Ep. 230: Understanding Oct. 7 as a ‘collective descent into evil’

What should we be asking about what happened on Oct. 7, 2023, and its aftermath? According to JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin, the key issue is not only learning and understanding the truth about the horrific crimes that occurred on that day. Rather, it is how so much of the world reacted to it by siding with the perpetrators and against the victims. He’s joined on this week’s episode of “Think Twice” by documentary filmmaker Gloria Greenfield, the producer, director and writer of the new film, “A Collective Descent Into Evil: The Lethal Obsession with Jews and the Jewish State.” It gives voice to a broad array of scholars, writers and commentators on the subject, and isn’t only about the barbarism and atrocities that occurred during the Hamas-led Palestinian Arab terror attacks on communities in southern Israel. It is, she says, an exploration of the motivations, ideologies and strategies of those involved, as well as their apologists and enablers. The problem is not just the terrorists and a population that supported and participated in the horrors of Oct. 7. Greenfield explains that her film seeks to broaden our understanding of the subject by pointing out that what happened was the product of decades of indoctrination into hatred for Israel, the Jews and the West. The same is true of the mobs on college campuses and in the streets of American cities who turned out in support of Oct. 7 and to defend its perpetrators. The goal wasn’t, says Greenfield, merely “destroying the Jewish people and destroying Israel. It’s also about destroying the free world and destroying people that don’t subscribe to Islamist ideologies.” Greenfield, a feminist publisher who grew disillusioned with the movement because of its tolerance for antisemitism, points out that the “epidemic” of tolerance for Jew-hatred is rooted in the success of Marxist and radical ideologies in their “long march” through American institutions. The film is available for streaming via the Roku Channel and Doc Emet Productions, as well as by request for community screenings. Listen/Subscribe to weekly episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Watch new episodes every week by subscribing to the JNS YouTube Channel.