To mark two years since the October 7th, 2023, massacres on Israel’s southern border, Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the Conference of European Rabbis, issued a powerful statement recalling the atrocities and warning of rising antisemitism across Europe.
“Two years on, our pain has not faded,” Rabbi Goldschmidt said. “Twelve hundred innocent men, women, and children were slaughtered in cold blood by marauding terrorists from Gaza. Entire Israeli communities were burned, families destroyed, and a music festival turned into a killing field.”
He noted that Israel’s war against those responsible “continues to this day,” with forty-eight hostages still held in Gaza.
The Chief Rabbi expressed deep concern that “the world has turned its gaze away,” even as antisemitic violence spreads across Europe. “Terrorists who attacked Jewish communities in Europe are glorified,” he said. “Across Europe, synagogues are under guard, Jewish schools are behind barricades, and Jews once again live in fear of their neighbours.”
He referenced the recent attack on a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur as a tragic example of that growing threat.
Rabbi Goldschmidt called on world leaders to take a firm stand against terror and antisemitism. “The world must stop excusing terror,” he said. “It must defend Israel’s right to exist, to protect its citizens, and to bring home the hostages. European governments must act decisively to crush home-grown extremism before more innocent lives are lost.”
He warned that “true peace and democracy in Europe will only be restored when Jews no longer need to be protected from their own neighbours.”
Concluding his statement, Rabbi Goldschmidt said: “Our prayers remain with the bereaved families of October 7th. Our faith remains unbroken. But our patience with the world’s inversions has run out.”