[ ]J Street[ ]
J Street Community Utterly Devastated By Murder of Six Israeli Hostages

September 1, 2024

Our community is horrified, devastated and deeply angered by reports from
the IDF of the cold-blooded murder of six Israeli hostages by Hamas
shortly before Israeli forces found them. Their loved ones had been hoping
for a breakthrough in negotiations which would secure their freedom.
Instead our hearts are breaking as they grapple with this impossibly
painful news.

Today, we grieve for Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat,
Almog Sarusi, Alex Lobanov and Ori Danino. May their memories be a
blessing.

“The cold-blooded depravity of Hamas is sickening. Our hearts break for
the friends and families who are enduring unbearable grief, many of whom
we’ve come to know as they have fought doggedly for a deal to secure their
loved ones’ release. This is the absolute worst outcome,” J Street
President Jeremy Ben-Ami said.

“No further evidence is needed that a ceasefire deal is the only way to
bring any remaining living hostages home alive. It is a complete
delinquency of duty to fail to close the ceasefire deal now. No one should
suffer the pain these six families are enduring today,” Ben-Ami said. “We
reiterate our call on President Biden to move heaven and earth to overcome
all remaining obstacles and get this done – and we echo the calls of
hostage families who want to see greater public pressure on Netanyahu if
he continues to stall a deal.”

J Street is also pained by [ [link removed] ]reports that Israeli security officials
“warned Netanyahu and the cabinet ministers about this exact scenario but
they wouldn't listen” amid intense debates within the Israeli security
cabinet on the need to seal a deal. We stand with the thousands of
Israelis headed to the streets to call for an immediate deal.

Over the past year, J Street has developed deep relationships with many
hostage families. We have grieved with them and continue to stand in
solidarity with the families of the hostages remaining in captivity.

Those grieving today include the parents of 23-year-old American-Israeli
Hersh Goldberg-Polin – Rachel and Jon – dear friends of many in our own J
Street community. With their courageous and tireless advocacy, the
Goldberg-Polin family became international symbols of the struggle to free
all hostages, and recently delivered a deeply powerful address to the
Democratic National Convention calling for an end to exactly this
suffering that too many families have endured.

The 330 days since the atrocities of October 7 have brought our community
unbearable anguish, which has only been compounded by the intolerable
levels of death and devastation this war has wreaked on civilians in Gaza.
Seal the deal now.

[ [link removed] ]Read the statement on our website.


[ [link removed] ]DONATE
[ [link removed] ]Threads [ [link removed] ]Facebook [ [link removed] ]Instagram [ [link removed] ]Twitter
© 2024 J Street | [ [link removed] ]www.jstreet.org | [email protected]

J Street is the political home for pro-Israel, pro-peace, pro-democracy
Americans who want Israel to be secure, democratic and the national home of the
Jewish people. Working in American politics and the Jewish community, we
advocate policies that advance shared US and Israeli interests as well as Jewish
and democratic values, leading to a two-state solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]