The barbaric massacre carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023, strengthened the Israeli narrative that Palestinian society in its entirety is violent and murderous. On October 7, Palestinian violence did indeed reach its peak, but a historical perspective is important to understand that violence is not ingrained in the DNA of Palestinians.

Ben Shalev’s excellent series “Intifada” is being broadcast on Kan 11. It reminds us of the First Intifada’s cause and nature. The Intifada erupted in 1987 as a primary outburst of ongoing frustration from a population that had been forced for years to relinquish not only its national aspirations but also its dignity, live under military rule amidst expanding settlements, and serve as the woodcutters and water carriers for Israeli society. This pressure cooker first erupted in 1987, twenty years after Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and even then, the Intifada, at least in its early stages, was characterized by unarmed civil protest. Years passed before its character changed from a broad public protest into terrorist attacks under the auspices of Palestinian organizations.

One can only imagine a scenario in which the Jews were the ones conquered during the 1967 Six-Day War. Does anyone think we would have sat quietly for two decades, serving our Arab masters, living without political rights and under military rule, without widespread violent resistance, including violent acts of terrorism, among us? We would most likely do exactly what many Jews did during the British Mandate period and resort to acts of........

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