Today marks one year since Hamas terrorists brutally murdered 1,200 civilians and abducted over 250 hostages – mothers, fathers, grandparents and children with futures and families. Hamas unleashed hell on kibbutzim and festival-goers – many around our age – just looking to enjoy music and the company of their friends.
One year later, we feel the full weight of Hamas’ war crimes against the Jewish people, Israelis and citizens from countries around the world, and mourn those lost on and since October 7.
Tomorrow will mark the start of Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza that has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children. The Netanyahu government’s pursuit of an impossible “total victory,” has uprooted over one million people. Parents struggle to feed their children and families have returned to homes reduced to rubble.
One year later, we share in the agony over the suffering of the Palestinian people and mourn every innocent life lost in Gaza.
For the hostages still in captivity, for Palestinians and Israelis who remain displaced, for those who have lost their loved ones or their lives, today we remember the unfathomable tragedies and pain they experienced on October 7 and the days that followed.
This past year, our campuses were at the center of national discourse around the war. Too often, vile antisemitism and Islamophobia marred debate. Too often, students de-legitimized the suffering and undermined the humanity of Israelis and Palestinians. Too often, students felt unsafe simply because of who they are.
It has become all too clear these past 12 months that we can’t afford to talk past each other and retreat into echo chambers. Too much is at stake.
As the academic year moves forward, we urge our peers, university administrators and outside actors to remember that our campuses are not a front in this war, and that we can – and must – honor differences without demonizing each other.
As young Americans, we must come together and demand that the Biden Administration do more to exert its unique influence on the Israeli government to get Netanyahu to seal a ceasefire and hostage release deal. A deal that could stop the endless cycle of agonizing and escalating violence in the region that has only put more Israeli and Palestinian – and Lebanese – families in harm’s way.
Most of all, today, in heartbreak and grief, we must remember all those we have lost this past year. May every one of their memories be a blessing and guide us in our commitment to fight for a better future for all.