It’s never easy being Jewish in today’s world, but the past 10 months have been especially excruciating. Like millions of Jews around the world, I’m still grappling with the aftermath of Hamas’ horrific attack on Oct. 7 and the sharp rise in antisemitism that we’ve seen since. And I’ve also been deeply alarmed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brutal, unrelenting military operation that has reportedly left more than 39,000 Palestinians dead. This response hasn’t been proportional, strategic or effective — and I can’t in good conscience condone it by attending Netanyahu’s joint address to Congress.
I’m deeply connected to my Jewish roots and to Israel. As a child, my summers were split between visiting my family in Tel Aviv and helping to host my Israeli cousins in San Diego and going to camp together at the Jewish Community Center. I have traveled from the northernmost to the southernmost parts of Israel, prayed at the Western Wall, spent time with Bedouin families in Segev Shalom, stayed in Sha’ar HaNegev — San Diego’s sister city, which suffered a brutal onslaught on Oct. 7 — and visited Gaza and the West Bank. As a member of Congress, I’ve traveled to Israel twice on official visits — during the first, I met with then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and during the second, I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu after he regained power.
Even a far more precise and better-executed military campaign than the one being waged won’t work without acknowledging the root political issues.
In the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, Israel had the right to defend itself after Hamas’ brutal attack left more than 1,200 civilians dead, thousands more injured, assaulted and traumatized, and more than 200 hostages taken. But there is absolutely no justification for leveling Gaza, displacing nearly its entire civilian population and destroying generations of Palestinian families. Civilian infrastructure from schools to refugee camps to ambulances to hospitals to water facilities has been demolished. Humanitarian aid can’t be delivered and distributed effectively, leaving 1 million Palestinians to experience the highest levels of starvation soon. Young Palestinians who have survived this war are spending their childhoods lining up outside food banks and scavenging for makeshift food alternatives.
For 10 months, the Israeli military, under the prime minister’s direction, has conducted intense bombardments on Gaza. Yet Hamas hasn’t been eliminated, and Israel isn’t any safer. From my work at the State Department’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, I know that civilian casualties fuel recruitment, radicalization and support of terrorism. Every civilian casualty that results from the Israeli government’s strategy provides an opportunity for Hamas and other extremist groups to prey on. There’s no justification for terrorism and nothing acceptable about Hamas’ actions — and that only makes it more important that Israel acts in a way that doesn’t drive more recruits into Hamas’ ranks.
Unfortunately, Prime Minister Netanyahu doesn’t have a sound plan to avoid that outcome — or a plan to bring the hostages home or secure lasting peace and security. He has lost significant support within Israel, with thousands of Israelis taking to the streets recently to call for his resignation. Many believe that Netanyahu has deprioritized the hostages and continued this war to avoid a looming political reckoning.
The reality is: There is no military solution to this conflict. Even a far more precise and better-executed military campaign than the one being waged won’t work without acknowledging the root political issues. Israel can effectively counter the threat posed by Hamas only by first addressing the core grievances that have fueled recruitment and support for decades: the lack of a Palestinian state and Palestinians’ right to self-determination. And yet, Prime Minister Netanyahu appears unmotivated to reach a cease-fire deal and continues to repel the idea of a two-state solution, and he has even used this conflict to advance Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Partisan grandstanding before Congress doesn’t advance the cause of peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians and the region. Growing up, I was taught about Jews’ sacred task of tikkun olam — to repair the world. It’s our responsibility as Jews to speak out against injustice and work to make the world a better place. It is because of my Jewish upbringing and values that I can’t attend Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address. My faith isn’t a shield or an excuse for destruction. And my presence at Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address would be weaponized as false proof that I support him and his government’s conduct during this war, which I vehemently oppose. Partisan grandstanding before Congress doesn’t advance the cause of peace and security for Israelis, Palestinians and the region. It won’t bring the hostages home. And it won’t end this war, deliver humanitarian aid to those in need or give Palestinian children back their childhoods. When the stakes are so high, my faith compels me to reject performative gestures and focus instead on tangible actions to end this war.
Rep. Sara Jacobs
Rep. Sara Jacobs represents California’s 51st Congressional District in the House of Representatives. 
