BACKGROUND – TALKING POINTS – ACTIONS – VOICES – STORIES
The Israeli hostages still held captive by Hamas after a year and a half serve as a painful reminder of historic persecution of the Jewish people. On the eve of the Passover holiday, commemorated for more than 3,000 years, the traditional seder meal recounts the powerful Exodus narrative of liberation from oppression. For the Jewish people, Moses leading the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage is a hallmark story of resilience and self-determination – retold with profound meaning every year during Passover.
The biblical story of the Exodus – the struggle against tyranny and the yearning for freedom – remain as profoundly relevant for the Jewish people today, thousands of years later. Recounting the Exodus story inspires countless persecuted people around the world.
Jews today now are confronting threats from every direction, from terrorism and the specter of nuclear proliferation to biased international organizations and the persistent poison of antisemitism, now morphed into more modern and pernicious forms.
Let My People Go: The Modern-Day Plague of Captivity
“The hostages are held in cages, in tunnels, in the darkness, chained by their hands and legs. They suffer from malnutrition and must beg for food, doing all kinds of humiliating things. It has been 18 months in hell, and any day can be their last.” – Prof. Hagai Levine, Chair, Israeli Assoc. of Public Health Physicians.
The testimonies of former hostages reveal the severity of their endless physical and psychological suffering from their Iran-backed Hamas tormenters. After 18 months, 24 of the remaining 59 hostages are reportedly alive. Hamas continues to release propaganda videos of current hostages. Matan Angrest, 21, was captured from a tank while defending Israelis on Oct. 7. Former hostages described how Hamas terrorists kept him in a “small cage that he can’t stand upright in because of its height.”
Eliya Cohen was held captive for 505 days and kept in chains that were only removed every two months for him to wash his hands and face. He survived numerous grenades being tossed by Hamas terrorists into a roadside bomb shelter near the Nova Festival on 10/7 – known as the ‘bunker of death.’
Pharaoh’s Agenda Continues: Hamas Plot to Erase Israel Echoes Ancient Tyranny
Hamas leaders asked the Iranian government for $500 million in 2021 to destroy Israel within two years. The terror group wanted “to achieve these great goals, through which we will change the face of the world. We are confident that by the end of these two years, or during them, God willing, we will uproot this monstrous entity.”
Hamas leaders asked the commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force – a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization – for the funding. The IRGC, according to Israel’s defense minister, “accepted the request and replied that Iran, despite its difficult economic situation and the plight of the Iranian population, will continue to funnel money to Hamas, because the struggle against Israel and the U.S. is the top priority of the Iranian regime.”
Palestinian civilians in Gaza rose up to stage mass rallies against Hamas despite threats by the terror group. Muhammad, a law student: “People are fed up with Hamas attempting to use their bodies, their lives. Even though it’s very risky to protest Hamas, this is a duty on a humanitarian and moral level. Hamas went too far in oppressing the people. All they are doing is looking for political gains for Hamas and not humanitarian gains for Gazans. If the war would end now but Hamas would stay in Gaza, we will see another Oct. 7 because Hamas would do it again and again.” Hamas also killed a Palestinian collecting food at a UN warehouse and recently resumed rocket fire into Israel.
From Pharaoh to Ayatollah: Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions Threaten Israel
Iranian allies and proxy groups continue to be threats to Israel’s safety and very existence. The regime continues to back Houthi attacks against the U.S. Navy and commercial ships off the cost of Yemen. The U.S. is responding with continuing strikes on the Houthi terrorists. The Israeli Defense Forces targeted Hezbollah terrorists rebuilding terror infrastructure in Lebanon. Israel also reportedly struck three airbases in Syria where Turkey intended to deploy forces. Turkey’s President Erdogan recently called to “destroy and devastate Zionist Israel.”
During Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent visit to the White House, President Trump announced that “we’re having direct talks with Iran” over its nuclear program. America has ramped up sanctions on Iran that are crippling the country’s economy. Netanyahu: “We’re both united in the goal that Iran does not get nuclear weapons. It would be good if it can be done diplomatically.” An American, Israeli or joint military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities are considered options if Iran fails to abandon its pursuit of nukes. America reportedly transferred another anti-missile defense battery to Israel and the Pentagon announced the deployment of a second aircraft carrier to the region.
