The Current Situation in the Holy Land

The violent crimes perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023 will never be forgotten by any of us. We acknowledge the pain that this shockingly brutal attack has inflicted upon the worldwide Jewish community. The slaughter of 1,200 innocent lives was the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust. Israel is a place of refuge for the Jewish people and its security must be upheld. The fact that Hamas is still holding innocent people as hostages is a sobering reminder that this conflict is far from over. We offer our prayers for the hostages and their families, and join Pope Francis in calling for their immediate release. We continue to affirm that the perpetrators must be brought to justice.

We also acknowledge the pain and suffering that the Palestinian people have endured over these past few months and continue to face. Over 1% of Gaza's pre-war 2.3 million population is now dead. Included in that number are thousands of innocent lives, including those of children. 70% of homes are reported damaged or destroyed and hospitals have been turned into battlefields. We also offer our prayer for those suffering and call for humanitarian aid to be brought, completely unimpeded, to the Palestinian people.

Finally, we acknowledge that the sad consequences of this war have contributed to a rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia throughout our world and particularly within our own land. Such attitudes and actions on the part of a radical minority of individuals has led to the suffering of innocent Jews and Muslims and has fractured the unity which efforts like our joint dialogues have sought to achieve. We offer our prayers for the deepening of mutual respect and reverence for all lives made in the image and likeness of God.