In a time of unparalleled antisemitism, the Kansas Legislature sent a vital message | Opinion
For many Kansans, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank may be the last thing on our minds. But as the Kansas legislative session began this month, the first items up for consideration in the state House and Senate were resolutions condemning the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on Israel and reaffirming support for the Jewish state.
The impacts of the attacks and the ensuing war may seem like a curious choice for the Kansas Legislature. But in a moment of residual pain and ongoing fear, these resolutions mean something to the local Jewish community. And for several key reasons, this show of support was an essential demonstration of moral clarity and leadership.
The resolutions reject all forms of antisemitism, a critical point at a time when levels of antisemitic incidents are unprecedented in modern history, and the majority of Jews across the country report feeling less safe than they did prior to the attacks. Developments in Israel always impact Jewish communities across the world. Nationally, the number of antisemitic incidents between Oct. 7 and Jan. 7 was comparable to the number of incidents for the entire 2022 calendar year. And right here in the Kansas City region, the Jewish Community Relations Bureau | AJC has recorded a 500% increase in these incidents.
The resolutions also demand the release of the 120 remaining hostages, who, since Jan. 15, have been in captivity for more than a staggering 100 days. We haven’t forgotten these individuals, and we cannot let the world forget them either. The urgency of their release, their care and their recovery cannot be overstated.
Israel’s rights to exist and to defend itself are also reaffirmed in these resolutions. Israel remains, 75 years after its independence, a country whose right to exist is perpetually called into question. No other country faces questions of legitimacy, no matter how abhorrent people may find their policies, practices or politicians, and Jews remain a people whose historic connection to their ancestral homeland is constantly debated or completely ignored.
And no other country would be asked to stand down following an attack of such unspeakable brutality that was equal in its scale to 15 9/11s, that featured astonishing sexual violence and crimes against humanity, and that targeted civilians indiscriminately, from the very youngest babies to elderly Holocaust survivors.
To the Jewish community, globally and locally, the attacks on Oct. 7 were life-altering. In the weeks and months since, we have been left to grapple with the silence, or even the gleeful celebration of the massacre of members of our deeply interconnected community. We have had to make painful choices about showing up publicly in the fullness of our identities or hiding our Magen Davids in certain environments.
The bold and unequivocal resolutions in the Kansas Legislature were urgently needed. Public, steadfast solidarity is what our community needs, now more than ever in recent memory.