A letter to Prince William on his comments about the war in Gaza - opinion

I’ve just written an open letter on social media to HRH Prince William in response to his statement about the war in Gaza. Prince William expressed his deep concern at the “terrible human cost of the conflict” since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 and expressed his desire “to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible.”

As an Anglo-Israeli who made aliyah five years ago, I retain my support for the British Royal Family and my admiration of the Prince and the Princess of Wales in particular. They always seem to be such decent, caring people, and I am sure that Prince William thought long and hard before making his statement. It is controversial for the Royal Family to involve themselves in political matters, so I assume he must be deeply concerned by the situation to have made any statement at all. 

Prince William expressed his belief that “too many have been killed.” You will have to forgive me but I am more than a little skeptical about the actual number of deaths in Gaza, all of which are cited by the Gazan health ministry but in fact come from Hamas, a proscribed terrorist organization. These numbers are not independently verified. Sadly, as we have seen with the involvement of UNRWA in the atrocities of October 7, even supposedly impartial NGOs operating in the area have their own agendas and cannot be relied on as impartial players.

While the actual numbers are questionable, I can definitely agree that too many people have died – on both sides – because my Jewish faith values life and peace, and I remain concerned for every innocent life, whether Gazan or Israeli. These are the values that have underpinned our religion for thousands of years. Just like Prince William, we would dearly love to see an end to the fighting, if only it were that simple.

Unfortunately, I do not believe that Hamas cares about civilian deaths, neither Israeli nor Gazan. Hamas uses civilians as human shields, hiding their terrorist infrastructure in schools, hospitals, and homes. It is hard to know where terrorists are when they blur into the civilian population so completely. For Hamas, every civilian death is a bonus; Israel is vilified, and the leaders of Hamas remain untouched. The fact that Gazan civilians voted Hamas into power further muddies the waters. But innocents dying in war is tragic, and the ultimate aim for a peaceful long-term future for the region can only happen with the removal of Hamas.  

There can be no peace as long as Hamas exists. Hamas’s declared aim is the destruction of Israel and the death of all Jews. All those who call for a ceasefire must be made aware of this. What would happen if we stopped fighting? Hamas has told us clearly: They would repeat the atrocities of October 7 again and again. This is what Hamas wants: to torture, rape, mutilate, burn, and kill Jews. They keep telling the world but the world chooses not to listen.

Ensuring the British Royal understands the situation

I wrote to Prince William because I wanted to make sure that he really understood the situation. You can’t make peace with an adversary who wants you dead. Israelis, in fact, do understand what it means to make peace, as we have done it many times. We have given up land for peace – unilaterally leaving Gaza in 2005, for example – but it hasn’t brought real and lasting security.

Sadly, on the 7th of October and afterwards, we have seen Hamas and their supporters in Gaza and around the world repeatedly celebrating and justifying the murder, rape, mutilation, and burning of Jewish men and women, children, and the elderly. I have no desire to die, and neither do my fellow Israelis or Jews around the world for that matter. Israel has a strong army because we need it for defense. We cannot afford to lose this – or any – war. It would mean our obliteration. So, we cannot accept an end to this war until the threat to our lives and to our country is neutralized.

And that brings me to the hostages, because their return is also crucial to bringing an end to this war. I was so grateful that Prince William mentioned the need for the hostages to be returned. So many people seem to have forgotten them. The ongoing captivity of 134 people, a third of whom we know have already died, is a horrific situation that should disturb any right-minded person. 

Besides making his statement, Prince William visited the British Red Cross to learn how they were helping to get humanitarian aid to the people in the region. I wonder if the Red Cross was able to reassure Prince William that the aid that was going to Gaza wasn’t being taken by Hamas. Did Prince William recently read, as I did, that Hamas killed a young Gazan boy when he attempted to access aid supplies? I wonder if he asked the Red Cross whether the Israeli hostages have received any humanitarian aid or if the medicine that was sent for those among them with chronic illnesses was ever delivered to them.

Israel hasn’t been able to get any answers but maybe Prince William can. Perhaps he would also like to know about the humanitarian needs of Israel’s evacuees or the trauma that the whole country has experienced following the invasion and massacre that took place on October 7 and the 10,000 rockets that have targeted our civilian population subsequently. Sadly, it seems that our trauma is overlooked all too often. 

Which brings me, finally, to the topic of antisemitism, the oldest hatred in the world. Presumably to be seen as even-handed, Prince William is visiting a synagogue to highlight the dramatic and dangerous rise in antisemitism in the UK. It is both ironic and reassuring that while we are constantly being told that anti-Israel sentiment isn’t the same as antisemitism, by so obviously linking the two, he is highlighting how one breeds the other.

Jews are frightened and want to know that they are safe in the UK and around the world. They want to know that Israel will always be there and that they can live as Jews freely and without fear. No Jewish person should have to hide signs of his or her faith when traveling to work or school, and yet, that is the reality in the UK in 2024. Schools and synagogues have had to hire security guards for many years but the current level of fear is unprecedented. Prince William may not be able to solve the conflict in the Middle East, but he can make a meaningful difference by standing with the Jewish community and showing them that they are not alone. 

Above all, I hope that Prince William’s statement is used only for good, and I thank him for trying to facilitate a peaceful future for us all. God knows we need all the help we can get.

The writer made aliyah with her husband from the UK five years ago. She worked in the UK Jewish community for nearly 20 years before moving to Israel and taking on a role for the Israeli nonprofit World Emunah. All views expressed are her own.