Ronald Lauder
Ronald LauderFlash 90

The World Jewish Congress (WJC) welcomed on Friday news of the ceasefire announcement between Israel and Hamas.

“On behalf of the more than 100 Jewish communities across the globe affiliated with the World Jewish Congress, I welcome the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas after more than 11 days of violence and bloodshed caused by Hamas’ terrorist barrage of rocket attacks aimed at Israel’s civilian population,” said WJC President Ronald S. Lauder.

He added, “We stand resolutely and unambiguously with Israel and express our deep appreciation to US President Joe Biden and other world leaders for their repeated recognition of Israel’s absolute right to defend itself against terrorist onslaught, in whatever form it may come.”

Lauder also thanked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah Al Sisi for their successful mediation efforts to “end to this most recent tragic chapter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

The WJC mourns for the lives of Jews and Arabs lost as a result of Hamas’s “disregard for the sanctity of human life” and it prays “for the speedy recovery of the wounded.”

They also condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the outbreak of anti-Semitic attacks against Jews worldwide during the 11 days of the conflict.

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the horrendous outbreaks of anti-Semitic manifestations in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, with anti-Israel demonstrators targeting synagogues and Jewish community centers and seeking to blame Jews around the world for the latest Middle East violence,” Lauder said.

The WJC also expressed outrage at the enormous increase of anti-Semitic hate seen on social media in the last two weeks.

“We are also outraged by the surge of virulently antisemitic hate speech across social media with posts on major platforms featuring Holocaust imagery, conspiracy myths, and Nazi glorification,” said Lauder.

He called on governments to take the necessary measures to protect Jewish communities and their institutions.

He added, “I call on social media organizations to immediately rid their platforms of vile posts that promote violence against Jews with such vile declarations as, ‘Hitler was right.’”

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)