All of us are shaken to the core by the horrendous pogrom unleashed on Israel’s southern communities by Hamas on Saturday morning, October 7, 2023, Shabbat and Simchat Torah. More than 1,200 Israelis of all ages were viciously attacked and murdered, 240 taken captive into Gaza, and thousands more wounded, traumatized and made homeless. Beyond the loss of life and injury to persons, the destruction of property, agriculture and livestock was immense, and with the evacuation of survivors and foreign workers, vital food production has come to a halt. We can only hope that fighting soon will come to an end, that Hamas will be eradicated, the hostages returned, and that peace in some form ultimately will prevail. Surely recovery will take a long time and tremendous investment.
For now, we can help the traumatized, displaced survivors who temporarily are being housed in hotels empty of tourists, far from their farms and what remains of their homes. On the strength of personal connections, Temple Beth Israel has been invited to join with an initial three other Chicago-area Reform congregations (Beth Emet Synagogue of Evanston, Congregation Hakafa of Glencoe, and Oak Park Temple) to aid members of Kibbutz Kissufim, one of the hard-hit border communities. Most immediately, money we send will fund trauma care for 58 school-aged children of the kibbutz who survived thirty hours of terror. While the Ministry of Education has established a temporary school for these children, they have experienced profound trauma and have needs both during school hours and afterwards that far exceed the resources the Ministry of Education has been able to provide.
As American Jews witness the shock and trial of our brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents, children and grandchildren in Israel today, we feel keenly the admonition Kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh (All Israel, the Jewish people, is responsible for one another). Please consider making a special contribution to Temple Beth Israel, earmarked for Kibbutz Kissufim relief, separate from and over and above your regular financial support of the congregation. A joint committee of the participating synagogues will ensure that money raised is allocated appropriately. Cindy and Steve Franklin and I [Rabbi Marks] will represent TBI and welcome other TBI members to become involved.
