Today, October 7th, 2023, is one of the deadliest days Israel has ever faced. Instead of celebrating the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah and the Sabbath in peace, Israel came under massive attack by Hamas and other terrorist groups invading from Gaza. As we write, over 250 Israelis have been murdered, over 1,500 wounded, and unconfirmed numbers of men, women, and children have been kidnapped. Israeli homes were attacked in small towns and some were set on fire to force families to come out and be kidnapped or murdered. Terrorists have also fired over 3,000 rockets and missiles at Israeli communities, sending families into bomb shelters.
We stand unequivocally with the people of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces, as they fight back against this murderous terrorist onslaught. The scenes are painful – the brutality of the terrorists is clear for all to see - and our hearts are at one with the people of Israel. We pray for the quick and full recovery of those injured and mourn with the families whose loved ones have been murdered, kidnapped and terrorized. Israel is now at war as a result of continuous barbaric actions by Hamas and its terrorist allies, backed by Iran's regime. They do not want and have never worked towards peace with Israel. These forces are enemies not just of Israel, but of all peace-loving nations and peoples. They have stated that the purpose of this war is to prevent peace between Israel and Arab states, and called for Israel's destruction. They say this openly, they indoctrinate children with their extremist ideology, and they act on their genocidal goals. We encourage you to remind people of this reality, whenever you see misinformation aimed at justifying this murderous assault against Israel (see our post on Instagram). And as this situation unfolds, in addition to graphic and misleading propaganda posted online by Hamas, anti-Israel extremists are spreading misinformation to justify Hamas’ murderous actions. Many journalists and publications will get the story wrong, whether deliberately or through mistakes and misinformation. YOU CAN HELP! See the StandWithUs social media platforms below, and please help fight the war for hearts and minds by posting the truth. This clearly cannot stand. Israel has every right to defend itself, and an obligation to protect its citizens against genocidal terrorism. Tragically, we know that when Israel defends itself against Hamas and other terrorists, innocent Palestinian will suffer. Hamas is once again perpetrating a double war crime: murdering Israeli civilians while hiding behind Palestinian civilians in homes, hospitals, schools, mosques, and elsewhere. All people of good will – and particularly global leaders – must condemn the terrorists and match their words with action by working to end funding for terror and promotion of hateful violence. We appreciate the many expressions of support we have seen thus far from around the world, including from the U.S., EU, Ukraine, Germany, Iranian opposition leaders, our Hindu American partners, and others. This is not the first time that Israel or the Jewish people have faced such challenges, which they will overcome. AM YISRAEL CHAI – The People of Israel Live! HERE ARE WAYS YOU CAN HELP: 1. EDUCATE others by SHARING StandWithUs educational content on social media and elsewhere. 2. COMMENT positively about supporting Israel on StandWithUs social media posts. 3. REPORT hateful comments & posts you see on social media. 4. ATTEND pro-Israel RALLIES happening in your area (printable signs will be posted here). 5. CONSIDER DONATING to organizations like StandWithUs that support Israel and are helping Israelis on the ground. For the latest news updates and information to share go to: https://www.standwithus.com/situationroom https://twitter.com/standwithus https://www.instagram.com/standwithus/ https://www.facebook.com/StandWithUs/
About StandWithUs
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, nonprofit and non-partisan Israel education organization that works to inspire and educate people of all ages about Israel, as well as challenge misinformation and fight against antisemitism.
Through university fellowships, high school internships, middle school curricula, conferences, materials, social media, educational films and missions to Israel, StandWithUs supports people around the world who want to educate their schools and communities about Israel.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Los Angeles, the organization has chapters and programs on six continents, including throughout the U.S., in Israel, the UK, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Brazil and the Netherlands.
For the last eleven years, SWU has consistently received the highest possible ratings from Charity Navigator and Guidestar, two charity watchdog groups that assess hundreds of thousands of charities in the United States.
www.standwithus.com and www.facebook.com/standwithus and www.twitter.com/standwithus and www.instagram.com/standwithus.com
