The confirmation this week that Hamas murdered American-Israeli Omer Neutra during the October 7th massacre and is holding his body in Gaza served as the latest reminder of the terrorist group’s macabre evil. For the past 14 months, Hamas has viciously used its captives, both dead and alive, as bargaining chips, torturing their families psychologically. All world leaders must pressure Hamas to release every hostage immediately and unconditionally.  

Threats of kidnapping and murder against Jews are not limited to Israel. Recent reports suggest that Rabbi Zvi Kogan’s murderers in the United Arab Emirates originally intended to hold him hostage in Oman before deciding to murder him. We are shocked and saddened by this crime. As a Chabad emissary in Abu Dhabi, Rabbi Kogan helped advance interfaith tolerance and cross-cultural understanding. We thank Emirati leaders for their strong denunciation of this atrocity and urge a full investigation and exhaustive legal process to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Violence and vandalism targeting Jews in Europe also continued this week, including in London, where teenage assailants threw rocks at school buses carrying Jewish children and shouted, “F*ck Israel.” Just over 40% of the incidents the ARC recorded during the past two weeks occurred in Europe.