YIR: Terror Attacks in Israel Stunned, Shocked Jewish Atlanta

Jewish Atlanta reacted with horror and concern in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led terror attacks in Southern Israel, as the death toll and the number of Israelis and others kidnapped mounted.

Jewish Atlantans with friends and family in Israel checked on their welfare, while others reported receiving expressions of sympathy and prayers from non-Jewish friends and even strangers.

“Reach out and check on your Jewish friends. We are not ok right now.” was the message posted on “X” (formerly known as Twitter) by Democratic state Rep. Esther Panitch, who is Jewish and represents a North Fulton County district.

In a message to his congregation, Rabbi Daniel Dorsch of Congregation Etz Chaim, wrote: “It didn’t happen once. It happened twice. Twice on my walk home from shul on Simchat Torah, I was stopped by non-Jewish neighbors. I had never met either of them; but they saw my kippah. There was a steady flow of tears in the eyes of one as she grabbed my arm. She told me she had been watching the news all weekend. ‘I am praying for you and your family and for all of your people,’ she managed to say in between sobs.”

As a community rally in support of Israel was being planned, Israel’s Consul General of Israel to the Southeast Anat Sultan-Dadon, posted on “X” a video of Hamas members with kidnapped Israelis and attached the following message: “Viewer discretion advised. The images that you are about to see are not from a horror movie. In the past 36 hours Israelis have been butchered in their homes by Hamas terrorists. Children and mothers taken captive. The dead bodies of women desecrated in the streets of Gaza. Listen to the cries of the victims. Remember each and every one of them.”

Communal organizations and individuals including political figures, also reacted publicly.

Ramah Darom issued a statement that included: “We have been in touch with many Ramah Darom community members living in Israel, including our Mishlachat from this past summer. We’ve learned that Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose extended family attended our Passover retreat for many years, was at the outdoor festival and is still missing as of this writing. As well, we learned that a member of our summer Mishlachat from 2021 was also at the festival and received minor injuries. We have reached out to both families to offer our support.”
[Note: At this writing, Goldberg-Polin remains a hostage in Gaza.]

Two Jewish U.S. diplomats from Atlanta also issued statements.
Amb. Michele Taylor, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United National Human Rights Council, told that body: “I sit before you today, representing the United States of America, with a heavy heart following the horrific attacks carried out by Hamas terrorists on Israeli civilians starting on Oct. 7, 2023 . . . The United States unequivocally condemns these heinous acts of terrorism. We extend our deepest condolences to the families affected and express our solidarity with the people and government of Israel in these trying times.”

Taylor requested a moment of silence from the Council “to remember the victims of these appalling terrorist attacks.” Video posted by her office showed representatives from member countries standing in silence.

Amb. Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, issued a statement that read in part: “I am aghast at the scale of the onslaught by Hamas terrorists,” which later termed “the most lethal assault against Jews since the Holocaust.”

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish and has spoken of relatives living in Israel, was in China as part of a bi-partisan congressional delegation also visiting South Korea and Japan. His office issued a statement that said: “Senator Ossoff strongly condemns in the strongest terms Hamas’ indiscriminate and murderous assault on our Israeli allies. This evening, he spoke with Israeli Consul General Anat Sultan-Dadon to convey Georgians’ support for Israel and the Israeli people, and our outrage and grief at the murder of Israeli civilians.”

Ossoff’s fellow Georgia Democrat, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who also is pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, posted on ”X”: “I’m deeply saddened and alarmed by this morning’s news out of Israel. We must condemn terrorism in all its forms. Praying for the victims of this disturbing violence and that peace may prevail.”

Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who led a state delegation to Israel in May, posted on “X”: “This is an egregious act of war upon one of our nation’s greatest allies. The federal government must be swift and unequivocal: America stands with Israel and her people!”

In the same time frame, a demonstration in support of Palestinian Arabs took place in front of the Midtown Atlanta building that houses the Israeli consulate. The 75–80 protesters carried Palestinian flags and banners that included “Stop U.S. Funding of Israeli Apartheid” and “End All U.S. Aid to Israel.”

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