Nov 24, 2023

Greater Miami Jewish Federation, Its JCRC and RAGM Welcome Release of First Civilian Hostages, Demand Return of All Others

The Greater Miami Jewish Federation, its Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Miami (RAGM) welcome the release today of 13 Israeli hostages, 10 Thai nationals and one Filipino citizen abducted from Israel by Hamas and other terrorists on October 7.

We are grateful to the Biden Administration and to other world leaders for working to secure their freedom. We demand in the strongest possible terms the release of all of the remaining hostages.

When 1,100 Miamians traveled to be among the nearly 300,000 people rallying in support of Israel and against antisemitism last week in Washington, D.C., our main call to action was to bring home the hostages. The remaining hostages are being held in unknown conditions. The war cannot end until all of them are returned and Hamas is disarmed and eliminated as a military threat. They must never again have the capability to carry out such an evil, insidious assault on human life.

We will continue to advocate for the liberation of every hostage abducted by Palestinian terrorists who uncoincidentally serve as insurgent proxies on behalf of the Iranian regime. We will continue to educate those who do not understand that Hamas, Iran and all who cry for the destruction of Israel are not only a threat to Israel and to the Jewish people, but also to American and Western values. As much, we will continue to combat the rising tide of antisemitism – which is unmistakably correlated to this war – through our JCRC’s education and advocacy efforts and through our Office of Community Security, which works tirelessly day and night to keep the local Jewish community safe and secure.

We pray for the release of all hostages and for a durable and just peace in the days ahead.