Washington, DC (October 7, 2023) – Today, the Jewish Policy Center released the following statement from JPC CEO Matthew Brooks and Senior Director Shoshana Bryen.
The Jewish Policy Center stands with the government and the people of Israel as they respond to horrific aggression from Hamas terrorists supported by the Iranian mullah regime. We have witnessed two days of criminal attacks on Israeli civilians as well as military outposts. Women and children were killed in cold blood and Israeli citizens were taken into Gaza as hostages. There is, as yet no complete tally of the murders.
Israel’s response, we believe, has been proportionate and responsible.
We are heartened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring war on Hamas, and by opposition leaders proposing a unity government. We are heartened also by Israeli military reservists who answered the call of duty, fulfilling their roles in the Israel Defense Forces – the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The men and women charged with protecting and defending the State have risen to the occasion. We are awed by the bravery of the people.
We believe that Hamas acted out of an unfounded and unrealistic expectation that the Jewish State would not be able to meet the challenge. Financial and political support for Iran, plus demands by the Biden administration for concessions by Israel to the Palestinians, heightened the demonic aspirations of terrorist forces in Gaza as well as in Judea and Samaria.
In the coming days, Israeli families will be mourning their losses. That has to be respected.
Then, it will be time to assess the magnitude of the crimes committed by Hamas terrorists and their Iranian masters. It will be time to reassess the nature of Washington’s relations with Iran and its terror proxies. And if justice is truly served, it will be time for repentance by certain governments, officials, academics, and “public intellectuals” who have tried to justify barbarous and sadistic Hamas attacks on Israeli communities and tried to equate terrorism with Israel’s self-defense.
As those things happen, the Jewish Policy Center will continue to stand strongly behind the government and the people of Israel in their response to this terrorist nightmare and in taking the steps necessary to defend the people and the State of Israel into the future.
Am Yisrael Chai!
