Hundreds walk in Oceanside rally to support Israel

Hundreds of Oceanside residents came together in a walk for Israel on Nov. 26 in a show of solidarity and support for the Jewish State amid its ongoing war against Hamas. They met at Oceanside High School and walked to the Liberty Lighthouse on the Veterans Triangle on Long Beach Road.

In the weeks following the Oct. 7 attack in which Hamas entered Israel and killed more than 1,000 people, taking hundreds of others captive, Jews have been affected by a dramatic increase in antisemitism around the world.

Religious leaders from the Chabad of Oceanside, Temple Avodah, and Young Israel of Oceanside quickly organized the walk after the Thanksgiving holiday. The organizers got together in a Zoom call in a bid to create unity among Oceanside residents, and to show solidarity with Israel, as well as support for the kidnapped victims and their families, praying for their safe return. During the rally, rabbis from the three shuls addressed the crowd of community members and local officials.

“It was the first time that all three of us walked together, and there were hundreds of people,” Temple Avodah Rabbi Jeshayahu “Shai” Beloosesky said. “It brought people together. Oceanside is part of the Diaspora and is very supportive of the State of Israel.

Diaspora refers to the dispersion of the Jewish people beyond Israel.

“In history, Jews are attacked all the time, and then we survived. Here we’ll survive also,” Beloosesky said.

Hamas has released over 100 of the more than 240 people held captive, as part of a hostage-for-prisoner exchange during a weeklong cease-fire that ended last Friday Dec 1. That marked the first significant pause in eight weeks of the war.

For many, the war is extremely personal and not just about creating camaraderie among fellow Jews.

Chabad of Oceanside Rabbi Levi Gurkov said his 19-year-old daughter, Sonya, traveled to Israel earlier this year to participate in Jewish seminary during her gap year after graduating from high school, and since the war began is still in Israel.

“To be in a year of war, it was nerve-racking for her being unfamiliar with sirens and running to bunkers and things of that nature,” Rabbi Gurkov said. “Everywhere you go on the street, you always have to keep in mind where the closest shelter that you can run into is, something that she wasn’t accustomed to as an American citizen growing up in Long Island. It’s something that we don’t even pay attention to.”

Gurkov has been in contact with his daughter on a regular basis as well as his older sister, who is also in Israel. He said many things could be done, not only physically but also spiritually, to support Israel.

“It’s a time to put into practice everything you’re taught about faith and about the faith of God and faith in humanity, and that we’ll end up doing the right thing and eradicate evil and stand up for goodness and morality,” Gurkov said. “Our way of responding is to encourage the idea of faith and belief that when every person in humanity increases their goodness and kindness, it lends a spiritual hand in the fight to eradicate evil — if I do something positive, if I enhance my day-to-day life by increasing goodness, kindness or increasing my Jewish heritage.

“When we in the United States not just send money but act here as proud individuals, showing our heritage and getting more involved in our heritage and our background, that gives strength,” Gurkov added. “That’s also a Jewish army. We’re part of the army of goodness. They’re doing it physically; we’re doing it spiritual.”

Weeks of bombardment of the Gaza Strip by Israel has reportedly left 1.4 million Palestinians homeless, causing a humanitarian crisis as they face widespread shortages of food, water and other supplies.

Rabbi Jonathan Muskat of Young Israel of Oceanside said his cousins are serving in the Israel Defense Forces, and he visited Israel the week before the Oceanside rally, participating in a mission with a group of other rabbis, and visiting with families of the hostages, hospitals and cities where the Oct. 7 attack occurred.

“We unfortunately participated in a funeral of an Israeli soldier who was killed, and what we found was unbelievable and indescribable pain by so much of the country,” Muskat said. “Many people cannot even fathom to believe that not only were they attacked by these terrorists, but in the barbaric and inhumane way that they were attacked was simply indescribable. At the same time, I felt tremendously inspired, because the morale is high, and the spirit is high.”

In one of the largest fundraisers in Muskat’s 20-year tenure as rabbi, since the start of the war, Young Israel of Oceanside has raised more than $250,000 to go to the National Council of Young Israel to supply bulletproof vests to the IDF.

During his visit to Israel, Muskat packed six extra suitcases that contained clothing for families who were evacuated from their communities, as well as three duffel bags of thermal underwear and G-Shock military watches for soldiers. Young Israel also sent two busloads of supporters to the Washington D.C. rally two weeks ago, when more than 300,000 people marched in support of the State of Israel.

“We wanted to band together, our community, to support the State of Israel,” Muskat said. “We want to provide some moral clarity but also an opportunity to unite our Jewish brothers and sisters for this cause. One benefit of this horrific tragedy was the fact that this tragedy brought the Jewish people together. Unfortunately, it’s because of the rise of antisemitism, and we want to stand together shoulder-to-shoulder in our community. “We are one, we support Israel, and we will fight antisemitism together.”