On 7th October last year, appalling terrorist atrocities, including widespread murder, hostage-taking and sexual violence, were carried out by Hamas and other Palestinian extremists in Israel. Many of the hostages still remain in captivity a year later. On 8th October, the terror organisation Hezbollah began an aerial campaign against Israel from Lebanon in support of Hamas.
These events have sparked major conflicts, which have resulted in huge destruction and loss of civilian life in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and elsewhere.
There should be no doubt about the character, ideology and methods of Hamas, Hezbollah and the other extremist organisations who started this conflict last October and their fundamental antipathy towards, and efforts against, the universal human rights which we believe in.
As we come to the first anniversary, we express our condemnation of these terrorist groups and our hopes for their speedy defeat and the return of the hostages. We also express our solidarity with the victims (including the hostages) and their families.
We also express our concern for the innocent civilians in Gaza and Lebanon and call on Israel to act within the parameters of international law and to protect civilian life as it acts to defend itself.
In the Jewish calendar, we have just had Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) and it will soon be Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). These high holidays remind us of both the fragility and the profound value of every human life.
It is our deep hope that the new year may take us from destruction and trauma towards a better future in which a path to peace may ultimately be pursued.
