10/12/2026
Why October 7? Why choose the anniversary of a massacre to demonstrate against the people mourning it?
Our founder, Dr. Orli Peter, was interviewed by Fox News Digital about the psychology behind the anti-Israel demonstrations held across America on October 7. There are 364 other days to demonstrate, accuse Israel, condemn the war, demand Palestinian rights, or make whatever political argument protesters wish. There is no shortage of opportunities to make those arguments. But October 7 is the day Jews around the world gather to remember the people murdered, tortured, r***d, and kidnapped during the Hamas massacre.
Dr. Peter believes choosing that day serves a purpose beyond ordinary political protest. It crowds out Jewish pain and allows those deliberately targeting mourners to experience the power of intruding on their grief.
“Demonstrating while Jews are mourning on Oct. 7 weaponizes the anniversary.”
She explained that it serves two purposes:
“One is to manipulate the public by interrupting the mourning before empathy settles on Jewish suffering and responsibility points to Hamas.”
“The other is to show power over the mourners, telling them, ‘Even in your grief, in your memory, in your most vulnerable day, we can invade.’”
Dr. Peter has spent more than 30 years treating psychological trauma. Since October 7, through the Israel Healing Initiative, she has worked with survivors who witnessed horrors that most people can barely imagine.
She knows how important mourning is to recovery, and how painful it can be when that mourning is interrupted by hostility.
There is also a broader psychological consequence. When Jewish suffering begins to draw public sympathy, a hostile confrontation can pull attention away from the victims and redirect it toward the protesters and their accusations.
And for Jews watching, especially survivors and bereaved families, the message can be chilling: even on this day, you will not be left in peace.
People have every right to criticize Israel, condemn its government, and advocate for Palestinians. But why did some organizers choose October 7 to do it, and what did they hope to accomplish by confronting a community in mourning?
At the Israel Healing Initiative, we see the human cost of October 7 in the lives of the survivors we serve. We believe their suffering deserves to be heard, their stories remembered, and their grief respected.
