These past weeks have been filled with a flood of conflicting emotions including happiness, anger, sadness and a sense of betrayal.  We finally celebrated and rejoiced at the return of all the living hostages after more than two interminable years of heart wrenching suffering and pain. As they came home to Eretz Yisrael, we heard their testimony about the utter and complete evil they endured during their captivity. We were reminded through their words, eyes and bodies of the Holocaust and its survivors.  We are also witnessing the slow return of those who have been murdered by the ruthless, villainous Hamas terrorists.  

We have felt the joy and celebration of these who have returned home alive.  But we have also shared in the unfathomable and indescribable pain of those families whose loved ones arrived home in coffins. And perhaps even worse, in violation of the cease fire agreement, there are still those families who wake up every day with the misery and terror of not knowing where their beloved children, parents or grandparents are because these loved ones are still missing somewhere in Gaza.  

Along with these feelings, we have felt the utter betrayal of the silence of those who were demanding a cease fire and empathy for the people of Gaza.  They are blissfully ignorant or have chosen to ignore the unjust brutality and evil that the hostages faced, the countless deaths of those kidnapped by Hamas, the antisemitism that has skyrocketed around the world, the “pay to slay” programs funded by the PA, Hamas and others, the numerous condemnations of Israel around the world and so much more.  

Is this betrayal due to the stereotype that all Jews are white and privileged? Or is it “just” age old antisemitism rearing its ugly head?

At the same time, we must also acknowledge and be thankful for those individuals, communities and countries who have stood strongly and even fearlessly with the Jewish community and Israel as well as the EuroLeague and the International Olympic Committee.  Click Here to see support from around the world

This week’s News You Can Use will focus on and shed light on many of these issues, questions and more.

FALLEN SOLDIERS|VICTIMS OF TERROR

WE REMEMBER THE VICTIMS OF TERROR WHOM WE HAVE LOST IN ISRAEL AND WERE RETURNED HOME THIS WEEK

Two soldiers from the Nahal Brigade’s 932nd Battalion were identified as

Major Yaniv Kula, 26 years old, Modiin

Staff Sargent Itay Yavetz, 21 years old, Modiin

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Murdered by Hamas terrorists and kidnapped to Gaza while defending his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz

Tamir Adar, 38 years old, Kibbutz Nir Oz murdered and kidnapped to Gaza

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IDF representatives informed the family of slain hostage killed by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught when he went out to protect his family as terrorists invaded his hometown of Kibbutz Nir Oz

Ronen Tommy Engel, 54 years old, Kibbutz Nir Oz

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Head of the community's emergency response team

Tal Haimi, 41 years old, Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak

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Kidnapped and murdered by Hamas during the October 7 massacre, has been returned to Israel for burial

Eliyahu (Churchill) Margalit, 75 years old, Kibbutz Nir Oz

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Founding member of his kibbutz and taken from his home during the onslaught and murdered in captivity

Aryeh Zalmanovich, 85 years old, Kibbutz Nir Oz

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MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE FOR A BLESSING

ZRC stands with the 1000+ rabbis who "cannot remain silent in the face of rising anti-Zionism and its political normalization throughout our nation" and signed an open letter from Jewish Majority, expressing concern regarding New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. 

"We will not accept a culture that treats Jewish self-determination as a negotiable ideal or Jewish inclusion as something to be “granted.” The safety and dignity of Jews in every city depend on rejecting that false choice."

We encourage all rabbis to sign the letter and stand with political candidates who reject antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric, and affirm Israel's right to exist. 

THIS WEEK IN ISRAEL

As the fragile ceasefire in Gaza appears to hold, experts are warning about the expanding roles of Qatar and Turkey in reconstruction and post-war efforts, amid concerns that their involvement could potentially strengthen Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure.

For over two years, anti-Israel protesters flooded streets and campuses to demonstrate allegedly on behalf of the Palestinian people, yet when Hamas commits acts of brutality against Gazans, they are silent.

Roughly 160 of the 250 convicted Palestinian terrorists freed in early October as part of a ceasefire and hostage deal left Israeli prisons with millions of shekels in their bank accounts, thanks to the Palestinian Authority’s “pay-for-slay” program. Click here for the full article.



Families of American victims of Palestinian terrorism filed a federal lawsuit in the US this week against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) over their “pay-for-slay” program, which financially rewards deadly terrorist attacks. Click Here for more information.

Call on the Senate to Block Disgraced Michigan Mayor Amer Ghalib as U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait. Click Here to sign on.

OF INTEREST TO RABBIS

In light of the rapidly changing current and ongoing developments in Israel, we invite rabbis who cannot be with us for the Azerbaijan portion of our upcoming mission to join ZRC in Israel from Sunday morning, November 16 through Tuesday evening, November 18. 

CLICK HERE to learn more and download registration form

Read in the Washington Post, written by Moumen Al-Natour, a lawyer from Gaza and co-founder of the “We want to live” movement and a former political prisoner of Hamas.

My Gaza is ready for peace. Hamas is trying to destroy it. Trump's ceasefire created two Gazas: one striving for a better future, the other ruled by fear

Rock legend John Mellencamp takes the stage at Ambassadors of Peace Gala as he presents Bruce Resnikoff with the Ambassadors of Peace award

Hostages and Missing Family Forum

Despite stipulations in the ceasefire agreement that called on Hamas to release the bodies of all 28 deceased hostages it was holding within 72 hours, that deadline passed with just a small number of remains being returned.

Hamas has repeatedly said that it does not know where the rest of the bodies are. However, under pressure from the mediators – the United States, Egypt, and Qatar – and other parties, the terror group has “found” additional hostages, and has returned one or two at a time.

One of Israel's most popular singers, Omer Adam, performed on Sunday night to a sold out crowd of 20,000 fans at Madison Square Garden.

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