17-05-2025
Plea to Influencer 'Ms. Rachel' From Thousands of Suffering Israeli Children
Ms. Rachel, we want to believe you when you say, "I care deeply for all children. Palestinian children, Israeli children, children in the U.S. - Muslim, Jewish, Christian children - all children, in every country." We at the Simon Wiesenthal Center share that sentiment. As a viral childrens early education and entertainment star with millions of YouTube followers, you, like few other influencers, have the power to change the status quo that for decades has been disastrous for the children in the Holy Land - Jew and Arab alike.
As is well known, Israel unilaterally and voluntarily pulled out of Gaza in 2005. Two years later, voters put Hamas in power in Gaza. Since that time, every aspect of life in Gaza has been controlled by the brutal Islamist terrorist organization affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. As Palestinian human rights activist Bassam Eid lamented, "Gaza could Have Been Singapore. Hamas Turned It Into ISIS!"
Sworn to the Jewish States destruction in its charter, Hamas has been using Gazas children as cannon fodder for their genocidal war against Israel. They have never built a single bomb shelter for Gazas civilians even as they ramped up their genocidal war against their Israeli neighbors with 500 kilometers of underground military tunnels. For nearly two decades they have indoctrinated Gazas children with a pro-war curriculum in UNRWA-run schools, where children are taught to deny Israels existence, to glorify martyrdom, to plan to kill Jews, and to be the generation to "Free Palestine from the River to the Sea."
Untold numbers of UNRWA schoolchildren in Gaza spent summers learning how to use guns to target Jews, effectively recruiting child soldiers over the years in violation of Human rights law. To replenish their depleted ranks, Hamas was reported to have recruited around 30,000 young people to go to war. Hamas considers every child expendable, their value degraded to mere numbers by Hamas Ministry of Health unverified statistics fed to the UN and media outlets. The sketchy stats enable the terrorist group to spawn headlines and legal indictments accusing Israel of the genocide Hamas actually is guilty of. The latest Hamas-supplied statistics allege that more than 13,000 have been killed, with an estimated 25,000 injured.
Beyond their numbers lies the brutal truth that the beautiful child you pray for in Gaza, whom you claim has been dehumanized, and her classmates who died, are the responsibility of Hamas terrorists, not Israel.
Ms. Rachel, imagine if those who proclaim to care deeply about Palestinian children such as yourself had called out Hamas decades ago for brainwashing Gazas children and training them to hate and become martyrs.
During those years, Israeli children in frontline communities suffered PTSD from incessant missile attacks. If only global influencers like yourself had declared "enough is enough" when children in Sderot were forced to use underground bomb shelters as their bedrooms and playgrounds, history would have unfolded differently. Instead, the worlds silence and apathy signaled to Hamas that they were free to murder 1,200 Israelis, burn families alive, rape, kidnap, and hold hostages on Oct. 7, 2023.
Ms. Rachel, did you post on Oct. 8 your horror and outrage that 38 Israeli children in their PJs were murdered along with their families on a Saturday morning? Or when 42 others were taken hostage, including 9-month-old Kfir Biba and 4-year-old brother Ariel, who later returned in body bags? Did you help generate a groundswell of support from parents and educators worldwide demanding that world leaders insist on the immediate and unconditional release of all those stolen children?
Unfortunately, Jewish lives havent mattered - not to the UN, not to the International Red Cross, not to NGOs self-identified as protectors of women and children. Jews were left to mourn apart and alone. Ms. Rachel, we still want to believe as parents and grandparents that you do "care for all children." We believe you can still make a difference.
Hamas still holds and abuses 59 Israeli hostages, 24 of whom might still be alive, and children on both sides of this war continue to suffer. Your voice can still make a difference, even if it helps save just one child. Remember, Hamas could end all the suffering by disarming and releasing the hostages. But they wont so long as they can rely on the selective outrage, apathy, and roaring silence when it comes to Jews.
Please, if you care, before its too late, signal that Jewish lives do matter.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper is associate dean and director of Global Social Action of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
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Dr. Deborah Soffen is a pediatrician and serves as the Simon Wiesenthal Center's women's and children's advocate.
