- Michael Balaban
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia President and CEO

July marks the ninth month since the hostages were first taken into Gaza. That is nine months since the tragedy of Oct. 7, when Hamas brutally assaulted and murdered hundreds of men, women and children.  

There have been so many reports of the gender-based violence that occurred that day, and many firsthand accounts of the continued sexual assault and harassment faced by women hostages in captivity.

And now, nine months later, we are left to wonder about the fate of the remaining women hostages and what they might be enduring as a result of that violence and dehumanization. While we do not know if any of the hostages are pregnant, just the thought is traumatic and sickening. And still there are those who will deny the truth and falsely claim that gender-based violence didn’t occur, or if it did, that it was committed by the IDF. 

These stories are hard to hear, and even harder to watch, but we must bear witness to them. I hope you will join me on September 25 at the Weitzman Museum for a screening we are hosting with Seed the Dream Foundation and I Believe Israeli Women of Sheryl Sandberg’s “Screams Before Silence” documentary which explores the gender-based brutality of Oct. 7. More details are below.

I pray for the health and safety of all of the women. We must continue to do all that we can to advocate for the release of the remaining hostages and to support the collective healing for the returning hostages and their families, as well as the families of loved ones who have been murdered. 

Until each hostage is released, I urge you to take One Minute a Day to call your representatives and advocate for their safe return to Israel. In a time when it is easy to feel powerless, this is one way we can all collectively make a difference.

My July is typically one marked with the celebration of Independence Day on July 4 and, as with so many holidays this year, I was struck with a bittersweet feeling. It felt odd to celebrate America’s freedom knowing that the freedom of all those in Israel is currently being threatened. It felt uncomfortable knowing that many countries around the world, including the United States, are becoming less safe for Jews as antisemitism continues to rise.

As Jews in the diaspora, our freedom is intricately linked to Israel’s. Until all Israel’s inhabitants are truly free, neither are we. Which is why, despite the hopelessness we might feel at this nine month mark of the war, despite the drone attack in Tel Aviv last night that took the life of Yevgeny Perder and the vandalism of an Israeli flag in Philadelphia this morning, we cannot allow ourselves to succumb to it.

We must continue to raise our voices for the release of the hostages. We must continue to share our experiences and bear witness to those sharing their experiences, no matter how upsetting or sickening they may be. We must continue to combat antisemitism.

We must continue to demand freedom.

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