What's on Our Mind - 10-13-2023
Submitted by holliswein on Fri, 10/13/2023 - 5:28pm
As the sun sets on this gut-wrenching week for our community, our thoughts and prayers reach across the ocean to embrace our Jewish family. This week left no doubt in anyone’s mind that we are all family, suffering and devastated together, even if we do not have immediate family or friends there. Israel is part of our soul and, therefore, our heart.
The haunting images of innocent children, infants, men, and women cruelly taken from us by the hands of Hamas terrorists are impossible to erase from our minds. The agonized cries of mothers desperately searching for their children echo in our ears, leaving us speechless.
Just as the Holocaust left an enduring imprint on past generations, these attacks will forever define Israelis, regardless of their age. For Americans born after the 1973 Yom Kippur War who’ve always known a safe and secure Israel, this moment will shape them as well. But out of this profound moment of great sorrow, a deep, new-found commitment to a safe and secure Jewish homeland will unite us all.
JAC was founded in 1981 on the premise of a strong US-Israel relationship. This was a time when the Religious Right was on the rise and there were not many friends of Israel in Congress. Since then, JAC has been tirelessly working for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. We not only support candidates who share this view, but we also continue to dialogue with them to ensure that support remains unwavering. Elections have consequences. Today Congress is united in its support of Israel. But we must always work to ensure that it remains that way.
Your voice with JAC matters. Congress needs to hear from you. Call your representative and senators and thank them for standing tall with Israel. Urge them to support supplemental funding for Israel’s defense. Lastly, let your senators know it is urgent to confirm ambassadors to Israel and Egypt. We must have strong U.S. leadership in the region.
202.224.3121
Let’s hope and pray that the lights of the Shabbat candles tonight will cast a glow of hope and peace for the people of Israel and for Jews everywhere. Am Yisrael Chai.
