In response to the recent acts of terror and war committed against Israel from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon — among them kidnappings of Israeli soldiers and firing of Kassam rockets — Terry Bloomberg, president of the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), the public affairs arm of the organized St. Louis Jewish community, issued the following statement:

“The Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) extends its deepest sympathy and prayers to the victims of violence committed by Palestinian terrorist groups and Hezbollah against Israeli soldiers and civilians. The entire international community should now join Israel in demanding that the kidnapped soldiers be safely returned to their homes and families.

The JCRC stands in solidarity with the Israeli government as it fulfills the most fundamental responsibility of any government, namely, the protection of its people. Despite Israel’s complete withdrawal in recent years from both Southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, it now finds itself battling adversaries who fire Kassam rockets into Israeli cities and use guerilla tactics, such as the kidnapping of soldiers. Today’s attack by Hezbollah, a member of Lebanon’s government, across the sovereign and internationally recognized border, is rightfully viewed by Israel as an “act of war.”

The Israeli government not only has a right to respond to these crimes, but it has an obligation to do so.”