“The terrorism of 7 October 2023 was an attack against Israel’s right to exist. Israel, though, was not its only target. The barbarity was meant to make Jews of all nations afraid. To Jews here in Massachusetts, it was an earthquake that still reverberates in ways both personal and political. 

The ongoing response of the free world to October 7th must encompass both international and domestic policy. On the international front, the United States must endeavor to lead the world in supporting Israel as it defends itself against the ring of fire encircling it: Hamas to its south, Hezbollah to its north, proxy terror groups in Iraq and Syria to its east, all fueled by the Islamic Republic of Iran. That support will take various forms – diplomatic, military, counsel – but always, it is deeper than personalities and politics. It draws on shared values and the common conviction that Israel and America are on the same side in the fight for freedom, democracy, and peace. 

World leaders should forgo false moral equivalency and commit to the side of peace, for the sake of the Israeli people as well as the Palestinian, Lebanese, and Iranian people – and millions more who have been immiserated by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s 50-year campaign of fanaticism and strife.

On the home front, the United States and every nation must not allow fear to take hold. Antisemitism must be given no quarter in our politics, our education, our society. Jews will need allies in this effort. October 7 apologism, including the despicable dismissal of sexual violence against women, grows in the same illiberal soil that nourishes violence and bigotry in all its hateful forms. All who believe in social justice must uproot all forms of hate, including antisemitism.”

— Congressman Jake Auchincloss, MA-04