KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Jewish community has been repeating a message - now is not the time to be silent.
Gavriela Geller and Sarah Markowitz have been raising their voices after Saturday's attack.
"I think we're going to be very busy," Markowitz said.
They're asking everyone to join them in making their voices heard.
"We need to have very strong statements of support and condemnation of this terrorist attack," Geller said.
Geller, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau AJC, started calling and texting every official who could possibly help to ask them to lend their voice in support.
"When we don't see those statements, that speaks to us," she said. "That silence speaks to us."
They've already met with U.S. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas and they're advocating for a bipartisan bill supporting Israel and condemning Hamas to pass through the House and Senate.
As JCRB|AJC's director of education and programs, Markowitz is helping students find their voice, but that's not always easy.
"This past weekend I was texting with a few students who were afraid about going to school because they are known to be Jewish," she said. "Whenever violence escalates in Israel and the Middle East, we see an uptick in antisemitism around the world including the United States."
Her message of resilience has echoed for hundreds of generations before her and it's not time for quiet now.
"If we're not proudly Jewish, then the antisemites win," Markowitz said. "We are a very resilient people. We've survived through centuries if not thousands of years of persecution and we don't do that by hiding our Jewish identity."
You can find out how to support Israel through the link below.
