Our official pronouncements, videos, prayers and content related to the conflict against terrorist organization Hamas that have erupted in Israel in October 2023.

Israel at War

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We are at a loss for words to express the immense pain and sorrow we are experiencing today as the four fallen hostages, Itzik Elgarat z”l (69), Tsachi Idan z”l (50), Shlomo Mantzur z”l (86) and Ohad Yahalomi z”l (50), are returned to Israel.

Israel at War | Statement on the release of fallen hostages Itzhak Elgarat z"l, Tsachi Idan z"l, Shlomo Mantzur z"l, and Ohad Yahalomi z"l

Our hearts are filled and relief with gratitude as we welcome home Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, and‎‏ Omer Wenkert, who were released after being held hostage in Gaza for 505 days; as well as Avera Mengistu and Hisham Sha’ban Al-Sayed who were released after being held hostage in Gaza for more than a decade. May their return bring hope and reaffirm our unwavering commitment never to abandon those still left behind.

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, Omer Wenkert, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham Sha’ban Al-Sayed

We are at a loss for words to express the immense pain and sorrow we are experiencing as the three fallen hostages, Oded Lifshitz z”l (84), Ariel Bibas z”l (5), and Kfir Bibas z”l (2), are returned to Israel. We are shocked and devastated by the news that Shiri Bibas was not returned, despite the agreement and our desperate hopes and prayers.

Israel at War | Statement on the release of fallen hostages Oded Lifshitz z"l, Kfir z"l and Ariel Bibas z"l; and the release of Shiri Bibas

Our hearts are filled and relief with gratitude as we welcome home Sagui Dekel-Chen, Iair Horn, and ‎‏Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov who were released after being held hostage in Gaza for 498 days. May their return bring hope and reaffirm our unwavering commitment never to abandon those still left behind.

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Sagui Dekel-Chen, Iair Horn, and ‎‏Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov

Our hearts are filled and relief with gratitude as we welcome home Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy and Eli Sharabi who were released after being held hostage in Gaza for 491 days. At the same time, the distressing images of the hostages remind us of the desperate reality facing every hostage still held in Gaza. May their return bring hope and reaffirm our unwavering commitment never to abandon those still left behind.

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy, and Eli Sharabi

Our hearts are filled and relief with gratitude as we welcome home Keith Siegel, Ofer Kalderon and Yarden Bibas who were released after being held hostage in Gaza for 484 days. May their return bring hope and reaffirm our unwavering commitment never to abandon those still left behind.

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Keith Siegel, Ofer Kalderon, and Yarden Bibas

After 482 days in captivity, we welcome home Agam Berger, Arbel Yehoud, Gadi Moses, and welcome back Pongsak Thenna, Bannawat Seathao, Surasak Lamnau, Watchara Sriaoun, and Sathian Suwannakham, the five Thai citizens who were being held hostage in Gaza.

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Arbel Yehoud, Agam Berger, Gadi Moses, and Five Thai Citizens

After 477 days in captivity, we celebrate life, and welcome home Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa, and Karina Ariev.

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa, and Karina Ariev

Our hearts are filled with gratitude as we welcome home Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher. We also honor the memory of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul z”l, who was killed in the 2014 Gaza war, and whose body was recently recovered after being held by Hamas since. May his memory be a blessing.

Israel at War | Statement on the ceasefire and the release of the hostages

We are heartbroken by the disturbing and devastating news about the recovered bodies of the six [brutally] murdered hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi; Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lubnov, and Carmel Gat z”l.

Israel at War | Statement on the recovery of the bodies of the murdered hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza

jppi-essential-guide-to-october-7th-and-its-aftermath.pdf

The war that was forced upon us on October 7 affects not only Israel and Israeli society but the Worldwide Jewish Community due to the rise in Antisemitism worldwide. We invite you to explore more aspects of Israel current situation and the events that have unfolded since October 7 in historical and ideological context.

The Essential Guide To October 7th And Its Aftermath

As we approach the 100th day since Hamas' brutal attack on Israel, Masorti and MERCAZ Olami reaffirm their commitment to help free the 136 hostages still held by the terrorist group and support their families, and appeal to the mitzvah of Pidion Shvuim (פִּדְיוֹן שְׁבוּיִים - literally: redemption of captives), so that the situation remains the priority of the Government of Israel.

Israel at War | We call for the immediate release of the hostages

Israel at War | Statement on the Rocket Strike in Majdal Shams

Israel at War | Statement on the Israeli Security Forces' Hostage Rescue Operation

Dr. Micah Goodman — a distinguished author and research fellow at Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem — said, in mid-October 2023, “I’m asking the lovers of Israel to make a neder now. To make a neder, to make a vow that, weeks and months from now, you will stand with us. You will stand with us when we hit, and not only when we get hit.”

My wife and I were in Israel during the first three weeks of Israel’s war against Hamas, visiting with my son, daughter-in-law, and four Israeli grandchildren.

During those traumatic days, President Joe Biden visited Jerusalem. It was a powerful demonstration of support. The president joined with other Western leaders in expressing horror about Hamas’s ISIS-style massacre of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of 250 others.

Instinctively, the leaders knew that Jews “being hit” were worthy of universal support.

