Update on Hamas-Israel War

In recent years, the U.S. has witnessed a troubling resurgence of antisemitism, echoing a dark chapter in history the world vowed never to repeat.
The State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report released by the American Jewish Committee, provides a sobering assessment of the challenges facing Jewish communities in Indiana and around the country.

The Gaza Strip is a 141-square-mile Palestinian enclave located near Israel’s southwestern tip. After the Israeli withdrawal in 2005, the coastal territory has been under the control of the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group. Hamas has launched several significant attacks against Israel from its base in Gaza, including in 2008, 2009, 2014, 2021, and most recently the Israel-Hamas War on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists murdered over 1,200 Israelis, wounded over 12,000, took 134 hostages, and thousands of rockets.

Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is an anti-Zionist student organization in America that has been responsible for numerous recent anti-Israel protests on college campuses across the country.

In Philadelphia, we are all too aware of how antisemitism has affected Jews, especially since Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel and slaughtered more than 1,200 innocent civilians and kidnapped 240 men, women, children and babies.

For many Jews, our world was already an unsettling place rife with Jew-hatred prior to the October 7 Hamas-led massacre in Israel. As we’ve seen time and time again, when tensions spike in the Middle East, a spike in antisemitism accompanies it in the U.S. and around the world.

Ominous headlines about the Israel-Hamas war, antisemitic condemnations from world leaders and South Africa’s outrageous genocide allegations before the International Court of Justice could easily lead one to believe that Israel is isolated on the world stage.

We have a national antisemitism crisis, and it affects Jews every day — on the streets, at school, at work, online and everywhere in between.

American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report is unique. Not only is it the lone resource to analyze five years of consecutive data on the impact of antisemitism on American Jews, it was also in the field during a critical moment: October and November 2023.

Given the prevalence of misinformation on social media and the one-sided reports in news outlets, it’s not unreasonable for some people to think that Zionism—the belief that Jews have a right to self-determination in our ancestral homeland—is controversial among Jews and that anti-Israel attitudes are mainstream in the American Jewish community. Yet these Jews do not represent the vast majority of the Jewish community and they reside in small but loud echo chambers.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is outraged by the revelations that twelve employees of UNRWA – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East – were involved in the horrific October 7 terror attacks perpetrated by Hamas against Israel.

On October 7, 2023, the music industry suffered the deadliest event in its history when more than 400 people were brutally murdered and kidnapped at the Nova Music Festival in Israel. The event was billed as a celebration of “unity and love.” We should honor that spirit this weekend at The Grammys.

Amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, questions have been raised about UNRWA's ties with Hamas, and what function, if any, it would fulfill in a post-war Gaza. On January 26, the U.S. announced it would temporarily pause funding to UNRWA after Israel revealed that at least a dozen employees were allegedly involved in the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday declined to order Israel to cease its defensive military operation against the Hamas terror group. This decision dealt a major blow to South Africa’s outrageous and meritless case against Israel.

South Africa’s outrageous case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was dealt a major blow today, as the Court plainly rejected South Africa’s request for Israel to be ordered to cease its defensive military operation against Hamas in Gaza.

The International Court of Justice will hold its first hearings this week in a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

American Jewish Committee (AJC) released new data showing how Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel is affecting American Jews – they are feeling less safe.

US Law enforcement must rebuild trust by facing the menace of antisemitism and cultivating relationships with Jewish communities

Watch AJC Jerusalem Director Lt. Col. (Res.) Avital Leibovich explain the critical role of civilian guards who protect communities in and around Israel's borders. Leibovich honors the memory of seven civilian guards of Kfar Aza who died defending their beloved kibbutz from Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.

Amid horrifying levels of denial about the Hamas massacre of Israelis on October 7, AJC Project Interchange led a delegation of social media influencers to see firsthand the atrocities of Hamas’ attack.

Four-year-old Abigail Mor Idan, the youngest U.S. citizen who was kidnapped and held by Hamas, returned home during a pause in fighting in November. Abigail’s great-aunt joins us to recount her family’s harrowing story and her relentless effort to bring the remaining captives home to their loved ones.