700 days of October 7th.

For an end of the war and sustainable peace in the Middle East.

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700 days since we woke up to the news of the barbaric terrorist attacks of October 7th, 2023, when Hamas murdered 1200 civilians and kidnapped 251 hostages into the Gaza Strip.

For 700 days, pain, anger and uncertainty have been shaping Israeli society and Jewish communities in the diaspora. Today, the families of the 48 remaining hostages still wait for the return of their beloved ones: the living, so they may begin to heal, and the murdered, so they may be laid to rest with dignity. As European Jewish students and young professionals, we stand united in grief with the families of the victims, in unwavering solidarity with the hostages and their families, and in strong commitment to justice, security, and the defense of human dignity against terrorism. 

Hamas is a terrorist organisation that, since seizing control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, has shown inhumane cruelty, exploiting and oppressing its own people in a war aimed at erasing Israel’s very existence. Its ideology, rooted in extremist and antisemitic world views, does not endanger only Israel and the Palestinian people, but also threatens the lives of Jewish people worldwide. The barbarity of the October 7th attack, combined with Hamas’s ruthless suppression of Palestinian democratic aspirations, demonstrates beyond doubt that Hamas is unfit to govern and must not be allowed to control the Gaza Strip. 

However, while we call for the removal of Hamas, we strongly oppose proposals and intentions by members of the Israeli government to permanently retain control of the Gaza Strip. The continuation of this conflict prevents the Israeli society and the diaspora from healing from its trauma, the currently living hostages from reuniting with their families, and the Palestinian civilians from living in dignity. As a zionist organisation, EUJS recognises the inalienable right to self-determination of the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland, the land of Israel. However, Zionism does not and will never mean the alienation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. We believe that lasting peace can only be achieved on the vision of two states living side by side in security and dignity. Two states that are rooted in democratic principles and in the vision of peaceful co-existence in the Middle East. 

It is for this reason, we demand that leaders act decisively to end the war. This is the only viable response to the conflict Hamas started with the October 7 massacre. We believe that a prolonged war will never guarantee the full security of the State of Israel or the return of the hostages, which must be prioritised over political aspirations. On the contrary, it will only bring further loss and deeper pain to Israeli society and the Jews in the Diaspora, while prolonging the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 700 days is too long. A negotiated deal is the only solution to end the nightmare that Hamas began on October 7, 2023, and has prolonged ever since. 

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End the War. 

Bring them home. 

Don’t prolong the suffering.