History and Context: Israel-Hamas War

An effort by Dublin leaders to remove Chaim Herzog’s name from a community park symbolizes and risks erasing a piece of Irish Jewish history.

What is the West Bank? The West Bank is a land of profound historical and religious significance to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths and a focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This hilly, landlocked territory is home to both vibrant Palestinian communities and longstanding Jewish settlements, with governance divided between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Its history, which goes back to biblical times, is of strategic and cultural importance, making it central to efforts towards a negotiated peace.

More than two years after Hamas' massacre of Israelis on October 7, 2023, Palestinian terror groups are still holding one hostage captive in Gaza.

What does Globalize the Intifada mean in English and how is it a call for people from around the globe to participate in rising up against Israel? AJC unpacks the dangerous slogan.

After 738 days, we are overjoyed watching the reunions of the twenty surviving hostages with their loved ones, and our hearts are with the families of the deceased hostages who await their return.

AJC experts break down the U.S.-brokered Israel-Hamas deal, Gaza ceasefire, regional shifts, and next steps for hostages, governance, and advancing lasting peace in the Middle East.

More than two years after the October 7 massacre, Hamas has agreed to return the 48 hostages still in Gaza under the U.S.-brokered peace deal. Jessica Bernton, AJC’s Director of Congressional Affairs, shares details of AJC’s joint advocacy with the hostage families of returned hostages—how personal stories, bipartisan meetings with Congress and the White House, and coordinated delegations kept the issue at the forefront.

When will the next hostages be released? Discover the details of the Israel-Hamas hostage and ceasefire deal, including the release of 33 hostages and ongoing negotiations for remaining captives. Learn about the phases of the agreement, the American hostages held by Hamas, and how families have endured months of advocacy and uncertainty. Stay updated on this pivotal development in the Israel-Gaza conflict

Recent conflict in Syria’s Druze-majority areas has drawn international attention, highlighting the complex challenges faced by this minority amid shifting regional dynamics and Israel’s efforts to protect its Druze brethren. Here’s what to know about the Druze and Israel’s efforts to defend them.

What does “Globalize the Intifada” mean, how is it tied to past Palestinian activist violence against Israel, and how can it lead to targeting Jews today?

Israel’s war of self-defense against the Iranian regime - the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism - erupted into open conflict last week after a stunning IAEA report that confirmed that Iran was much closer to obtaining nuclear weapons than previously known.

As Israel is increasingly demonized, it is imperative to examine the rhetoric being used—including Free Palestine and Globalize the Intifada—and to understand how, in certain contexts, it can escalate into real-world danger for Jews everywhere. 

At AJC Global Forum 2025, Steven Grinspoon, AJC Board of Governors, introduces a powerful lunch session, "Exposing Bias: The Truth Behind Media Coverage of Israel" featuring Matti Friedman. In the wake of October 7, 2023, the coverage of Israel’s self-defense efforts has been marked by distortion, misinformation, and bias.

As one of the world’s top urban warfare experts, Spencer has become a leading voice explaining the harsh realities Israel faces post–October 7: from Hamas’s use of human shields to the unprecedented scrutiny of the IDF.

At AJC Global Forum 2025, three of Israel’s leading journalists—Nave Dromi, Asaf Liberman, and moderator Nurit Canetti—discuss what it’s like to report from the frontlines of trauma, war, and political upheaval.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. For journalist Yardena Schwartz, the massacre was a chilling echo of the 1929 Hebron Massacre—the brutal slaughter of nearly 70 Jews, incited by propaganda that Jews sought to seize the Al Aqsa Mosque. At the time, she was writing her first book, "Ghosts of a Holy War: The 1929 Massacre in Palestine That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict". Yardena shares how history repeated itself, how the October 7 attack reshaped her book, and why understanding the past is essential to making sense of the present.

Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director of Interreligious Affairs, delivers a nourishing prayer following the return of four murdered hostages by Hamas.

As we begin the 119th Congress and President Trump’s second term, I urge everyone to recognize the bipartisan work displayed between senior officials in the outgoing Biden Administration and the then-incoming Trump Administration to make a breakthrough in an agreement to secure the release of 33 of the remaining hostages brutally abducted from Israel during Hamas’ attack on October 7, 2023. We cannot take for granted the unique power of senior officials from the Biden and Trump administrations working together.

The January 2025 Israel-Hamas hostage agreement resulted in the release of multiple Israeli hostages after over 470 days of brutal captivity in Gaza, where they endured extreme conditions such as isolation, malnutrition, and untreated injuries. Survivors like Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher, and Romi Gonen shared shocking accounts of their time in Hamas tunnels, while recently freed soldiers Karina Ariev and Daniella Gilboa faced forced labor and severe psychological trauma. As Israel works to secure the return of the remaining hostages, global attention is focused on the ongoing humanitarian and geopolitical crisis in Gaza.