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Yeshiva University students launch ‘Day of Loving-Kindness’ to counter Hamas ‘Days of Rage’
(New York Jewish Week) — Yeshiva University’s campuses have been somber since the devastating Hamas attack on Israel earlier this month, and Jewish communities worldwide were left anxious after terror groups declared days of protests opposing Israel.
A group of YU students decided to offer a riposte to the perceived threats, as well as an opportunity to unite the Jewish community, by declaring a “Global Day of Loving-Kindness” on Sunday. The team of undergraduates hopes to inspire 1 million acts of kindness around the globe, urging participants to share their good deeds online to spread the Jewish concept of “chesed,” or benevolence.
“We saw that Hamas and now Hezbollah have been having these ‘Days of Rage,’ so we looked at that and said, ‘That’s not how we operate,’” said YU student Abe Schoen, one of the project’s organizers. “The supporters of Israel, Jews, we spread loving-kindness in the world.”
Hamas and Hezbollah have both called for mass worldwide protests against Israel, including a planned “day of rage” on Friday, nearly two weeks since the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,400 and injured thousands more. Demonstrations planned for last Friday, Oct. 13, sparked fear in Jewish communities, but did not result in any major security incidents in the U.S.
The student-led team of mostly YU students came up with the idea for the loving-kindness project about a week ago, and began enlisting support through their personal connections. Schools, summer camps and Jewish organizations backed the initiative, including Hillel International, Orthodox Union and UJA-Federation of New York. Around 80 institutions in nine countries, and hundreds of student volunteers, have signed onto the project, organizers said.
New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, a staunch supporter of Israel, shared the project on X, but almost all other backers have been in the Jewish world so far.
Too much hate on our feeds, let’s flood it with love. Share the movement, and share your acts of kindness this Sunday #FightingHateWithLove #DayofLovingKindess pic.twitter.com/hQi2FEU3D3
— Global Day of Loving-Kindness (@GlobalDLK) October 18, 2023
Another group, the Jewish Service Alliance, is also holding a “National Day of Jewish Service” on Sunday focused on providing food to the needy. Organizers said around 5,000 people will join the events through dozens of organizations, and that they had decided to go forward with the previously scheduled project as an opportunity for people to come together. The YU group said the two initiatives were unrelated.
Schoen said some YU students plan to give treats such as donuts or pizza to the police and security guards on campus to thank them for keeping the students safe. Other students are packing gift bags of candy to give to friends to “brighten their day,” he said. A campus club that packs food for the needy in Upper Manhattan, where the Modern Orthodox flagship is located, has partnered with the project.
Other suggestions from organizers include smiling at strangers, visiting a hospital, tutoring a peer or donating blood. Both individuals and organized groups are expected to partake in the initiative.
Participants were encouraged to share their good deeds on social media using the project’s hashtags to spread loving-kindness and counter hatred online.
“Ultimately the goal is to put more ‘chesed’ out in the world and showcase that to the world,” Schoen said.
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The post Yeshiva University students launch ‘Day of Loving-Kindness’ to counter Hamas ‘Days of Rage’ appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.