Statement from Jewish and Israel student organizations at Duke

The Duke Jewish community stands united in mourning the loss of our brothers and sisters who were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists this weekend in Israel.

We mourn the loss of hundreds of civilians around our age who were massacred at a music festival in southern Israel, where terrorists hunted unarmed fleeing civilians. We are devastated by the 100-plus civilian children, women and elders who have been taken hostage after being brutally beaten, raped and murdered. We are haunted by the atrocities of the Holocaust, with this Saturday being the deadliest day for world Jewry since World War II concluded. We are anguished by photos emerging of kidnapped Holocaust survivors forced to pose with Hamas terrorists. We are harrowed by images of beheaded Israeli babies and Facebook posts that display the murder of the very person the account belongs to. We are distraught by the videos of young women bleeding between their legs after being viciously raped beside their motionless friends. We are scarred by the scores of families who were murdered in their sleep — mothers, fathers, children, grandparents. Entire innocent families.

The Chronicle has asked us for our “reaction.” This was a massacre. Many of these victims are people just like us — college-aged innocent partygoers. Our families, friends and loved ones are actively in danger. We are in no place to share our “thoughts” or “opinions.” We are mourning. We are devastated.

Signed,

Chabad Student Group

Coalition for Preserving Memory — Duke University

Duke Friends of Israel

Duke Israel Public Affairs Committee