Article | Israel Needs Steadfast Diaspora Support Not Only When It Is Being Hit

Joe Biden and Anthony Blinken have accused Israel of “indiscriminate” bombing of Gazan cities, a violation of international law. Biden has condemned the Israeli self-defense war effort as “over the top,” unacceptable, Blinken insists that Israeli soldiers are illegally “humiliating” the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. Biden and Blinken have found willing allies in the media. As but one example, a front-page story in the January 2 issue of “The Wall Street Journal” was titled “Gaza’s Destruction Stands Out in Modern History.” It asserts that Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip “is generating destruction comparable in scale to the most devastating urban warfare in the modern record.” Is this true?

Article | Is Israel’s approach toward dismantling Hamas ‘over the top’?

Kfar Aza kibbutz after Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

Article | Denialism of October 7 as a Hamas weapon

The ruins of Dresden in 1945. Facing south from the town hall ('Rathaus') tower. Photo some time between 17 September 1945 and 31 December 1945 (CC Deutsche Fotothek via Wikimedia)

My wife Robin and I returned this past week from a 5-day volunteer mission to Israel, organized and implemented by the JNF. We were part of a larger delegation of some 250 people from our region, including 12 from our synagogue, Bnai Shalom, in West Orange, New Jersey. The mission took place in the last week of January. Robin and I stayed on for a week afterwards to visit with close family and friends, and further experience the reality of what life in Israel is like right now, in the midst of a painful war.

Article | Why Visiting Israel Matters… Right Now

What, according to international law, is “occupation”? Land acquired as the result of an unjust warfare — a war of aggression — is characterized as “occupied territory.” This has been the case in China’s conquest and continued occupation of Tibet since 1950, Turkey’s conquest and occupation of one third of Cyprus since the early 1970s, and Russia’s conquest and occupation of Crimea in 2014, to name a few examples.

Article | Why Israeli ‘occupation’ of the West Bank and Gaza has lasted since 1967 

Thirty years ago, in his book “A Place Among the Nations,” Bibi Netanyahu observed that even beyond its army, its technological advances, and its service to global humanitarian causes, “Israel’s great shield…was its moral stature.” Natan Sharansky noted that Israel’s enemies have sought to erode its moral stature by demonizing and thus delegitimizing the existence of the one Jewish state.

Article | Is Zionism racism?

A popular canard leveled against Israel and Zionism is that of allegedly being rooted in “settler-colonialism.”

Rabbi Bradley Artson, dean and vice-president of Conservative Judaism’s Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies, posted a blog entry, in which he lamented:

“This week I have been inundated by hateful and violent antisemitic email and text messages telling me that I should go back to Germany (which I never came from). I should go back to Russia (which I was kicked out of). I should go back to wherever I should go back to, that we Jews have no rights to the Land of Israel, that we are ‘colonizers,’ even though there has been continuous Jewish living in the Land of Israel from 2,800 years ago.”

Israel at War

Our official pronouncements, videos, prayers and content related to the conflict against terrorist organization Hamas that have erupted in Israel in October 2023.

Israel at War | Statement on the release of fallen hostages Itzhak Elgarat z"l, Tsachi Idan z"l, Shlomo Mantzur z"l, and Ohad Yahalomi z"l

February 27th, 2025

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, Omer Wenkert, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham Sha’ban Al-Sayed

February 23rd, 2025

Israel at War | Statement on the release of fallen hostages Oded Lifshitz z"l, Kfir z"l and Ariel Bibas z"l; and the release of Shiri Bibas

February 21st, 2025

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Sagui Dekel-Chen, Iair Horn, and ‎‏Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov

February 16th, 2025

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy, and Eli Sharabi

February 9th, 2025

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Keith Siegel, Ofer Kalderon, and Yarden Bibas

February 2nd, 2025

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Arbel Yehoud, Agam Berger, Gadi Moses, and Five Thai Citizens

January 30th, 2025

Israel at War | Statement on the release of Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa, and Karina Ariev

January 26th, 2025

Israel at War | Statement on the ceasefire and the release of the hostages

January 20th, 2025

Israel at War | Statement on the recovery of the bodies of the murdered hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza

September 1st, 2024

The Essential Guide To October 7th And Its Aftermath

August 4th, 2024

Israel at War | Statement on the Rocket Strike in Majdal Shams

July 28th, 2024

Israel at War | Statement on the Israeli Security Forces' Hostage Rescue Operation

June 9th, 2024

Article | Israel Needs Steadfast Diaspora Support Not Only When It Is Being Hit

April 16th, 2024

Article | Denialism of October 7 as a Hamas weapon

March 13th, 2024

Article | Is Israel’s approach toward dismantling Hamas ‘over the top’?

March 1st, 2024

Article | Why Visiting Israel Matters… Right Now

February 11th, 2024

Article | Why Israeli ‘occupation’ of the West Bank and Gaza has lasted since 1967

February 7th, 2024

Article | Is Zionism racism?

January 31st, 2024

Article | Israel does not meet the definition of settler-colonialism

January 25th, 2024

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Article | Why Israeli ‘occupation’ of the West Bank and Gaza has lasted since 1967 