B’nai B’rith President Seth J. Riklin and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:

We commend President Joe Biden for delivering today an extraordinary statement of support for Israel.

Biden, in a national address, described as an “act of sheer evil,” the Hamas attack on Israel launched Oct. 7, three days after the vicious surprise attack that has, so far, killed more than 1,000 Israelis and left some 2,000 injured. In addition, Hamas took more than 100 Israelis as hostages.

He did not recoil from details of the barbarity of the attacks, noting parents were bludgeoned protecting their children, entire families were slain, and women were raped, assaulted and paraded. He said Hamas acted in violation of every code of human decency. He clearly labeled Hamas as the terror group it is, stating Hamas offers nothing but “terror and bloodshed” and that it has no regard for who pays the price. And he stressed, “Israel has the right, indeed the duty, to respond” to these vicious attacks.

We laud the president for also noting the history of anti-Semitism in the world, “Sadly for the Jewish people this is not new.” His support for Israel was steadfast, “This moment we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel.”

We deeply appreciate Biden’s engagement with stakeholders across the region and around the world in the wake of the Hamas assault.

The president pledged military assistance to Israel, he said, to make sure Israel does not run out of critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens.

Biden concluded: “We are with Israel, make no mistake.”

B’nai B’rith opened its Israel Emergency Fund this weekend. Donations to help Israeli citizens can be made here.