Good afternoon friends of Temple Beth Israel and the greater Plattsburgh community,
We are still in complete shock of Saturday morning’s barbaric attack against Israel. In what should have been a joyous occasion, the holiday of Simchat Torah turned into an unimaginable massacre and the worse loss of Jewish civilian life since the Holocaust. While Israelis and the Israeli Defense Forces begin the hard work of securing their land, we ask for continued communal support during this difficult period.
For folks who are interested in helping Israel, I recommend donating to the Friends of the IDF https://www.fidf.org/ or through Magen David Adom https://afmda.org/. Additionally, Temple Beth Israel will host an online community gathering to update folks on the ongoing operations around Israel as we also share our thoughts, prayers, and try to make sense of this evolving and truly tragic situation. Join us through the Temple Zoom account (the usual Shabbat Zoom link) on our main webpage, on Thursday, Oct. 12th at 8pm.
Continue to keep Israel, the Jewish people, and the innocent Palestinians in Gaza who live under the oppressive regime of Hamas, in your thoughts, as we all pray for the return of peace and a final end to terrorism. I ask that we remain vigilant in our local community, as the unfortunate reality of antisemitism always seems to reappear whenever trouble befalls Israel and world Jewry. For all those who have called, emailed, and reached out to express concern, thank you so much for the outpouring of compassion. Let’s make sure that our Jewish and Palestinian friends, neighbors, children’s classmates, and co-workers are ok during this stressful time. I am always available for anyone who wishes to discuss the situation, process loss, or simply pray. This war has impacted the entire Jewish world, but we are a resilient people.
United, the Jewish people prevail.
Rabbi David Joslin
Temple Beth Israel, Plattsburgh NY
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