The events of Oct. 7 are often described as “the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.”
Tens of thousands of books have been written and continue to be published each year about the Holocaust. And already, a dozen or more books explore the tragic day of Oct. 7, 2023.
Among them, the book by Moshe Kaplan Extreme Trauma: Oct. 7 as an Outlier in the Range of Human Potential contributes to the world’s understanding of the atrocities of Oct. 7.
It weaves together firsthand accounts, expert analyses, and emotional reflections into a portrayal of a day that shattered illusions about human behavior – and simultaneously showcased resilience, heroism, and unity.
October 7 massacre: The horrors and heroism, roots and realities
Extreme Trauma is organized by theme. It retells some of the explicit horrors of that day but also addresses related themes, such as the roots and realities of antisemitism; the depravity of Hamas’s acts; the specific horror of sexual violence; Israel’s miraculous resilience; and a newfound unity among Jews.
It goes beyond a voyeuristic look into the raw cruelty of the day and allows the reader to move through the pain to arrive at a place of hope.
Extreme Trauma benefits from reflective contributions by important thinkers such as Dr. Abraham Twerski, who passed away a few years before the events of Oct. 7; and actress and activist Noa Tishby, who writes about media bias.
The book doesn’t shy away from claiming that Hamas members are not merely “militants” but “apocalyptic barbarians.” This moral clarity is necessary in a world where so many in the international community overlook or distort the true barbarity of Hamas.
THE BOOK’S premise of the moral decline of the West will appeal to more conservative thinkers and those who already align with Israel. Its strong and unapologetic tone might be off-putting to readers of a more moderate bent or those less familiar with the Israel-Hamas conflict.
There is a notable amount of repetition on the topics of the actual atrocities and the failures of the international media to tell the story of Oct. 7 in a fair and balanced way. This is one of the inherent weaknesses of any book that combines a collection of essays on a single event, written from multiple viewpoints.
The book is a project of the Be A Mentsch Foundation. As such, it highlights the themes of Jewish resilience and unity, which is inspiring. A natural next step would be to develop policy suggestions for how Israel and Jewish communities in the Diaspora can build on this unity, moving forward.
Extreme Trauma humanizes the victims of Oct. 7 in a way that makes it impossible to classify the event in political terms alone. It restores faces, names, and voices to the victims of Oct. 7, forcing the world to see real human suffering, not just political headlines.
It also introduces the term “Hamasticide,” and forces readers to look directly into the eyes of the true nature of Hamas’s cruelty, correcting the misrepresentation of Hamas as a political resistance movement and correctly identifying it as a death cult.
While not shying away from describing the day’s violence or the media bias that turns victim into oppressor, the book ends on an upbeat note by including moving examples of Israeli unity, heroism, and ongoing fight for life, hope, and ethical leadership. This narrative of resilience counters the victimhood narrative often associated with Jewish suffering – and projects an image of strength and morality.
The book uses Oct. 7 as a bellwether to remind readers that to oppose Hamas is not simply to be pro-Israel but rather to defend human dignity and moral clarity.
It is a call to the world to recognize evil, stand for truth, and remember that in the face of apocalyptic hatred, the human spirit can, and must, prevail.
In the hands of the right readers, Extreme Trauma can help ensure that the truth of what happened on Oct. 7 is neither distorted nor forgotten. And it reminds readers that the barbarism of Hamas and their ilk is not just Israel’s problem. Oct. 7 remains a symbol of the battle of the global community against the forces of darkness.
The reviewer is a freelance journalist and expert on the non-Jewish awakening to Torah happening in our day. She is the editor of Ten From The Nations and Lighting Up The Nations.
- EXTREME TRAUMA: OCT. 7 AS AN OUTLIER IN THE RANGE OF HUMAN POTENTIAL
- By Moshe Kaplan
- Be A Mensch Foundation
- 318 pages; $18.50
