We Stand With The People of Israel

The observances of the Jewish holidays the past month concluded on Sunday evening. It is now our sad responsibility to address the terrifying situation that we are facing in Israel. Members of the Touro University family at our campus in Israel and those at our affiliated programs are under attack. Israel has been, once again, reluctantly drawn into a war. Many members of the Touro community in the United States have close family and friends living and studying in Israel. During holidays that celebrate the lofty ideals of faith in the Almighty, human dignity and the timeless messages contained in the Torah, innocent men, women and children found themselves assaulted by terrorists, murderers and kidnappers who have wrought savage devastation beyond imagination.

We are grief-stricken. We offer our condolences to the families of those who were murdered. We pray for the safe return of those who have been taken captive and the speedy recovery of those who were injured.

The unprovoked attack on Israel was neither directed against its military nor confined to conventional warfare. Instead, we have witnessed acts of premeditated mass murder. Civilians—even those attending a concert promoting love—were targeted for murder or kidnapping. While all wars are unfortunate, the intentional targeting of civilians is a crime against humanity that can neither be justified nor excused. Those individuals, organizations and countries that have celebrated this attack, including on some U.S. campuses, have no moral compass. They are complicit in the crimes that they applaud.

We will take our lead from the Psalmist, King David, who faced numerous travails and challenges in his lifetime, but never removed his eyes from the Almighty. David put his reliance and faith in our Creator, as we do now. But in return, the Almighty asks all of us to partner with Him. Now is the time for all decent people everywhere to unite against evil and terror; to unite in faith in the goodness of humanity, and to unite in our collective ability to overcome adversity.

Touro University is proud to stand with the people of Israel. We pray that this conflict concludes soon. Let us all fervently pray that we know of no more suffering and anguish.

Dr. Alan Kadish
President