It has been 100 days since the lives of Jews and Israelis were changed forever, traumatized by the heinous atrocities committed by the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7. The effects of the attacks are still being felt by American Jews and Israelis who are demanding the release of the hostages, the end of Hamas and support for the rights of female rape victims. Many American Jews feel alienated and isolated, and 23% of Israeli Jews suffer from PTSD. A barrage of hatred against Jews is spreading across the world, as we commemorate on Jan. 15 the 100th day since the Oct. 7 massacre.
For 100 days:
- 136 hostages are still being held in captivity; the Red Cross has not seen them
- Little recognition by U.N. and women’s rights groups of Hamas sexual crimes
- Thousands of rockets fired by Hamas at Israel from the south
- Hundreds of rockets fired by Hezbollah at Israel from the north, killing several Israelis
- Dozens of maritime attacks by Iranian-backed Houthis in the Persian Gulf
- More than 100 attacks against U.S. forces by Iranian proxies
- Nearly 200 Israeli soldiers killed
- Hundreds of thousands of Israelis displaced from their homes in the north and south
- More than 1,000 anti-Israel rallies and hundreds of bomb threats in America
Americans, Jews and Non-Jews, Targeted Across the Country
“I support Hamas, you @&%# Jew,” was among the anti-Jewish slurs hurled at a New York state Jewish high school girls’ basketball team by opposing players. The Jewish athletes also were targeted by rough play before the game was abandoned. Supporters of Hamas continue to protest and call for the genocide of the Jewish state. “Globalize the intifada” is a direct call for attacks against Jews. The New York Police Department arrested more than 300 pro-Hamas supporters blocking New York’s Holland Tunnel and the three major bridges during morning traffic on Jan. 8. The ADL reports nearly 1,000 rallies since Oct. 7 have included anti-Jewish and pro-Hamas rhetoric.
History shows that persecution that starts against Jews often doesn’t end with Jews: a pro-Hamas rally on an interstate in Seattle blocked traffic, including organ-donor couriers, leading to cancellation of at least one surgery; the LA National Cemetery, honoring American soldiers, was defaced with pro-Hamas graffiti; a New Jersey man inspired by the Hamas attacks tried to join a Somali terror group in order to harm America; and California’s annual Christmas tree-lighting was canceled because of threats from Palestinian activists.
Elected officials supporting Israel are being intimidated by Hamas supporters. Anti-Jewish vitriol continues to be directed on social media against U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who described how “pro-Hamas extremists descended upon my office, chanting: ‘Globalize the Intifada’”; protestors “attempted to forcibly enter” U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan’s (D-N.Y.) district office and “directly threatened my staff”; and attendees at a Nevada Hispanics in Politics event were “frightened” by agitators who forced Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) to be escorted out through a back exit.
‘The Girls Were Badly Wounded and Constantly Violated’
Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups are holding 136 hostages in Gaza. A recent report states that the Israeli Defense Forces know the exact location of the Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, a senior Hamas leader, but that he has surrounded himself with hostages to prevent the IDF from capturing him. Hamas continues to torture hostages and release propaganda videos intended to inflict more physical and psychological pain. Released hostage Chen Goldstein-Almog described four teenagers still being held: “Some of the girls were badly wounded and said they can cope with the disability but not with the manner they were constantly violated.” Aviva Siegel, another freed hostage, stated that hostages were tortured and sexually abused.
The silence of many women’s rights groups and activists is deafening, leading to the campaign of Me Too Unless You Are a Jew. Hadassah and the National Council of Jewish Women are among dozens of groups calling on the United Nations to conduct an unbiased investigation into Hamas violence against Israeli girls and women.
‘In every school, we find machine guns and grenades’
“Every school and kindergarten we go into we find guns in the basement; in each one, we found more than ten AK-47s, machine guns and grenades,” an IDF major confirmed. Every mosque and U.N. school has weapons stored in them, a violation of international humanitarian law.
Every other home has military weapons, including AK-47s, grenades and rocket launchers; an RPG was found under a baby’s crib. Soldiers check children’s rooms first because they are a favored location for storing weapons and are the primary location for entrances to Gaza’s labyrinth of terror tunnels. Terrorists also hide explosives in toy boxes and there is a jigsaw puzzle of Palestinian children attacking Israelis with guns.
