"No words suffice all, regarding the #MiddleEast

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"Still news of kidnapping/death on this holy day in Israel is heartwrenching. This act of Hamas in no way brings us closer to a solution, even as Palestinian life/suffering often goes undervalued.

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"I sincerely pray for a way to peace"

"I have taken a few days since Hamas launched its brutal and inexcusable terrorist attack on the Israeli civilian population before making a statement. I condemn Hamas and their ruthless assault. Like most Americans - and certainly like most elected officials on the local level - 1 am no expert in the region's politics. I spent these days reading about the situation between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, including over a century of history and the details of Saturday's violent escalation. I have also discussed it in depth with people who have close personal connections to the region, and who have already lost loved ones in the violence. Ultimately, as both a representative of significant Muslim and Jewish communities, I am moved to issue this statement after fair and thorough research and education.

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"While blame was once more evenly distributed, the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and its dominion over the Gaza Strip, now 56 years old, are the primary root of the violence. While Israel traded land for peace with Egypt, turning over the Sinai it captured in 1967 in exchange for normalized relations, the country held onto the West Bank and allowed it to flood with illegal settlers in an unending military occupation that eventually gave way to systemic subjugation. So committed to these illegal settlements is the Israeli government, in fact, that they were unable to repel Saturday's terrorist attack from Gaza because their army was so preoccupied with repressing Palestinians in the West Bank.

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"This is the nightmare into which the majority of living Palestinians were born. The system is unjust, traumatizing, and cruel, with no end in sight. The Palestinian movement for national liberation is legitimate. It is a movement I support and endorse. It is a movement with a broad range of legitimate tactics, and any observer would be a fool to not expect violent resistance after all these decades of oppression, dispossession, and humiliation. Also, Hamas decades ago chose terrorism and power over Palestinian life and freedom. Those who support and celebrate them are, at best, dangerously misguided. Palestinians must achieve statehood alongside Israel and the Occupation must end.

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"And the attack on civilians launched by Hamas this weekend was an act of barbaric terrorism. Parachuting into a music festival to slaughter teenagers, dragging children from their homes, parading the naked corpse of your victim through the streets, and massacring innocent civilians are unspeakable crimes against humanity that should be globally condemned. The single worst day of violence against Jewish civilians since the Holocaust is a day that will live in infamy.

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"Both of these can be true at the same time. Both are."

"My heart breaks to see so much death and destruction. My thoughts are with the Israeli and Palestinian civilians who face such terrible violence in the aftermath of yesterday's attacks.

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"Many in our communities are hurting. Everyone is on alert and our first priority is to ensure all of our synagogues and mosques are safe. For all of our neighbors with family members or loved ones in the region who need assistance, you can call 833-890-9595 (toll free) and 606-641-0131, or visit crisis intake on the Department of State's website https://cacms.state.gov/s/crisis-intake), and contact the US Office of Palestinian Affairs' website (https://palestinianaffairs.state.gov/contact).

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"I condemn all forms of hate, violence, and intolerance. Palestinian and Israeli people deserve dignity and to live free from violence. I urge our leaders looking on from afar to join me in calling for an end to the bloodshed and for a lasting peace."

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"We are horrified by the ongoing events that began this past weekend in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and we unequivocally condemn the murder and kidnapping of civilians by Hamas. We mourn the loss of all civilian lives, including both Israelis and Palestinians. We also completely reject the notion that accountability for these crimes warrants the collective punishment of civilians in Gaza, where more than two million people have struggled to survive years of blockade and aerial bombardment. As the late historian Howard Zinn once said, "There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people."

"Additionally, there were rallies in New York over the weekend in response to the violence in Israel, some of which failed to first acknowledge the fear, grief, death and destruction that was occurring. While we have been working to support our constituents whose loved ones and families have been directly impacted by the violence, we did not participate in or promote these rallies or actions. We are disturbed to hear reports of statements from individuals who attended which minimized or justified civilian deaths and the devastating impact of the violence committed in Israel.

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"Our commitment to democratic socialism is rooted in solidarity with and dignity for all people. Our hope is for a rapid de escalation of the current violence. Only diplomacy that ends the occupation and respects the rights and dignity of everyone living in Israel and the Palestinian Territories can bring the liberation and safety that Palestinians and Israelis deserve."

"We are horrified by the ongoing events that began this past weekend in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and we unequivocally condemn the murder and kidnapping of civilians by Hamas. We mourn the loss of all civilian lives, including both Israelis and Palestinians. We also completely reject the notion that accountability for these crimes warrants the collective punishment of civilians in Gaza, where more than two million people have struggled to survive years of blockade and aerial bombardment. As the late historian Howard Zinn once said, "There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people."

"Additionally, there were rallies in New York over the weekend in response to the violence in Israel, some of which failed to first acknowledge the fear, grief, death and destruction that was occurring. While we have been working to support our constituents whose loved ones and families have been directly impacted by the violence, we did not participate in or promote these rallies or actions. We are disturbed to hear reports of statements from individuals who attended which minimized or justified civilian deaths and the devastating impact of the violence committed in Israel.

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"Our commitment to democratic socialism is rooted in solidarity with and dignity for all people. Our hope is for a rapid de escalation of the current violence. Only diplomacy that ends the occupation and respects the rights and dignity of everyone living in Israel and the Palestinian Territories can bring the liberation and safety that Palestinians and Israelis deserve."

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"We are sickened and heartbroken by the events unfolding in Israel and Palestine this weekend. As of this morning, over 700 Israeli civilians and over 370 Palestinian civilians have been killed, with thousands more injured."

"As war rages on, the devastation only grows. The accounts of mass killings of innocent Palestinian civilians, including hundreds of children, a collapsing health care system, and the deprivation of essential services are simply horrifying. I mourn the loss of life and reiterate my fervent hope that we embrace our shared humanity. Every life is precious."

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"So many NYers are experiencing awful grief and fear for the lives their loved ones abroad, not to mention hate violence in their own neighborhoods. I join @JFREJNYC in calling on @GovKathyHochul to affirm that Palestinians deserve all the safety Jews do."

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