Reading the news, and watching the videos of the events of October 7 from Jerusalem, Daniel Kane was reminded of Hayyim Nahman Bialik’s famous poem of the Kishinev Pogrom, “In the City of Slaughter,” and the long history of Jewish vulnerability. With this in mind, Kane reflects on Israeli society’s response to the same events, which he has witnessed in the weeks since:

In my life, I have never seen anything that can remotely compare to the transformation of Israeli society in the immediate aftermath of the attack. Overnight, military-age men disappeared from civilian life. A relative of mine who serves as a logistics coordinator in the IDF told me that, within a day, reserve battalions were overwhelmed with the numbers that had reported for duty. An avalanche of reservists who had not yet been mobilized showed up anyway, offering to fight in whichever deployed unit would take them.

But it wasn’t just our soldiers who mobilized. Without an order being given, Israeli civil society—and, really, the entire Jewish world—rallied en masse to support the Jewish state and its military.

What was, just weeks ago, a deeply divided nation has emerged more unified and collectively resolved than at any point in recent history. In September, the highways were littered with political banners accusing each and every political faction of “betraying the nation” or “destroying democracy.” But the banners that fly today carry only one message: B’yaḥad N’natseyaḥ—“Together, we will be victorious.”

Jews can readily imagine what it would mean to become homeless and stateless. We still remember a world in which, as today, many greet the enthusiastic slaughter of Jews with indifference or celebration, but also, in which we lacked a Jewish state that could respond and retaliate. In being forced to recall the world before Israel—to confront the enduring possibility of national tragedy and a return of Jewish vulnerability—we can no longer take our shared home for granted.

On Tuesday, representatives of Hamas met with their counterparts from Fatah—the faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) once led by Yasir Arafat that now governs parts of the West Bank—in Beijing to discuss possible reconciliation. While it is unlikely that these talks will yield any more progress than the many previous rounds, they constitute a significant step in China’s increasing attempts to involve itself in the Middle East on the side of Israel’s enemies.

By contrast, writes Tuvia Gering, Taiwan has been quick and consistent in its condemnations of Hamas and Iran and its expressions of sympathy with Israel:

Support from Taipei goes beyond words. Taiwan’s appointee in Tel Aviv and de-facto ambassador, Abby Lee, has been busy aiding hostage families, adopting the most affected kibbutzim in southern Israel, and volunteering with farmers. Taiwan recently pledged more than half a million dollars to Israel for critical initiatives, including medical and communications supplies for local municipalities. This follows earlier aid from Taiwan to an organization helping Israeli soldiers and families immediately after the October 7 attack.

The reasons why are not hard to fathom:

In many ways, Taiwan sees a reflection of itself in Israel—two vibrant democracies facing threats from hostile neighbors. Both nations wield substantial economic and technological prowess, and both heavily depend on U.S. military exports and diplomacy. Taipei also sees Israel as a “role model” for what Taiwan should aspire to be, citing its unwavering determination and capabilities to defend itself.

On a deeper level, Taiwanese leaders seem to view Israel’s war with Hamas and Iran as an extension of a greater struggle between democracy and autocracy.

Gering urges Israel to reciprocate these expressions of friendship and to take into account that “China has been going above and beyond to demonize the Jewish state in international forums.” Above all, he writes, Jerusalem should “take a firmer stance against China’s support for Hamas and Iran-backed terrorism, exposing the hypocrisy and repression that underpin its vision for a new global order.”