Reflections from Federation’s President & CEO
October 9, 2025
Dear Seattle Community,
Today, we breathe a sigh of relief at the announcement of the first phase of a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the war and return all the remaining hostages home.
The 20-point plan, brokered by President Trump and his team, is set to be signed in Egypt later today. In addition to releasing the hostages, the deal includes the full disarmament of Hamas, demilitarization of Gaza, immediate humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, and the establishment of a temporary Palestinian government. You can read a full update from the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) here.
Today’s announcement is news that so many of us have dreamed of and prayed for over the last two years, while often wondering if it was truly ever possible. We have seen and felt, again and again, the pain of the October 7 attacks, and the effects of violence and destruction – on the Israeli people, on Jews around the world, and on Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Today’s news provides an opening and a light that has not felt possible for the past two years – for the families of the hostages who have waited in anguish, for the Israeli people who have been stuck in the never-ending horrors of October 7, for the civilian families in Gaza who have been suffering, and for Jewish communities everywhere, like ours here in Seattle, who live in a new era of rampant antisemitism and deep communal divide.
As we await further updates, we look forward to the deal’s full implementation, which is an opportunity for healing, reconciliation, and rebuilding for all who seek peace.
We wait with bated breath for the return of the living hostages in the coming days and pray for a refuah shleimah – a full recovery of body and soul after the unimaginable ordeals they have lived through – and we pray the families of those hostages whose bodies will be returned can find some peace and closure.
On these intermediate days of Sukkot, we traditionally greet each other with the words moadim l’simcha, as a reminder to embrace the joy of the holiday. While joy has been hard to find over the last two years, it feels like a particularly appropriate greeting today.
In just a few days, we will celebrate Simchat Torah, and once again complete and begin our annual cycle of reading the Torah as a Jewish people. While this week marked the two-year anniversary of the October 7 attacks on the Gregorian calendar, Simchat Torah marks the two-year anniversary on the Jewish calendar. The pain of that terrible day during a holiday of joy added a dark layer to this awful period. As we begin a new year of reading the Torah and retelling our people’s ancient stories of perseverance, we pray that today’s news will be the beginning of a new chapter of the modern story of the Jewish people, Israel, and the region – a story that has the joy we seek to celebrate on Simchat Torah.
Moadim l’simcha,
Solly Kane
President & CEO
Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle
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