Background

About Israel

There are 16 million Jews worldwide today. Source: Jewish Virtual Library

- 74% of the 9.7 million people in Israel are Jewish. Source: Times of Israel
- 2.4% of the more than 332 million people in the United States are Jewish. Source: Pew Research
The modern state of Israel, which was established in 1948, is the size of New Jersey. Source: History.com
Israel is the homeland for the Jewish people – Jews were indigenous to the land dating back to the Biblical times. Source: AJC
There has been a continuous Jewish presence there, despite being under the control of various empires such as the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. Source: AJC
Britain governed the land after the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1917 and ruled it under British law until 1948. Source: Hey Alma
Zionism is the movement supporting a homeland for the Jewish people. The vast majority of American Jews consider themselves Zionist. Source: ADL

Israel withdrew all of its citizens and soldiers from Gaza in 2005 in another attempt to create peace in the region. Source: ADL
Nearly 5 million Palestinians live in Gaza and the West Bank combined. Source: State.gov
Hamas is the governing authority in Gaza. Source: Council on Foreign Relations
Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union. Source: Council on Foreign Relations
Hamas, which is backed by Iran, explicitly seeks Israel’s destruction and the murder of Jews – a as stated in its charter and repeatedly reiterated by its leaders – and seeks to rule the entire territory “from the river to the sea.” Source: AJC
Purposely killing and kidnapping innocent civilians are war crimes; members of Hamas are not freedom fighters, they are terrorists. Source: AJC

The attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust: Source: CNN

1,200+ civilians killed, including Holocaust Survivors, children, and parents Source: CNN
4,500+ civilians tortured and wounded Source: Oct7map
240+ kidnapped to be used as human shields – from the elderly to infants – and including Arab Israelis Sources: Times of Israel, Times of Israel

In a cruel and murderous rampage, the terrorist group Hamas infiltrated Israel and:

Murdered entire families in their homes Source: BBC
Killed babies in ovens Source: New York Sun
Raped women so violently that they broke the pelvic bones of their victims Source: CNN
Tortured victims in front of their families Source: CBC
Stalked and massacred at least 360 young adults attending a music and nature festival outside of Re’im, near the Gaza border Source: Times of Israel
Burned down homes Source: Times of Israel
At least 31 American citizens and six Canadians were killed in the attack, as were citizens of Ukraine, Thailand, Great Britain, Germany, the Philippines, and other countries Source: Times of Israel
6-8 Americans remain in captivity, being held hostage by Hamas Source: Times of Israel

Since October 7th, the terror group fired over 10,000 rockets toward Israel’s major population centers. Source: Economic Times

Like every country, Israel has the right to defend its sovereignty and its citizens from terrorism, rocket fire, and incursions.
Israel has gone to great lengths to help innocent Palestinians out of harm’s way, including working with the United States and others to create a safe humanitarian passage “corridor” (Source: Times of Israel) which hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians have used to take refuge (Source: Times of Israel). In coordination with that, Israel has allowed nearly 1,500 aid trucks into Gaza to provide the innocent civilians with necessary food, water, and supplies (Source: Times of Israel)
Israel has provided irrefutable evidence (Source: Jerusalem Post) that Hamas built an elaborate tunnel network that runs underneath hospitals, mosques, and schools throughout Gaza – including the largest hospital in the territory, al-Shifa. Video footage from the hospital obtained by Israel shows Hamas bringing kidnapped Israelis to al-Shifa on October 7th (Source: Times of Israel), which is widely recognized as a war crime (Source: Human Rights Watch) – as is using civilian human shields and firing rockets indiscriminately at Israeli cities and civilians from civilian centers as Hamas also does (Source: International Humanitarian Law).
Hundreds of Members of Congress, Governors, and local officials have joined President Biden and leaders from around the world condemning the attacks and supporting Israel. Source: White House

Israel has created peace and normalization with five Arab countries in the region. Source: Stand With Us
Israel entered into peace accords with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) – now known as the Palestinian Authority (PA) – through the Oslo Accords signed in 1993 and 1995. Source: ADL
The PLO/PA is the recognized authority of the Palestinian people. Source: ADL
Israel has accepted proposals related to a two-state solution on five different occasions while the Palestinians have rejected each one including an offer of 93.5% of territory in the West Bank and Gaza and a share of East Jerusalem. Source: Jewish Virtual Library
Iran also supports the terrorist organization Hezbollah (Southern Lebanon) and – as a new development – the Houthis (Yemen), both of which are regularly attacking Israel with drones and missiles. Source: AJC
Today, Hezbollah has more than 150,000 rockets pointed at Israel. Source: AJC