Hamas intentionally launched rockets at Tel Aviv on the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve while thousands of Israelis filled the streets. There is no shortage of rockets—thousands fired intentionally at Israeli civilians produced in terror tunnels—amid numerous reports of Hamas confiscating humanitarian aid entering Gaza. The terrorists continue to fire on Israeli cities while deliberately sacrificing their own civilians.
U.N. Case Targets Israel
South Africa has brought a malicious “genocide” claim against Israel to the U.N.’s highest court, the International Court of Justice in The Hague—the same United Nations that is well known for its permanent anti-Israel bias. The U.N. General Assembly last year passed 14 resolutions against Israel and only seven against the rest of the world combined.
The convention on genocide was drafted after World War II because of the Holocaust of 6 million Jews. South Africa’s false genocide claims rely on a selective use of facts that are easily debunked. The U.S. criticized its “meritless” claims: “Israel isn’t trying to wipe Gaza off the map. Israel is trying to defend itself against a genocidal terrorist threat. So, if we’re going to start using that word, fine. Let’s use it appropriately to describe the actions of Hamas.”
Hypocritically, the South African president recently met with a Sudanese leader of the Darfur genocide in South Sudan.
Iran’s War Against America and Israel Waged on Multiple Fronts
Iran is keeping attention away from its illicit nuke program by supporting multiple other terrorist organizations that are targeting the U.S. and Israel, including Hezbollah in south Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Iraqi militants. A “political” leader of Hamas recently stated that “Hamas needs violent acts against American interests everywhere.” Iran funds Hamas and helped it develop cruise missile capabilities.
The Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah has a reported as many as 150,000 rockets aimed at Israeli cities, which are more powerful and precise than Hamas rockets. A Hezbollah drone recently struck the IDF’s Northern Command Headquarters, situated more than 10 miles inside Israel. Hezbollah’s leader vowed to fight “without limits” if a full-scale war begins.
Points to consider:
- American Jews are being systematically targeted.
The alarming rise in anti-Jewish attacks—from vandalism of synagogues to verbal harassment and even violent attacks—is raising fear in the Jewish community. Antisemitism not only threatens the safety of Jews but also erodes the principles of what America stands for: freedom and tolerance. It is vital for all Americans, regardless of their religious or ethnic background, to unambiguously condemn anti-Jewish hatred so that American Jews can feel secure and live in peace.
- Pro-Hamas rallies pose dangerous threats to all Americans.
An organ-donor transplant surgery was canceled because of a protest blocking an interstate in Seattle. Christmas celebrations were marred by threats and historical American monuments are being desecrated. The chants to “globalize the intifada” are a direct call for violence against Jews and their allies. They are intended to incite fear and disrupt our daily lives. These words and actions are the opposite of American values. At pro-Israel rallies, there are calls for peace and for releasing hostages. At pro-Palestinian rallies, supporters call for destroying Israel and killing Jews.
- Jews around the world are still traumatized by Oct. 7.
The Oct. 7 massacre is a deeply traumatic chapter in Jewish history—a sentiment shared in a new heartfelt letter by the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. The attacks, which were planned years in advance, inflicted immeasurable suffering, loss and trauma that is still being felt by the Jewish community. Its profound impact is felt not only through the loss of life and kidnapping of Israelis but also in enduring psychological scars.
- Hamas can end this war at any time by surrendering.
The war can end immediately if Hamas releases all hostages and lays down its arms. These demands are conspicuously absent from the ceasefire calls heard at rallies around the world. The Hamas charter proves that the Iranian-backed terrorists are dedicated to committing genocide against all Jews. No democracy would accept the Oct. 7 attacks and move on like nothing happened. Hamas leaders, who largely live abroad in luxury, are using their own civilians to protect their fighters.
- International law is being corrupted to persecute Israel
International organizations are clearly biased against Israel. Instead of Israelis being seen as the victims in a multi-front war supported by Iran, they are falsely viewed as the aggressors. The United Nations consistently passes resolutions condemning Israel, while notorious human rights violators—China, North Korea, Iran and Sudan—escape scrutiny. This proves that international law is being selectively wielded as a tool to persecute the Jewish state.