Growing up in a small storefront church on the southside of Chicago, whenever I felt burdened, my grandfather the Reverend James Echols would sing a song we very often sang in church: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Joy has not come for families in Israel and Gaza – and my heart is heavy with grief.
It grieves for the 1,200 Israeli civilians who were heinously murdered by Hamas on October 7th.
It grieves for the 137 hostages still held by Hamas, and their families.
And it grieves for the over 17,000 Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli military in the weeks since – nearly three-quarters of whom are children.
The devastating attacks by Hamas on October 7th and the subsequent murder of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli government has brought about a collective sense of grief and loss that has been felt around the world, transcending borders.
And the toll of tragedy on civilians has been heartbreaking to witness. Children are dying. Entire generations of Palestinian families erased entirely. Hospitals bombed. Electricity shut off. Food, fuel, and medicine dwindling. Clean drinking water, essentially non-existent.
It’s clear: our shared humanity is in danger.
Last week’s temporary pause in fighting was a welcome step toward saving lives and reuniting families — and it was a testament to the power of diplomacy. In that pause, we saw hostages returned, humanitarian aid delivered, families reunited, and countless lives saved.
I was deeply disappointed to see this temporary truce end and the bombing in Gaza resume. With the violence continuing to escalate, we must keep pushing for all parties to come back to the negotiating table and work toward an immediate, permanent ceasefire to save lives, return all hostages, and finally end this horrific violence.
And our movement for a ceasefire is growing stronger by the day. Public support for a ceasefire is growing. Millions across the globe have echoed our calls for an end to the bloodshed — from the United Nations and the Pope, to world leaders across the globe, and an increasing number of my colleagues in Congress.
Activists, faith leaders, healthcare workers, and labor unions in my district and beyond have raised their voices in the name of peace. This fight will take all of us, because we are one human family, and our freedoms and our destinies are tied.
We need to use every tool available to keep pressing for peace – from urging your local elected officials to sign onto ceasefire resolutions at every level of government, to partnering with local faith leaders, to highlighting the overwhelming support for this movement with the public and in our party. The ground is shifting beneath our feet – but it’s going to take all of us, at every level of government, to get this done.
A permanent ceasefire is the mandate, and we must respond accordingly.
Yours in service,
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley
