George P. Bush: What I saw in footage of Hamas attack on Israel sickened me | Opinion

I watched the Israel Defense Forces compilation of footage of gruesome and hideous acts against humanity committed Oct. 7 by Hamas members, and my soul will be changed forever.

The footage, called “Bearing Witness,” is a grim reminder that barbarity and medieval acts of horror can be perpetrated against peaceful civilians at any given moment simply because of their faith or nationality. Images of innocent children abducted, young women raped and slaughtered as they cower in fear still race through my mind.

As a father of two young children, the most gut wrenching moment for me was seeing a father killed in front of his two sons, roughly the same age as mine. The most sickening part was the utter jubilation of civilians in Gaza celebrating the massacre as innocent Israeli after innocent Israel was captured — or even worse. Dead civilians’ bodies were mutilated in their very own homes.

I don’t like writing this; nor could I stand to watch all of the screening. But the world needs to know about the barbarity of what occurred.

Texas is a friend of Israel and will continue to be. As a former statewide official who led a delegation of Texas business leaders to Israel, I can attest to the grit, determination and passion of the Israeli people and have no doubt they will persevere. From the entrepreneurs who created “Startup Nation” to the newly trained energy workers exploring and harvesting natural gas, Texas’ business ties to Israelis will only grow as a result of this horrific episode.

The rising tide of antisemitism and apologists for the actions of Hamas have largely not occurred on Texas campuses because of the moral clarity espoused by university leadership — unlike the pathetic testimony presented by three elite universities’ presidents last week before a congressional committee. I am proud that Texas supports and will continue to be with Israel.

After viewing “Bearing Witness,” many of us asked Israeli Consul General Livia Link-Raviv, “How can we help?” Her words were powerful and direct: The only way to prevent this from happening again is to tell our friends that Hamas is a terrorist organization that perpetrated nothing short of Israel’s version of 9/11. Watch the compilation if you must, but a video shouldn’t have to explain what ghoulish terrorism looks like on the homeland of one of our strongest allies.

This Hanukkah has a special meaning for me as a Christian. During this Festival of Lights I am reminded of a passage on friendship from Ecclesiastes 4:10: “If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

My hope is that the United States stands firm with one of its few friends in the Middle East and that freedom-loving countries around the world refuse to “help up” apologists for Jewish hatred.

George P. Bush served two terms as Texas land commissioner.