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October 7th: Searching for the Humanitarian Middle
A Globe and Mail and Hill Times Best Book of 2025.
In this emotional missive from the diaspora, Globe and Mail columnist Marsha Lederman gathers her columns searching for the humanitarian middle of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Since 2023, the best-selling and award-winning author and journalist has been reflecting, with deep empathy, on the horrific October 7th attacks on Israeli citizens, rising anti-Semitism, and the brutal violence against civilians in Gaza in her column for the Globe and Mail.
As one of the leading Canadian voices on Jewish identity, Lederman’s impassioned work in the Globe has been a lifeline for readers since October 7th, 2023. The work collected in this book captures the pain of so Marsha’s prose has a way of cutting through the noise and capturing the humanity behind the headlines. She makes room for the reader to be conflicted, grieving, angry and unsure, and is with them through that process as she, like all of us, grapples with a new reality.
As someone who is firmly against Netanyahu and firmly in favour of Palestinian rights, believes in a two-state solution, and is a daughter of Holocaust survivors terrified by the rise in anti-Semitism, Marsha’s writing has captured the full complexity of the experience of reconciling an abhorrence of the violence against Israelis and Palestinians with the trauma and fear of rising prejudice around the world.
These columns are a contemporaneous look at the year that followed Oct 7th, 2023, reminding us of the pain and confusion. This collection is a crucial archive capturing, in real time, a period of deep division with care, empathy, and grief.
In this emotional missive from the diaspora, Globe and Mail columnist Marsha Lederman gathers her columns searching for the humanitarian middle of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Since 2023, the best-selling and award-winning author and journalist has been reflecting, with deep empathy, on the horrific October 7th attacks on Israeli citizens, rising anti-Semitism, and the brutal violence against civilians in Gaza in her column for the Globe and Mail.
As one of the leading Canadian voices on Jewish identity, Lederman’s impassioned work in the Globe has been a lifeline for readers since October 7th, 2023. The work collected in this book captures the pain of so Marsha’s prose has a way of cutting through the noise and capturing the humanity behind the headlines. She makes room for the reader to be conflicted, grieving, angry and unsure, and is with them through that process as she, like all of us, grapples with a new reality.
As someone who is firmly against Netanyahu and firmly in favour of Palestinian rights, believes in a two-state solution, and is a daughter of Holocaust survivors terrified by the rise in anti-Semitism, Marsha’s writing has captured the full complexity of the experience of reconciling an abhorrence of the violence against Israelis and Palestinians with the trauma and fear of rising prejudice around the world.
These columns are a contemporaneous look at the year that followed Oct 7th, 2023, reminding us of the pain and confusion. This collection is a crucial archive capturing, in real time, a period of deep division with care, empathy, and grief.
- GenresNonfiction
Audible Audio
Published August 19, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 21, 2025
A good opinion writer has an uncanny ability to take current events and make them accessible and nail down with words what you may have been thinking, but didn’t know how to articulate.
Marsha Lederman is a superb opinion writer. Her new collection of carefully curated columns written for the Globe and Mail before, concurrent and after the horrors of October 7 and the dark turn taken by Canadian society against its Jews. The book is a hard read. Not only for the obvious reasons. But what’s really difficult is the reminder of how shocked I was as a Canadian Jew that rather than find support and solace from the many organizations causes and friends I had aligned myself with as a progressive liberal Canadian, these same folks had turned against us. Two years later, the only thing that still shocks me is my capacity to still be shocked.
Lederman articulates much of what we have lost. Friendships. Safety. Idealism. The integrity of the Canadian arts and cultural scene. As Lederman writes, “Our pain is barely acknowledged—or worse.” She reflects that “If such things were said about any other community, they would never be tolerated.”
But in searching for the humanitarian middle, Lederman’s voice reminds us
that the only thing many of us can do is “use [our words]: to write, to talk to one another. And to express hope for peace, in spite of it all.”
Marsha Lederman is a superb opinion writer. Her new collection of carefully curated columns written for the Globe and Mail before, concurrent and after the horrors of October 7 and the dark turn taken by Canadian society against its Jews. The book is a hard read. Not only for the obvious reasons. But what’s really difficult is the reminder of how shocked I was as a Canadian Jew that rather than find support and solace from the many organizations causes and friends I had aligned myself with as a progressive liberal Canadian, these same folks had turned against us. Two years later, the only thing that still shocks me is my capacity to still be shocked.
Lederman articulates much of what we have lost. Friendships. Safety. Idealism. The integrity of the Canadian arts and cultural scene. As Lederman writes, “Our pain is barely acknowledged—or worse.” She reflects that “If such things were said about any other community, they would never be tolerated.”
But in searching for the humanitarian middle, Lederman’s voice reminds us
that the only thing many of us can do is “use [our words]: to write, to talk to one another. And to express hope for peace, in spite of it all.”
August 19, 2025
As a longtime fan of Marsha's articles in the Globe, it's not surprising that this book provides a balanced, sensitive and smart approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Highly recommend.
July 4, 2025
Why don’t we start from the year 1948 hmm??!!!
June 18, 2026
2.5/5
This felt more about the Holocaust and how that affects her life than about shining light on the conflict. This book wasn't what I thought it was going to be. Lederman is honest about her beliefs and bias, she is a journalist so she does try to remain neutral (and has the skills to do so) but everything she writes is very personal and very connected to her identity.
This book talks a lot about the Holocaust, its intergenerational trauma, and antisemitism in Canada. It felt more like she was reminding us of the humans stuck in the middle (the Jewish diaspora) than the middle ground within the conflict. I guess I expected more from whatever her columns were? If you already know of Marsha Lederman and like her work then you'll get more out of this than I did.
Found this at my local library! I suggest always reading more about current events and learning all you can! Your library is there to offer free resources and access to knowledge!
This felt more about the Holocaust and how that affects her life than about shining light on the conflict. This book wasn't what I thought it was going to be. Lederman is honest about her beliefs and bias, she is a journalist so she does try to remain neutral (and has the skills to do so) but everything she writes is very personal and very connected to her identity.
This book talks a lot about the Holocaust, its intergenerational trauma, and antisemitism in Canada. It felt more like she was reminding us of the humans stuck in the middle (the Jewish diaspora) than the middle ground within the conflict. I guess I expected more from whatever her columns were? If you already know of Marsha Lederman and like her work then you'll get more out of this than I did.
Found this at my local library! I suggest always reading more about current events and learning all you can! Your library is there to offer free resources and access to knowledge!
May 31, 2026
3.75 stars
A collection of op-eds from Jewish Canadian journalist Marsha Lederman on the Oct 7 terrorist attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza that erupted in response. These are columns that originally ran in The Globe and Mail encapsulating the first year of that war.
The book is divided into three sections: the attack itself and its immediate aftermath (Oct 7 to Dec 2023), columns in the years before the attack (pre-Oct 7/23)), and after the attack (2024).
Lederman described herself as a progressive Zionist (she admits this might be an oxymoron to some) who is the daughter of Holocaust survivors brought up to love Israel but only learned later in life that Israel’s existence came at the expense of Palestinians kicked off their land and forced to live as refugees since 1948. She believes in a two state solution to resolve the conflict.
She writes about how appalled she was by the 10/7 attacks as well as the ensuing devastating war that civilians in Gaza paid a heavy price. She is also alarmed by what she believes are antisemitic responses (both from the usual far right-wing extremists and elements of the far left, the latter of which she sees as a betrayal) in the wake of this conflict igniting historical trauma and wider distress about the whole thing.
She is overall reasonable and nuanced and the columns are a time capsule of her feelings based on what was known about a volatile and tragic situation. These columns have been amended with footnotes and postscripts providing updates on the situation and more context, which I appreciated since it’s a form of transparency (and journalism is of course the first draft of history).
Having said that, the stumbling block for me is because she is a self-identified Zionist (albeit progressive) she perhaps is a bit too attached to Israel to always provide a clear headed analysis. I can give her grace for impassioned emotions felt during the day/week in question, but I do feel she is perhaps too dismissive of some of the campus protests and wider left-wing responses to the situation. Yes some takes from the left are crappy, simplistic, and dare I say offensive or incendiary, but I question whether all of them would be antisemitic (though some undoubtedly are… or at the very least are extremely ham fisted). She seemed to not be able to handle assertions that Israel is colonial or imperialistic (and those assessments are based on evidence and not bigoted and hateful places). She also seemed too dismissive about allegations of genocide on Israel’s part. Sure these columns were written in more uncertain times but the body of evidence seems to have tilted towards at the very least the allegations being rooted in compelling evidence. So I will hold her accountable for that.
Nevertheless she gives thoughtful and sobering analysis which is appreciated in divisive times so she is coming from a good place even if I feel not all of her columns get it quite right.
I personally would have appreciated these columns from a Jewish voice that is either non-Zionist/anti-Zionist/post-Zionist (?) or at least better able to separate Jewish identity from Israel.
A good argument for better representation of viewpoints in mainstream newspaper columns, perhaps?
A collection of op-eds from Jewish Canadian journalist Marsha Lederman on the Oct 7 terrorist attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza that erupted in response. These are columns that originally ran in The Globe and Mail encapsulating the first year of that war.
