South Shore synagogues reflect on conflict in Israel

We’ve all been affected directly, indirectly. Our hearts are hurting by what has transpired.”

Rabbi Joshua Dorsch, Merrick Jewish Centre

There were no words to describe the feeling that resonated throughout the Merrick Jewish Centre on Monday night. Hundreds gathered from South Shore synagogues in sadness, frustration and anger over the staggering violence in Israel over the weekend.

On Saturday, Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that occupies the Gaza strip, and is considered a terrorist organization by United States and the European Union, attacked Israel, killing nearly 1,000 Israelis and taking hundreds captive.

Israel launched a counterattack, and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, warned of “a long and difficult war” on Sunday. Palestinian authorities estimated that at least 800 people were killed in the retaliatory attacks.

In Nassau County, which has a Jewish population of over 230,000 — 17 percent of the county’s population — residents watched in horror, frightened for their friends and family in Israel. President Biden said on Tuesday that at least 14 Americans had been killed, and confirmed that some were among the hostages taken by Hamas.

“We all wish that we were here tonight under better circumstances,” Rabbi Joshua Dorsch, of the Merrick Jewish Centre, said. “The Psalmist teaches us that God is close to the brokenhearted, and those who are crushed in spirits. And given everything that has transpired in the past few days, all of us are brokenhearted. We are crushed in spirit.”

Dorsch was joined by rabbinic colleagues and cantors from Congregation Beth Ohr of Bellmore; Congregation Beth Tikvah, in Wantagh; Congregation Ohav Shalom, in Merrick; the East Meadow-Beth El Jewish Center; the Oceanside Jewish Center; Temple Beth Am of Merrick and Bellmore; and Temple Emanu-El, in Long Beach. Father Nikiforos Fakinos, of Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, in Merrick, also attended, as did dozens of elected officials, who stood in solidarity with the Jewish people.

“We don’t know what the future holds,” Dorsch said. “We are frightened for what is still to come. Many of us have friends and family in Israel. Some are safe for the time being, while others are not. We’ve all been affected directly, indirectly. Our hearts are hurting by what has transpired.”

Dorsch said he had received confirmation just before the start of the vigil that one of the hostages is a recent graduate of the Schechter School of Long Island, where his children attend school — as do many others from South Shore communities.

“Tonight we will be led together in song and prayer by clergy across denominations and faiths,” Dorsch said, “as we stand in solidarity with Israel.”

Cantor Benjamin Warschawski, of the Merrick Jewish Centre, and Cantor Joshua Diamond, of Congregation Beth Ohr, sang “A Prayer for the State of Israel,” among several other prayers throughout the evening, moving the attendees to tears.

Rabbi Mickey Baum, of Temple Beth Am, said he was “boiling with anger” over what had taken place in Israel.

“This is not the first time Israel and the Jewish people have faced such challenges which they will overcome,” Baum said. “But God willing, this will be the last time. And to the people of Israel, I say be strong, be strong and we will be strong. The people of Israel live. The country of Israel lives — alive and enduring.”

Rabbi Emeritus Charles Klein, of the Merrick Jewish Centre, said that what the world had witnessed was “the most brutal massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.”

“The images we have seen, the accounts we have heard, they echo the agony of our people from too many other places, too many other times in Jewish history,” Klein said. “The Hamas, they killed over 900 of our people — men and women and children, young and old.”

Klein recounted a story he was told by a couple who were members of the Merrick synagogue and survivors of the Holocaust.

“One day, he took me aside and he said to me, ‘I want to tell you what happened to our baby son during the Holocaust,’” Klein recounted. “‘We were ordered from our homes. And we went out into the streets. I was carrying my baby boy in my arms. The Nazis came, pulled my son from my arms, shot him right in front of my eyes and threw him on a truck.’

“Eighty years later — 80 years later,” Klein went on. “Hamas terrorist murderers equal the evil of the Nazis. Can you imagine? Because we can’t.”

Klein said that like many of the attendees, he had been in contact with relatives in Israel.

“One of my cousins wrote these words,” Klein said. “He said to me, ‘Israel is strong and we are united. All the political differences are put aside. There is no left. There is no right. There is one nation, only one nation. Just as the Nazis were destroyed, so, too, Hamas will be eliminated. It was their choice to begin this, and it is our mandate to end this.’”

Dorsch told the attendees about a congregant who grew up at the Merrick Jewish Centre, and joined the Israel Defense Forces. While he is no longer in Israel, his unit is in need of bulletproof vests — totalling around $6,000. Dorsch called on the community to raise the necessary funds and to get the unit the supplies it needs.

“In the weeks and months ahead, there’s going to be a lot we can do,” Dorsch said. “There are lots of wonderful organizations we can donate our money to. There will be lots of projects — towns will need to be rebuilt from the ground up. People will need support.”

Israelis are resilient, he said, adding, “We are a people of faith. And we will continue to come together, and we’ll navigate whatever it is that the world throws our way. The Israeli people will continue to survive, and thrive, in our homeland.”