West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor called for a moment of silence after reading the following statement at beginning of the Town Council meeting on Oct. 24, 2023:

“I want to begin tonight’s meeting by taking a few moments to reflect on the events happening in the Middle East, and I will end with a moment of silence for the innocent people, both Israelis and Palestinians, who have been harmed or killed.

“Make no mistake, the attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7 … were an act of antisemitic hate and terror. Hamas is a terror organization whose founding documents dedicate it to the destruction of the State of Israel. The elimination of a people is not a legitimate political end, it is fanatical ideology. There can be no qualifications on the simple idea that Jews and Israel have a right to exist.

“Today, the Holocaust is recognized as a period of unspeakable evil. But too often we think of the Holocaust as a singular moment in time, when in reality it was the extension of generations of antisemitic hate. There is a myth of American ignorance to the antisemitic aims of the Nazi party prior to World War II, when in fact the early stages of the Nazi persecution of European Jews, many that immigrated to our community …  and the policies of extermination of Jews as a race were known and widely reported on.

“We cannot make the same mistake again, and as a society we must call out any contemporary instance of antisemitic violence for what it is. There can be no equivocation – the victims of Oct. 7 were attacked, brutally massacred and kidnapped because they were Jews, and this cannot happen again.

“Israel has a special relationship to West Hartford, which is home to one of the largest and most vibrant Jewish communities in New England. I am so incredibly proud to be part of this community. In fact, we have a sister city of Afula-Gilboa, the home of many Ethiopian and Russian Jewish immigrants and Arab-Israelis.

“Many of us have deeply personal connections to the State of Israel. I have been to Israel many times, and almost every Jew I have talked to here at home has been directly impacted by this attack in some way, through a family member or friend. We see ourselves in those who were attacked.

“We must also see ourselves in the innocent people in Gaza who have suffered and are suffering. There are families throughout Gaza who want nothing more than to live with security, safety and happiness … to be free of the Hamas terrorist regime that puts their and the lives of so many innocent people and families at risk.

“I grieve for all the victims of this conflict, both Israeli and Palestinian, and the kibbutzniks who were gunned down in their homes as they awoke on the Sabbath; the Bedouins killed by surprise rocket fire; the young concertgoers – they were working toward peace  – who were raped, slaughtered and kidnapped; the hundreds now held as hostages; and the civilian population of Gaza caught in the crossfire between Hamas terrorists and Israeli Defense Forces. As a mother and grandmother, seeing the footage of the innocent children harmed in this conflict is especially heartbreaking.

“Last week, President Biden urged Israelis to remember that their state is a democracy. It must live not by the rules of terrorists, but by the rule of law. This is his quote: ‘What sets us apart from the terrorists is we believe in the fundamental dignity of every human life – Israeli, Palestinian, Arab, Jew, Muslim, Christian – everyone.’ He said, ‘You can’t give up what makes you who you are. If you give that up, then the terrorists win.  And we can never let them win.’

“As we see the rise in hate in the U.S. and the world, this does not only hurt the Jewish community but has also spawned hate against the Muslim world. We all mourn the tragic and horrific murder of a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy in Illinois and pray for his mother who was severely injured and is fighting for her life due to Islamic hate.

“We need to remain steadfast in our efforts against antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all other forms of discrimination.

“We must continue to hold ourselves to the highest moral standards and refuse to normalize hate and violence.

“I love and support my – and our – Jewish community and we will work tirelessly to keep our entire community safe.

“I pray for all people in the region to live with hope and dignity. I pray for the end of evil and I pray for the power and strength to seek lasting peace and pursue it.

“Please join me in a moment of silence.”