial relationships are highly prized, thereby promoting the waning of nationalism, national culture, and specificity, the tendency is growing for many to feel like strangers in their own country. This is all in view of the unlimited mix of races, cultures, and people that we observe throughout the world that are changing at the expense of their national characteristics of cultures, which have been eclipsed toward disparities. This has impacted the mix of languages and ways of life, and has also resulted in the false conclusion that all people are alike, reason with the same rational arguments, and think alike, and that therefore they should be treated and should treat each other on the same grounds. The mounting cases of clashes and conflicts between radical Islam and Western civilization such as expressed in the Gaza War of October 7, 2023, launched by Hamas against Israel, where the pretext was not territorial or material, but civilizational and existential, suggest that various peoples and races are moved by different mindsets, and though using the same words and expressions, mean totally different, even diametrically opposed ideas and reasoning. Islamic countries, backed by authoritarian countries, support Hamas, while the liberal West stands by Israel. (About the Author) Raphael Israeli has taught Islamic, Chinese, and Middle Eastern history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A graduate of Hebrew University in history and Arabic literature, he earned a Ph.D. in Chinese and Islamic history from the University of California, Berkeley. Now retired, he has been a Fellow of the Harry Truman Research Institute at Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Center since the1970s. He is the author of more than 100 books and 100 articles.