Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “A time comes when silence is betrayal.”
Over the Shabbat and Simchat Torah holiday, Hamas terrorists launched an unexpected and multi-faceted attack against Israeli towns and civilians. Thousands of rockets and dozens of incursions from land, air, and sea caused the highest Jewish civilian death toll since the Holocaust.
We must name this for what it is: a terrorist attack against Israel and Jewish people. The United States has never accepted terrorism and we must be united in our stance against terrorist actions now. I unequivocally condemn the acts of violence by Hamas and its allies, which have caused immense suffering and destabilization.
Violence tragically begets more violence. We know from data collected by the Anti-Defamation League that antisemitic incidents increased sharply during the Israel-Hamas conflict. There is no place for hate in Tacoma or in Israel, and we must stand against antisemitism in all forms.
As President Joe Biden said, “All of us recognize the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people, and support equal measures of justice and freedom for Israelis and Palestinians alike. But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent those aspirations, and it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed.”
President Biden also noted, “We must not lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas’s appalling attacks, and are suffering as a result of them.”
No matter what happens abroad, I am committed to Tacoma remaining a Welcoming City. Ultimately, it is our care for one another that makes our community strong. I stand with all Tacoma residents, including those of all faiths and those of both Jewish and Palestinian descent, who are living in peace and extending neighborly kindness to one another.
As Rabbi Keren Gorban from Temple Beth El shared in her message to our congregation, “I close with words from the Psalmist: יי עוֹז לְעַמּוֹ יִתֵּן, יי יְבָרֵךְ אֶת־עַמּוֹ בַשָּׁלוֹם Adonai oz l’amo yitein. Adonai y’vareich et amo vashalom. May God give strength to the people. May God bless the people with peace.”
Well said.
That’s why we have a document called the “US Constitution” – not to be cherry-picked for political or ideological reasons.
Remember that Council Member Rumbaugh, when you are working up new policy, trading individual liberty for perceived security.
The weapons used in that attack came from the “foreign policy” of various nations (governments), including ours.
VP Harris used this tragedy to immediately call for the disarming of American citizens, while we move toward possible World War, with “people” pouring across our southern border.
Yes, that Constitution is still there for the very reason it was created in the first place.
In fact, you swore an oath to it before you were allowed to occupy that position of public trust.
Don’t you forget, because we won’t.
While I agree with the base sentiment of the article, what the American People need is clarity and context before making dogmatic statements of support, or even using words that some people think have meaning, but don’t, or mean something perhaps completely different.
First of all we must recognize the fact that a nation of Palestine does not actually exist. The territory of Gaza is only recognized by 138 of the 193 UN Member nations as an observing self-governed protectorate. Legally, it’s not a nation or a state – it’s a protectorate. When offered national statehood under the Partition Plan adopted y the UN in 1947, the very next day war broke out! Why? Because the idea of a “Palestinian people” is a myth. There never was a nation of Palestine, there still isn’t and there never will be – because there is no such thing as a Palestinian people. The people themselves can’t even agree on that one thing – who they are.
The current territory of Gaza is Israel. That territory was rightly kept for their own protection after defeating Egypt in the 6 Days War. Gaza was then GIFTED to create a Palestinian homeland with the guarantee of peace in 1993. There hasn’t been a Jewish settlement in Gaza since 1995, and yet the people of Gaza still claim “oppression” and “refugee” status- both complete lies.
The people of Gaza freely elected their terrorist government in 2007 and Israel has seen no peace since. Consider that; the duly elected government of “Palestine” IS AN ACTUAL TERRORIST ORGANIZATION!
Israel has every right to defend herself, and to call for “peace” for the sake of peace today, is to accept that Hamas will continue its murderous ways. To request a ceasefire before Israel has forever removed Hamas from Gaza is to accept Jewish Genocide. To call for a ceasefire now, before Israel has destroyed Hamas is to scream that you are an antisemite who sides with terrorism and Hamas. There is no fence to sit on.
There is much comparison between Hamas and the Nazi’s. While both have done evil, there is a main difference. The Nazi’s hid what they were doing to the Jews. Hamas is a self-proclaimed genocidal organization crying for the death of ALL JEWS – and for some reason we (as a world) want to placate them, offer them support, and worst of all have compassion for them?? How dare we.