By Rep. Sara Jacobs, representative for California’s 51st congressional district,

It’s never easy being Jewish in today’s world, but the past 10 months have been especially excruciating. Like millions of Jews around the world, I’m still grappling with the aftermath of Hamas’ horrific attack on Oct. 7 and the sharp rise in antisemitism that we’ve seen since. And I’ve also been deeply alarmed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brutal, unrelenting military operation that has reportedly left more than 39,000 Palestinians dead. This response hasn’t been proportional, strategic or effective — and I can’t in good conscience condone it by attending Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress.

I’m deeply connected to my Jewish roots and to Israel.

In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, Israel had the right to defend itself after Hamas’ brutal attack left more than 1,200 civilians dead, thousands more injured, assaulted and traumatized, and more than 200 hostages taken. But there is absolutely no justification for leveling Gaza, displacing nearly its entire civilian population and destroying generations of Palestinian families. Civilian infrastructure from schools to refugee camps to ambulances to hospitals to water facilities has been demolished. Humanitarian aid can’t be delivered and distributed effectively, leaving 1 million Palestinians to experience the highest levels of starvation soon. Young Palestinians who have survived this war are spending their childhoods lining up outside food banks and scavenging for makeshift food alternatives. For 10 months, the Israeli military, under the prime minister’s direction, has conducted intense bombardments on Gaza. Yet Hamas hasn’t been eliminated, and Israel isn’t any safer.

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