We stand with Israel, against terrorism
“...there are moments in this life — and I mean this literally — when the pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world.
The people of Israel lived through one such moment this weekend. The bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas — a group whose stated purpose for being is to kill Jews. This was an act of sheer evil. More than 1,000 civilians slaughtered — not just killed, slaughtered — in Israel. Among them, at least 14 American citizens killed. Parents butchered using their bodies to try to protect their children. Stomach-turning reports of being — babies being killed. Entire families slain. Young people massacred while attending a musical festival to celebrate peace — to celebrate peace. Women raped, assaulted, paraded as trophies.
Families hid their fear for hours and hours, desperately trying to keep their children quiet to avoid drawing attention. And thousands of wounded, alive but carrying with them the bullet holes and the shrapnel wounds and the memory of what they endured.
You all know these traumas never go away. There are still so many families desperately waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones, not knowing if they’re alive or dead or hostages. Infants in their mothers’ arms, grandparents in wheelchairs, Holocaust survivors abducted and held hostage — hostages whom Hamas has now threatened to execute in violation of every code of human morality.
It’s abhorrent.
The brutality of Hamas — this bloodthirstiness — brings to mind the worst — the worst rampages of ISIS.
This is terrorism.
But sadly, for the Jewish people, it’s not new. This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by a millennia of antisemitism and genocide of the Jewish people.
So, in this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel. And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack.
There is no justification for terrorism. There is no excuse. Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people. They use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price.
The loss of innocent life is heartbreaking. Like every nation in the world, Israel has the right to respond — indeed has a duty to respond — to these vicious attacks.”
“Terrorists purposefully target civilians, kill them. We uphold the laws of war — the law of war. It matters. There’s a difference.”
“This is what they mean by a “human tragedy” — an atrocity on an appalling scale."
"But we’re going continue to stand united, supporting the people of Israel who are suffering unspeakable losses and opposing the hatred and violence of terrorism."
President Joe Biden, October 10
“October 7th is a day that will go down in global infamy. The world has witnessed Jews being murdered simply because they were Jewish. Again. In Israel.”
“Hamas is a terrorist organisation. They do not represent the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people. They do not offer solutions. They offer bloodshed.
“It helps to speak plainly. On October 7th Hamas murdered more than a thousand innocent babies, children, women and men and still hold close to 100 more hostage. They opened fire on hundreds of young people at a music event, killing indiscriminately – including EU nationals. They abducted young girls and boys. They took elderly Holocaust survivors and dragged them out of their homes. They paraded dead people through the streets like trophies.
“This is not a time for whataboutism. We have to be clear about what we are talking about: this is terror in its worst form.”
Roberta Metsola (Malta), President of the European Parliament, October 10