Today we remember...

What occurred on October 7 was not “resistance.” It was not inevitable.

Today, we remember the tragedy experienced by thousands of Israelis who endured horrendous violence and pain due to Hamas’s barbaric terror attack on October 7, 2023. I stand, as I have over the past two years, with the hostage families and those with loved ones still in captivity in Gaza, who are desperate to end the trauma that they and all Israelis continue to feel as long as this issue is not resolved. I am thinking of Lishay Miran Lavi, who is desperate to be reunited with her husband, Omri; Yotam Cohen and his brother, Nimrod; Arbel Yehoud, who spoke of her struggle to overcome the trauma from prolonged captivity; and all who have living and deceased family still held in Gaza.

Many former hostages were present today at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC for a commemoration hosted by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum with support from US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and his wife, Allison. Several former hostages shared the horror they went through on October 7 and beyond, not to mention the unimaginable suffering experienced by their families while waiting for their release. These voices are worth remembering whenever people try to convince you that October 7 and hostage-taking were somehow an inevitability due to occupation or oppression. What occurred on that fateful day was not “resistance” by any stretch of the imagination. It was nothing but violent criminality that was entirely unnecessary and avoidable. It did not need to happen.