We, the undersigned members of the Palo Alto community, are profoundly outraged and saddened by the horrific terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, 2023 - the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust. To remain silent now is unconscionable. We unequivocally condemn the attack which took the lives of 1400 Israelis (Christians, Druz, Jews, and Muslims alike) and involved indescribable acts of sexual violence and infanticide. We unequivocally condemn the kidnapping by Hamas of over 200 innocent civilians, many of them children, including 26 Americans. We also mourn the tragic loss of life in Gaza and call upon all sides to the current war in the Middle East to respect the norms of international humanitarian law.
Hamas's actions and calls for violence against Jewish targets across the world has already sparked a shocking explosion of antisemitism. According to the Anti-Defamation League, since October 7th there has been a 400% increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States. Even in our beloved Palo Alto, antisemitism is rearing its ugly head. Just this past Thursday (October 19th) a swastika was found outside of Starbucks on El Camino Real, a few short blocks from our PAUSD district offices.
Our community cannot stand idly by while this is happening. While we may not agree on our politics, this is not about politics – this is about standing together against terror and antisemitism.
As a community that recognizes our shared humanity and prides itself on our diversity, we are united against terror and hate and we stand firmly against any form of antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, bigotry, hatred and intolerance of any kind. We hope and expect that our community leaders and the PAUSD school board will join us.
