By the time you read this message, I hope it is out-of-date.
· I hope that the hostages who have been kidnapped by the murderous savages of Hamas have been rescued and are home with their families.
· I hope that Hamas has been destroyed.

· I hope that the over one hundred thousand Israelis who have been displaced, a fact that no one talks about, have returned home.
· I hope that the constant barrage of missiles and rockets that fly over Israeli towns every day and night has ceased.
· I pray that all the wounded are on their way to healing.
· I pray that all of those who have been traumatized by what they have witnessed and experienced are starting to get the help they need.
· I hope that the hate-filled, misguided, ignorant students and professors have begun to realize how wrong they were. If not, then their so-called educations have been a waste. They have a lot of apologizing to their fellow students and professors to do. I hope that, for all the examinations they will take, they will examine themselves. Why were they so ready to believe lies? What were they really so angry about?
· I hope that some of our young Jewish people who have gone against their own people will realize what they’ve done. We will forgive them.
· I hope that the administrators and executives who were afraid to denounce hatred and lies will examine themselves and ask how they could have been such cowards. Are they really capable of moral leadership after this abject failure?

I know, however, that my hopes and prayers will, at best, take a long time to be fulfilled.

What should we do? Each one of us, whether we wanted to be or not, has become a representative of our people.

I have communicated with so many of you in these weeks, and very often, you needed a reality check when you were confronted with a lie. It is hard to be in this position. I keep going over facts with people. We have had classes and lectures to give you context so that you will be prepared to respond when you need to answer the distortions. Most of the media, including channels that I had thought were fairly objective on other subjects, have been party to buying the lies and spreading them. This makes our task even more difficult, because sometimes we start accepting lies as facts. Wait before you think. Find out the truth.

Israel has been more humane than any other country in any war in history, and that includes the United States. Faced with the worst horrors in history, Israel has responded with incredible humanity. Even though no one cares about Jewish lives or Jewish hostages, Jewish people care about everyone, except the murderers and kidnappers. For them, justice must be done.

I do not know where all of this will be by the time you read it. But if all of this is still current, remember to be in touch and be involved and learn and discern.

We will get through all this, together.

Rabbi Scolnic