In medieval Europe, Jews were often permitted only to pursue work that involved money lending and tax collecting. They were forced into this unwanted profession by kings who used them as middlemen, and then they were despised and massacred for it.

This reminds me of the terrible bind that Israel is in today. On Oct. 7, more than 1,000 Hamas butchers and other militants invaded Israel to rape, torture, mutilate, incinerate, and kidnap Israeli civilians. Israel was forced to fight a war that it did not start or want. It is now hated for the devastation in Gaza, yet the alternative to defending themselves is annihilation.

The suffering of Gazans is horrible. The blame for the death and destruction lies with Hamas. For 15 years they stole millions of aid dollars to build a war machine and 350 miles of tunnels to protect themselves in. They use hospitals as command centers, and schools, mosques and residential centers to hide their weapons and tunnels under, in order to maximize Palestinian deaths and sacrifice civilians in a diabolical and successful strategy to enrage the world against Israel. They steal the food and fuel and have fired over 10,000 missiles, rockets and drones at Israel since Oct. 7.

Think of how many more Gazans would be alive today if any of these scenarios had happened:

■On Oct. 8, the U.N. had condemned Hamas for committing war crimes, demanded the immediate return of all hostages, and the International Criminal Court had tried Hamas leaders for genocide and war crimes. There would not have been a war.

■Egypt (which gets U.S. aid), and other neighboring countries had taken in Gazan civilians during the war, instead of closing their borders.

■Palestinians had not turned down several offers of land for peace since the 1970s.

■Hamas had focused on building a country in 2005, when Israel exited with hopes of peace.

■Arab leaders had accepted the U.N. proposal for a two-state solution in 1947 calling for an Arab state next to a Jewish state on Jewish ancestral land. Instead, five Arab states launched a war of aggression against the fledgling Israel. Their war created the current Palestinian refugee problem. And yet those same Arab countries refused (and continue to refuse) to absorb their brethren, keeping them as eternal refugees to fight Israel.

Israel’s expansionist policies in the West Bank have certainly been an obstacle to peace. But their enemies are also not without sin. The news media is quick to condemn Israel, even though she is fighting for her life, and fighting against the spread of Islamic Jihad, which benefits the world.

Anti-Israel commentators neglect to acknowledge that Palestinians have been waging terrorism on Israel since its birth. They dismiss the threat Israel faces and excuse Palestinian violence.

Much Palestinian suffering results from Israel defending itself against these unrelenting attacks, and from the Palestinians’ refusal to compromise.

If militant Islamic groups survive this war, Oct. 7 will be repeated endlessly, Hamas will continue to tyrannize its own citizens, and Iran will be emboldened to wreak havoc in the world. If you want freedom and a high standard of living in Gaza and the West Bank, work toward eradicating the radical governments there. People who shout “genocide” over this war are supporting the side that actually aims to commit that ultimate crime.

Rhonda Wainshilbaum lives in Leyden.