Bitter Herb of Bias: False Charges Threaten Israelis
The UN Human Rights Council reappointed an official who blamed Israel for the 10/7 Hamas atrocities, denied Israel’s right to self defense and stated that the “Jewish lobby” controls America. UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinians Francesca Albanese had her term extended through 2028. U.S. Rep. and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast led American opposition to her reappointment. The Dutch government, 42 French politicians and U.S. Jewish groups also demanded she be disqualified because of her failure to maintain impartiality, integrity and objectivity.
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in Nov. for Israel’s prime minister over false allegations in the war against Hamas. The warrant requires member states to arrest Netanyahu if he enters their territory. He recently visited Hungary, whose prime minister ignored the warrant and announced his country’s intention to withdraw from the Court. Netanyahu expects more countries to leave the ICC. His flight to America avoided the airspace of European countries that announced they would enforce the warrant.
Echoes of Exodus Revisited in America: ‘Mass deportation of U.S. Jews’
A popular far-right media influencer and known Holocaust denier, Christian nationalist and conspiracy theorist recently announced that he supported the mass deportation of American Jews as a “final solution.” Just like the UN’s Albanese, he sees Jews as controlling America – and President Trump. Other popular personalities, including Joe Rogan, Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson continuously host like-minded guests, spreading lies about the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Two Congressional Republicans recently made worrying statements: Sen. Bernie Moreno called Jewish Sen. Chuck Schumer “Fuhrer” – Hitler’s title – and Rep. Keith Self intentionally referenced Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels during a censorship hearing.
A. Share the spirit of Passover so we never forget
Share the inspiring spirit of Passover, highlighting how the Exodus story of liberation has resonated with both Jews and non-Jews in the fight for freedom. Learn about the profound significance of the story of the Exodus to Jewish history and the Jewish people’s ancient bond with Jerusalem. Take this time to educate others about the richness of Jewish history, faith and culture, promoting understanding and pride.
B. Remember the hostages at your seder … Options for raising awareness:
C. Passover Resources
Passover 5785/2025 – The Holiday of Freedom – will have a special meaning this year in Israel, and for Jews around the world as we mark the second Passover since the beginning of the Hamas war against Israel that began on 10/7. Click here for supplements for the Seder and Haggadah related to freedom for the hostages and prayers for Israel.
‘Jesus would be a hostage in Gaza if he was alive today’ – Father Patrick Desbois
A leader in Catholic-Jewish relations, Father Desbois, published The Holocaust by Bullets in 2008 – revealing the truth behind the murder of 1.5 million Jews by Nazis and their allies using guns during the Holocaust. He founded Yahad-In Unum, an organization dedicated to locating the sites of mass graves of Jewish victims of the Nazi mobile-killing units in the former Soviet Union. His group recently partnered with Israel’s Yad Vashem – the World Holocaust Remembrance Center – to ensure preservation and public access to more than 3,100 documented mass killing sites and 8,000+ eyewitness accounts of the “Holocaust by Bullets.”
“If he had lived in 1942, Jesus would have been deported to Auschwitz, and if he had been born today, he would be the target of missiles or be a hostage in Gaza. What we see in Bethlehem today, this need to affirm that Jesus was not Jewish, is political.
I do not forget, either, and we never talk about it, that the Palestinians in Gaza, who were not locked in cages as we believe, were circulating a lot, and a number participated in the genocide of the Yazidi minority in Iraq in 2014 alongside the jihadists. Others also participated in the Yazidi slave trade.”
Stories Impacting American Jews
Stories Impacting the U.S. and Israel
Stories From Around the World
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This content is developed by The Focus Project in partnership with MERCAZ USA. The Focus Project distributes weekly news and talking points on timely issues concerning Israel and the Jewish people, including antisemitism, anti-Zionism and the delegitimization of Israel. It represents a consensus view across a spectrum of major American Jewish organizations. MERCAZ USA recognizes and respects the diversity of views on these issues among its readers and the community at large.