Support for Israel
“There are moments in this life … when the pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world. The people of Israel lived through one such moment this past weekend,” said President Joe Biden on Oct. 10.
“The attacks were carried out by the bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas – a group whose stated purpose is to kill Jews.”
He went on to say: “But sadly, for the Jewish people, it’s not new. This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by … millennia of antisemitism and genocide of the Jewish people.”
“Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. (Hamas’s) stated purpose is the annihilation of the State os Israel and the murder of Jewish people … It offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price.”
Toward the end of the speech, Biden emphasizes: “There is no place for hate in America — not against Jews, not against Muslims, not against anybody … (What) we reject is terrorism.”
As the days pass and more specific details emerge from the Hamas massacre, I find it even harder to comprehend and accept.
It is a truly visceral experience for Jews to experience this level of hatred and violence.
Somehow, “Never again” became “once again.” I am heartbroken, angry, devastated, and fearful of what comes next.
All of us need to speak out against terrorism, against antisemitism, against violence, against hatred, intolerance, injustice. We must support Israel, a bastion of democracy in the Middle East, and we must also support a just resolution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Jewish Community of Kaua‘i supports the clear sentiments and messages so powerfully expressed by Biden.
We stand by Israel. We stand for justice. We stand for peace.
Carol Pescaia, President of the Jewish Community of Kaua‘i
