“October 7th is now part of Jewish history as the most tragic day we’ve suffered as a people since the Holocaust. Many of us spent the last two weeks alternating between grief, shock, anxiety and anger.

The Jewish community is small. So even if we are not Israeli or haven’t been there, most of us have relatives or friends or acquaintances who have been affected — who lost loved ones, who are related to the hostages, who have been evacuated, who have relatives enlisted.

To lose 1,400 people so cruelly in one day and to be praying for over 220 hostages is beyond heartbreaking.

In the U.S., in addition to the grief, anger and sorrow we feel over the tragedies in Israel, many Jews are also feeling besieged and alone. Many progressive institutions and movements who advocate for other marginalized groups have issued statements blaming Israel for Hamas’s monstrous actions.

We have seen government officials and student leaders decry Israeli retaliation against Hamas with not a word for the Israeli civilians murdered or the ongoing hostage crisis. Many of us believe in peace and pray for the lives of innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

Within our communities, many of us disagree passionately regarding Israeli politics. But all of us understand that Hamas is a terror organization that seeks to murder Jews and that apologists for Hamas are trafficking in the oldest hatred there is: unadulterated antisemitism.

In these challenging and dark times, our tradition offers wisdom for us to lean on and draw strength from.”

Read the full article on Jewish Unpacked.