One Zionist who was clearly aware of what was happening was Max Rothschild. His daughter, Shulamith Reinharz, discovered his diaries, memoirs, and other documents in his basement in 1974, and in 2017 began thoroughly studying them. She writes:

My father was born in Gunzenhausen, a small town in Bavaria, in 1921. . . . In 1924, when my father was three years old, the “good citizens of Gunzenhausen,” as he always sarcastically labeled them, elected members of the Nazi party to the Gunzenhausen town council. A decade later the town’s gradual transition from normal, unofficial anti-Semitism to vicious, official Nazism seems to have been seamless. In fact, these townspeople became so enthusiastic about their “mini-pogroms” that when Berlin officers became aware of what was going on, they sent a message to “slow down”—so that the Nazi party could take credit.

Materials in one of the cartons showed me poignantly that Gunzenhausen’s Jews avoided reality by focusing on their internal communal and synagogue life. While boycotts, pogroms, and even murder erupted around them, the synagogue’s executive committee calmly debated what color carpet they should install.

But one day, the synagogue hosted a guest speaker who wanted to “shake us out of our lethargy,” as my father later wrote. Giora Josephthal was a twenty-one-year-old man from Nuremberg, a member of Habonim, the Labor Zionist movement, and a rising star among Zionists in Germany. My father, then twelve, was persuaded by Josephthal’s certainty that Zionism was the solution to the Jews’ problems, a solution that could come about only if Jews banded together in collective action. The next day, Dad gathered all of the Jewish boys his age to build a “‘sports facility’ with our own hands, and study Hebrew and Zionism.”

On Monday night, the IDF struck a group of Hamas operatives near the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis, the main city in southern Gaza. The very fact of this attack was reassuring, as it suggested that the release of Edan Alexander didn’t come with restraints on Israeli military activity. Then, yesterday afternoon, Israeli jets carried out another, larger attack on Khan Yunis, hitting a site where it believed Mohammad Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, to be hiding. The IDF has not yet confirmed that he was present. There is some hope that the death of Sinwar—who replaced his older brother Yahya after he was killed last year—could have a debilitating effect on Hamas.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is visiting the Persian Gulf, and it’s unclear how his diplomatic efforts there will affect Israel, its war with Hamas, and Iran. For its part, Jerusalem has committed to resume full-scale operations in Gaza after President Trump returns to the U.S. But, Gabi Simoni and Erez Winner explain, Israel does not have unlimited time to defeat Hamas:

Israel faces persistent security challenges across multiple fronts—Iran, the West Bank, Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon—all demanding significant military resources, especially during periods of escalation. . . . Failing to achieve a decisive victory not only prolongs the conflict but also drains national resources and threatens Israel’s ability to obtain its strategic goals.

Only a swift, forceful military campaign can achieve the war’s objectives: securing the hostages’ release, ensuring Israeli citizens’ safety, and preventing future kidnappings. Avoiding such action won’t just prolong the suffering of the hostages and deepen public uncertainty—it will also drain national resources and weaken Israel’s standing in the region and beyond.

We recommend launching an intense military operation in Gaza without delay, with clear, measurable objectives—crippling Hamas’s military and governance capabilities and securing the release of hostages. Such a campaign should combine military pressure with indirect negotiations, maximizing the chances of a successful outcome while minimizing risks.

Crucially, the operation must be closely coordinated with the United States and moderate Arab states to reduce international pressure and preserve the gains of regional alliances.