NEW YORK – World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder issued the following statement on the release of four bodies of deceased hostages:
“We knew this moment would come, but that does not make it any less agonizing. The images of caskets being paraded in Gaza this morning are searing proof of Hamas’ brutality and the depths of its inhumanity.
While Israel is forced to release convicted terrorists – many who have taken innocent lives – Hamas is returning bodies, including those of babies. No deal can obscure this reality. Hamas is not a political movement. It is not a resistance group. It is a death cult, driven by a singular mission: the destruction of Israel and the annihilation of Jews. Every time Hamas shows its cloaked faces, it becomes clearer that there can be no future for Israelis, Palestinians or anyone in the Middle East as long as Hamas persists.
In all of my travels and meetings with world leaders, there is one common refrain: No one wishes to provide Hamas with a safe haven to remain in power. No responsible government, no serious diplomat, no leader who values human life can see what we have seen and argue otherwise. The world cannot look away. This is a defining moral test of our time.
Israel is once again making an unbearable sacrifice because it values life – even in death. This is the price it has paid time and again, but it must be the last time. There is no future with Hamas. Only once it is gone can all people in the region hope to build something better.
As we mourn Ariel, Kfir, Shiri and Oded, we must channel our grief into action. Every remaining hostage must be brought home – immediately. The urgency could not be greater, and the responsibility falls on all of us who refuse to let Hamas’ reign of terror continue.
UPDATE: Following news that Israel was unable to identity the remains labeled by Hamas as those of Shiri Bibas, WJC President Ronald S. Lauder issued the following statement on X:
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