CHERRY HILL, New Jersey (Press Release) — Bruce Tomar, international president of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, on Tuesday released the following statement about Israel’s War in Gaza:
“As men, as fathers, and as members of the Jewish community, we at FJMC—Friendship, Judaism, Mentorship, Community—can no longer remain silent in the face of human suffering. We write today with heavy hearts, not to take a political position, but to speak from a place of moral clarity and shared humanity.
The war between Israel and Hamas has brought immense pain and loss to countless lives. We have grieved deeply for our Israeli brothers and sisters, for hostages and soldiers, for those, and their families, murdered at the hands of Hamas on October 7. And today, we must also grieve—openly and honestly—for the innocent people of Gaza who are suffering, starving, and dying. They are civilians. They are children. They are human beings made in the image of God.
Our tradition teaches that silence in the face of suffering is not neutral. As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel reminds us: ‘In any free society where terrible wrongs exist, some are guilty – all are responsible.’
We recognize our responsibility—as Jews, as men, as fathers, and as people of conscience—not to turn away from the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. This responsibility does not excuse terrorism. It does not undermine Israel’s right to self-defense. Rather, it reaffirms our commitment to compassion, to human dignity, and to life itself. We therefore also call on the Israeli government to do everything in its power to reduce the suffering of innocent civilians and to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those who desperately need it. Justice and security for one group of people must never come at the complete expense of another.
We are pained by the silence we witness in much of the Jewish communal world regarding the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. We understand the fear of saying the wrong thing, of appearing disloyal. But true loyalty—to our tradition, our God, and our children—is not about silence. It is about chesed (lovingkindness), emet (truth), and tzedek (justice).
We are fathers who want our children to inherit a Jewish identity infused with integrity. We are men who believe that moral leadership includes grieving for all innocent lives. And we are a community committed to Jewish values that do not distinguish between Israeli and Palestinian children when it comes to their right to live.
In this moment of grief, confusion, and complexity, we offer a simple and unshakable pledge, rooted in the core Jewish value of b’tzelem Elohim—the belief that every human being is created in the image of God:
As fathers and as men, we pledge to care for all children—and all who are
vulnerable—as if their lives matter equally. We pledge to speak out when
others are silent, to feel when others go numb, and to act when
compassion is needed most.
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Preceding provided by the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, which is affiliated with the Conservative movement of Judaism.
It’s delusional to talk about a narrative of Hamas versus peaceful, innocent Gazans. Their “country,” or whatever other name you want to give the Gaza terrorist entity, is at war with Israel—a war that Gazans started. Did you forget the pictures from October 7 on the streets of Gaza? Or the hostage release ceremonies in Gaza?
They are all complicit and tools of the Hamas terrorism machine.
If it were April 1945, would you also have compassion for the Nazis?
Jews blaming Jews for the actions caused by Islamists.
Israel is not the problem. If Hamas loves the people of Gaza, they would release the hostages and lay down their arms. Israel would be gone in five seconds. The war would be over in six seconds.
Stop shifting the cause of suffering to Israel for what is being done by those who demonstrably want real Genocide – the Genocide of all Jews.