Exactly one year ago, JCRC-NY brought a delegation of 12 New York City Council members to visit Kibbutz Kfar Aza, located about a mile from Israel’s border with Gaza.  I returned to that site a few months later with a delegation of 12 New York State Assembly members.  On both occasions, Chen Kotler Abrahams, a local resident, proudly gave us a tour of her community.  We visited homes, ate in the cafeteria, and played basketball with some children.  We were also shown the rockets, mortars, and incendiary devices that Chen had recovered, after Hamas had launched them at her community with intent to maim, murder, and destroy.  This was all before October 7th, 2023. 

Two weeks ago, JCRC-NY led two concurrent solidarity missions to Israel - one for elected officials and the other for diverse faith leaders - to understand what took place on October 7th and bear witness to the massacre.  We heard from survivors of the attacks, family members of hostages kidnapped by Hamas, first responders who saved innocent lives, and local activists providing relief.  Towns in the North and South of Israel have been evacuated and many civilians are now living in hotels in the center of the country to ensure their safety from cross-border attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah. 

Each day, we learned about the horrors that Hamas inflicted on our brothers and sisters in Israel, and the pain and fear that comes from the existential threat of a genocidal terrorist organization operating next door.

We also returned to Kibbutz Kfar Aza - a very different place than what we had visited earlier this year.  Thankfully, our friend Chen was out of the country on October 7th, and was therefore spared while her friends and her community were devastated. As we donned our bulletproof vests and helmets, hearing the artillery fire in the warzone just down the road, we once again toured the Kibbutz that we’d visited so many times before.  This time was different.  

The stench of death was palpable.  Young families were murdered in their homes, in their beds, and those who remained in their safe rooms were forced out and killed when Hamas terrorists opted to burn their homes.  I saw doors knocked down, bullet casings next to Pokemon cards, mattresses with massive blood stains, and a Peace Now bumper sticker that had been trampled upon.  I can still taste the ash from the air.  Chen was different this time.  Her friends and family will never be the same.  The man with whom we played basketball earlier that year - her neighbor - was killed in the attack.  We didn’t have the strength to ask what happened to the kids.  In that moment of heartbreak, Rabbi Rachel Ain, led us in reciting Kaddish, the Jewish mourner’s prayer, as Christians, Muslims, and Jews gathered together to support each other.  (Read more about our visit in The Forward)

Hamas has vowed to carry out more massacres.  We believe them.  We know from our history that when people threaten to kill Jews, we should take them at their word.  We are fortunate to have many elected officials who have publicly recognized that Hamas must never be able to pose a threat to Israel again, including NYS Senator John Liu, NYS Assembly Member Tony Simone, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, and NYC Council Member Gale Brewer.  I especially want to note Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s address to Congress yesterday, in which he outlined the fears of many American Jews and our generational trauma regarding groups who vow to destroy us and fears that have resurfaced in a major way post-October 7th.

Now, pauses in the fighting have led to the return of dozens of Israeli hostages, mostly the elderly, women, and children.  Seeing families reunited is a true blessing.  As a parent of two young daughters, I cannot imagine being in their shoes waiting to know if a loved one will ever be returned.  That being said, we cannot fully celebrate their return while so many innocent Israeli civilians - including a 10-month old baby - remain in captivity in Gaza.  We will not lose sight of this and we will continue to fight for their immediate release.

We need your support to continue fighting. Please donate today.

We remain united with Israel.  Am Yisrael Chai. 

Shabbat Shalom

Noam Gilboord

Interim CEO, JCRC-NY