Statement Regarding Escalating Violence in the Middle East

I wanted to provide some additional clarity on my views on the violence escalating in the Middle East.

I condemn the recent Hamas attack on Israeli civilians. I’m heartbroken as I read the news, and talk to people with friends and relatives in the region. I believe that targeting civilians is wrong and a clear violation of international law. I fear for the hostages and wish for their safe return. As a Jew whose father and grandparents were holocaust survivors, and whose great grandmother was killed in a concentration camp, I understand how traumatized, angry, and vulnerable Jews around the world feel right now seeing these attacks.

I condemn the Israeli government’s response. Bombing residential apartment buildings, cutting off food and power, and other violence against Palestinian civilians is completely unacceptable and these actions are causing catastrophic damage. Each day now, I wake up to heartbreaking images on the news of buildings flattened in Gaza. The destruction being inflicted on Palestinian civilians is an offense to any notion of human decency. None of this is OK.

I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I continue to believe that the Hamas attack on civilians was wrong, the Israeli government’s response and the ongoing violations of the human rights of the Palestinian people is wrong, a ceasefire is needed, and the occupation needs to end to have any path to meaningful and lasting peace. These positions are not mutually exclusive, nor are they contradictory in my opinion. I believe one can stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their liberation, while also condemning attacks on civilians by Hamas and Israel. I hope for the safety of all in the region during this time of escalating violence.