Today’s suggested actions to support Israel in your local community:
- Send a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to do everything in his power to release the 134 hostages still in captivity, as part of the OU’s campaign to send 180,000 letters to the president marking the hostages’ 180th day in captivity. Click here to send a letter.
- Join a global run/walk event in your local community to mark 180 days in Hamas captivity and to demand the immediate release of all hostages.
- Read this Newsweek op-ed by urban warfare expert Major John Spencer on Israel’s measures to protect civilians in Gaza, which in his words go “above and beyond” what international law requires and what the American military implemented in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
- Sign this action alert today urging your Senators to support the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act that will help address the proliferation of blatantly antisemitic content on social media, specifically on TikTok. Learn more about this legislation by listening to the latest episode of The Glue with Eric Fingerhut.
- Read and share the story of 53-year-old Mira Stahl, a special ed. teacher who touched countless lives in and out of the classroom. The wife of Noam and mother of Rotem, Moran and Ella, Mira’s career was dedicated to advancing the lives of children with disabilities. She worked as a school counselor and most recently she taught psychotherapists training to work with disabled children. She inspired her students to look beyond their limitations. She also had a passion for dance and met her husband while teaching folk dancing on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Mira was murdered by Hamas terrorists on the morning of October 7. Her son vowed, “I swear not to become a bitter person, and I
swear I will dance like you, all the way to the grave.”
Overnight, seven foreign workers part of the World Central Kitchen team working to deliver food to civilians in Gaza were tragically killed due to an errant Israeli strike. The IDF and highest levels of Israeli government officials expressed their deepest sorrow over the tragedy and vowed to open an investigation to examine this serious incident, in order to reduce the risk of such an event from recurring.
- World Central Kitchen is a nonprofit organization founded by José Andrés that responds to humanitarian, climate, and community crises around the world by providing meals to those affected. Since World Central Kitchen has operated in Gaza, the organization has worked with the Israeli military to coordinate movements and the distribution of
aid.
- World Central Kitchen has sent nearly 20 trucks to Rafah every day, creating 68 community kitchens from more than 1,700 trucks with food aid. World Central Kitchen also participated in aid airdrops with the Jordanian Air Force to deliver meals in Northern Gaza. To date, World Central Kitchen has provided more than 43 million meals to Palestinians in Gaza.
- The seven aid workers
affiliated with World Central Kitchen were Australian, Polish, British, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, and one Palestinian.
- According to commentators, the IDF believes the tragic error was caused by either mistaken identity of the vehicle by the Israeli Air Force or miscommunication between Israel’s intelligence and Air Force.
- After speaking with Chef José Andrés, IDF
spokesperson Daniel Hagari expressed his condolences over the tragic death of the workers “as they fulfilled their vital mission of bringing food to people in need.” Hagari said that Israel is “committed to examining our operations thoroughly and transparently.” Hagari also praised the World Central Kitchen’s work as “vital.”
- President Herzog telephoned Chef José Andrés and expressed his deep sorrow and
sincere apologies for the tragic loss of life. He thanked the chef and his organization for “their commitment to the wellbeing of Israelis and Palestinians, and to the values of humanity.”
- Prime Minister Netanyahu called the strike “tragic” and “unintentional,” and stated that Israel “will do everything to prevent this [incident] from happening again.”
- Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant held an operational assessment together with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and senior members of the defense team where he noted the complex environment the IDF operates in. He highlighted the important role of aid organizations and Israel’s commitment to collaborating with them. His instructions to the defense team included establishing a professional team to immediately investigate the incident.
- Foreign Minister Israel Katz also expressed his condolences to the “countries and families” of the World Central Kitchen
organization.
- CEO of World Central Kitchen Erin Gore said, “This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable.”
- UK Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell met with the Israeli Ambassador to London, sharing the British Government’s condemnation of the incident, request for an investigation, and position for deconfliction in the enclave.
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Paris that the U.S. urges “a swift, thorough and impartial investigation.”
- This afternoon NSC Spokesman John Kirby said that there is no evidence that Israel deliberately targeted aid workers. He added that to date the State Department has “not found any incidents where the Israelis have violated international humanitarian law.”
- The IDF has repeatedly emphasized that this war is against Hamas – a terrorist organization committed to Israel’s destruction and to the murder of Jews around the globe – and not the Palestinian people. Despite Israel’s strident measures to minimize civilian
harm in accordance with international law, tragedies such as these unfortunately occur in war, especially when fighting a terrorist organization that intentionally embeds itself within civilian populations.
Jewish Federation of Greater Houston placed a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle with 10 facts about the Israel-Hamas war. The ad was part of an effort to combat misinformation around Israel and educate the broader public about the dangers of Hamas, Israel’s efforts to minimize civilian harm and provide aid to Gazans and the root cause of this war that Israel did not choose. This action is one of the many steps the Federation is taking to educate the broader community post October 7.
Click here to access Jewish Federations’ toolkit on the War in Israel.
The Community Mobilization Center is monitoring major developments in Israel and North America related to Israel’s war against Hamas. The Community Mobilization Center will rapidly disseminate resources to help mobilize and support our local communities as they build and sustain civic and political support for Israel in this conflict. The work of the Community Mobilization Center will continue as long as it takes Israel to eradicate the terrorist threat and restore security to the country. The Community Mobilization Center is at your service. Click here to send us an email. Click here to sign up for the Dispatch
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