This is what I said at the rally for the hostages today

I am Warren Kinsella. I am not a Jew. I am Irish and I am Catholic. 

But I am here today with all of you, and I want to say this to all of you.

When one of us is held hostage, we are all held hostage.

When one of our businesses is attacked with a fire bomb, we are all attacked.

When the school where our kids go is shot up, we are all targeted too.

When the places where we worship, places of love and reverence, are hit with Molotov cocktails, all of us feel it. 

When another of our businesses is vandalized and falsely accused of genocide, we are all vandalized. We are all defamed. 

When just one of us is afraid to step outside, or wear a small indication of our faith, all of us feel it. 

When our leaders refuse to acknowledge what is happening – when they refuse to confront the hate that is everywhere – they fail us all. They fail our children and the future. 

We are all in this together. We are all brothers and sisters. And we have an obligation to protect each other and care for each other. We have an obligation to seek justice for each other. 

We must pledge to each other, right here and now, to do all we can – and then, even more – to get the hostages home safely. To return them to their family’s waiting arms. 

We must also pledge to never falter in our quest to eliminate the monsters who make up Hamas, and all like them. We cannot rest until that is done. Only then can there be talk of cease-fires. 

That is what we must all do, because we are all in this together. Every cruel word, every blow, every attack lands on the shoulders of us all. Because we are brothers and sisters and we are connected. We must protect each other, in these dark and dangerous times. We must. 

God keep and protect the hostages, and bring them home. Now. 

Thank you.