The book is divided into three sections: the attack itself and its immediate aftermath (Oct 7 to Dec 2023), columns in the years before the attack (pre-Oct 7/23)), and after the attack (2024).
Lederman described herself as a progressive Zionist (she admits this might be an oxymoron to some) who is the daughter of Holocaust survivors brought up to love Israel but only learned later in life that Israel’s existence came at the expense of Palestinians kicked off their land and forced to live as refugees since 1948. She believes in a two state solution to resolve the conflict.
She writes about how appalled she was by the 10/7 attacks as well as the ensuing devastating war that civilians in Gaza paid a heavy price. She is also alarmed by what she believes are antisemitic responses (both from the usual far right-wing extremists and elements of the far left, the latter of which she sees as a betrayal) in the wake of this conflict igniting historical trauma and wider distress about the whole thing.
She is overall reasonable and nuanced and the columns are a time capsule of her feelings based on what was known about a volatile and tragic situation. These columns have been amended with footnotes and postscripts providing updates on the situation and more context, which I appreciated since it’s a form of transparency (and journalism is of course the first draft of history).
Having said that, the stumbling block for me is because she is a self-identified Zionist (albeit progressive) she perhaps is a bit too attached to Israel to always provide a clear headed analysis. I can give her grace for impassioned emotions felt during the day/week in question, but I do feel she is perhaps too dismissive of some of the campus protests and wider left-wing responses to the situation. Yes some takes from the left are crappy, simplistic, and dare I say offensive or incendiary, but I question whether all of them would be antisemitic (though some undoubtedly are… or at the very least are extremely ham fisted). She seemed to not be able to handle assertions that Israel is colonial or imperialistic (and those assessments are based on evidence and not bigoted and hateful places). She also seemed too dismissive about allegations of genocide on Israel’s part. Sure these columns were written in more uncertain times but the body of evidence seems to have tilted towards at the very least the allegations being rooted in compelling evidence. So I will hold her accountable for that.
Nevertheless she gives thoughtful and sobering analysis which is appreciated in divisive times so she is coming from a good place even if I feel not all of her columns get it quite right.
I personally would have appreciated these columns from a Jewish voice that is either non-Zionist/anti-Zionist/post-Zionist (?) or at least better able to separate Jewish identity from Israel.
A good argument for better representation of viewpoints in mainstream newspaper columns, perhaps?
August 22, 2025
Kiss The Red Stairs is a book that has stayed with me since I read it. I came across this new book on the day it was published, and just finished listening to the audiobook. I appreciate the historical context, as well as the reminder of events as they have played out in recent years. There is a lot to absorb, I will take it all in, and I’m certain I will come back to listen to it again, in addition to recommending it.
October 14, 2025
So good, appreciated the Canadian Jewish perspective
Read
November 9, 2025(I do not rate memoirs.)
This book is a challenging read which made it extra frustrating that the ALC I received from Netgalley had significant formatting issues. At two different points the audio file skipped several chapters. I thought that it simply skipped those chapters until the audiobook continued after the last chapter. Somehow those earlier skipped chapters were placed at the end. These format issues did affect my experience with the book since it affected the continuity. Setting that aside, I did appreciate Lederman's vulnerability in these collected essays which challenged me to think about her presented perspectives.
This book is a challenging read which made it extra frustrating that the ALC I received from Netgalley had significant formatting issues. At two different points the audio file skipped several chapters. I thought that it simply skipped those chapters until the audiobook continued after the last chapter. Somehow those earlier skipped chapters were placed at the end. These format issues did affect my experience with the book since it affected the continuity. Setting that aside, I did appreciate Lederman's vulnerability in these collected essays which challenged me to think about her presented perspectives.
September 14, 2025
Lederman and I fundamentally disagree on the connotation of Zionism, but we agree on much more than I would have expected. She's a great reader of her own work and I appreciate that Canada, at least, has a nuanced voice on this issue in one of their major papers. It was hard to go back through just how long the assault on Gaza has been ongoing, and obviously Lederman's recounting ends before the current offensive on Gaza City, but it's important to see how everything has progressed and not gotten better.
Audio ARC provided by NetGalley.
Audio ARC provided by NetGalley.
January 28, 2026
If only I could take this book and post the entire thing as an infographic. I feel very seen by this book. It didn’t answer all my questions, but I think I wanted this book to give me answers that don’t exist.
March 18, 2026
while this is well written it doesn't draw any kind of division between Judaism and the state of Israel.
December 26, 2025
I appreciated this book and the in depth look it gave into one side of the story. I also read books about Gaza and I think that it is important to do this when reading controversial subjects. Thank you to the author for giving this particular point of view and opening up about the experiences she and her people, both in Canada and around the world, faced during this tragedy. Thank you also to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews