From your Christian allies: We stand beside you

On this difficult anniversary, some of us in the Christian community want to say something simple to the Jewish people:

We see you. We bless you. And we choose to stand beside you.

We love the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we would not know Him were it not for you. Our Christian faith is rooted in the story, Scriptures, and people of Israel. The Christian community is incredibly blessed by your presence in the world.

In the face of the denial, distortion, hatred, and indifference that have followed October 7, some of your Christian allies want to offer a blessing from our hearts to yours.

We recognize your pain and the impact of antisemitism, whether explicit or hidden. We see you when others minimize or invalidate the trauma you experienced on October 7 and in the years since.

We choose to stand beside you: to listen, to learn, to support, to encourage, and to speak when you are ignored, dishonored, threatened, or attacked. We choose to call others to do the same.

We recognize that Christians have not always done this.

You have not always received gratitude or honor from the Christian community. Too often, Jews have received contempt, discrimination, persecution, and violence simply for being Jewish. You have been accused of things you never did and portrayed as people you never were.

Your ancestors went through fire and flood. They endured exile, persecution, hatred, and attempts to erase them. They survived. G-d brought them through hardship and suffering, generation after generation, and you are here now.

The journey was never promised to be easy or perfect. But your presence at this time and in this place is a blessing.

On a day that recalls unspeakable pain, we bless your hearts, minds, and emotions. We pray for comfort for those who mourn, strength for those carrying trauma, and shalom even when the hatred around you makes peace feel impossibly distant.

We celebrate your resilience, your strength, and your continuing commitment to bring light and goodness into the world.

The evil unleashed on October 7 was fierce and deep. But evil does not get the final word. We believe the light of G-d is greater.

And so we stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish friends. We mourn with you. We weep with you. We link arms with you against those who challenge your right to live openly and safely as Jews and against those who deny Jews the right to live safely in their homeland.

We stand beside you not merely because antisemitism is wrong, though it is. We stand beside you because friendship asks something of us. Gratitude asks something of us. Faith asks something of us.

As Christians, we know that our faith would not exist were it not for the Jewish people.

On this anniversary, we want you to hear:

You are seen. You are valued. You are not standing alone.

You are loved by G-d, and you are loved by us.

May those who mourn be comforted. May those who are weary find strength. May those who feel surrounded by hatred know that there are people standing beside them.

And may you be reminded, even in the midst of grief, that you are a blessing.

From some of your Christian allies, with gratitude, love, and solidarity.