J7 statement on the anniversary of 7 October Hamas attack on Israel.

We are leaders of seven of the largest Jewish com­munit­ies outside of Israel. One year ago, our com­munit­ies were shocked and devasted by the hor­ri­fy­ing terror attack on Israel. Hamas, Palestini­an Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups massacred more than 1200 innocent people, young and old, who were burned, shot, tortured and raped in their homes, at a music festival, on a morning walk, or trying to flee their attackers. October 7 was the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

One year ago, over 250 people were ripped from their families, homes and friends and taken into Gaza as hostages. These hostages represent over two dozen nation­al­it­ies, including citizens of our own countries, and include Jews, Chris­ti­ans, Muslims, Druze, Buddhists, Hindus and atheists. According to Hamas, their crime was being in a Jewish state. Today, 366 days later, 101 hostages remain in Gaza, their fate and condition still unknown.

On this tragic anniversary, we also mark one year of unbridled, unpre­ced­en­ted antisemitism, that has targeted Jews around the globe. Our community organ­iz­a­tions and gov­ern­ments have doc­u­mented a stag­ger­ing increase of antisemitic incidents since October 7. Jewish indi­vidu­als and insti­tu­tions have suffered violent attacks, arson, graffiti, har­ass­ment, and dis­crim­in­a­tion, hostility and isolation. We have been vic­tim­ized in our homes, in the streets, on campuses, and online.

One year later, we remain united in our call on our seven gov­ern­ments and on the inter­na­tion­al community:

• To exercise maximum pressure on Hamas to imme­di­ately release all hostages still being held in Gaza.
• To support Israel as it remains under constant attack from Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, and their state sponsor, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and others who seek its erad­ic­a­tion.
• To take concrete steps to fight antisemitism through legal, edu­ca­tion­al and whole-of-society strategies. The Global Guidelines for Coun­ter­ing Antisemitism, released in Buenos Aires in July 2023 and endorsed by over 40 countries and regional groupings, provide guidance for policies and actions that can be imple­men­ted by national gov­ern­ments, inter­na­tion­al organ­iz­a­tions and civil societies alike.

On this tragic anniversary, we continue to mourn those we have lost and to face sig­ni­fic­ant chal­lenges ahead for Israel and the Jewish people. Yet, we reaffirm the resi­li­ence and vibrancy of the global Jewish community. We stand ready to continue to col­lab­or­ate with our partners in gov­ern­ment and civil society to ensure a future of security and well-being for all.

J7 Members

Argentina: Del­ega­ción de Asociaciones Israel­it­as Argen­ti­nas (DAIA)
Australia: Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry (ECAJ)
Canada: Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA)
France: Conseil Représent­atif des Insti­tu­tions Juives de France (CRIF)
Germany: Central Council of Jews in Germany
The United Kingdom: Board of Deputies of British Jews
The United States: ADL (Anti-Defam­a­tion League) and the Con­fer­ence of Pres­id­ents of Major American Jewish Organ­iz­a­tions