Augusta's Jewish leaders urge community to remain steadfast in support of embattled Israel
In the wake of new attacks on Israel, the Mideast nation’s supporters must show steely resolve and unswerving support, Augusta Jewish leaders urged on Thursday.
“Tonight, we reaffirm that the Jewish community of Augusta and the entire CSRA will do all we can to stand with Israel, to help our brothers and sisters who have been affected by this war,” said Nicky Spivak, executive director of the Jewish Community Center and Federation of Augusta. “When asked if we have any family in Israel, the answer is yes. We have 7 million members of our family there. We are one.”
Jewish and pro-Israeli Augustans nearly filled the sanctuary of Adas Yeshurun Synagogue on Johns Road in a show of community solidarity for the embattled Jewish state.
“Seven-thousand miles away, we stand with Israel in her pain as if we were right there,” said Rabbi Remy Liverman of Congregation Children of Israel synagogue in Augusta. “We feel it with those in our Jewish homeland.”
On Oct. 7, pro-Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip forced their way into Israel, attacking both military installations and civilian communities. On Thursday, the casualty toll on both sides reached at least 2,800 deaths with more than 10,000 wounded.
An attack on Israel is an attack on all Americans, said Rabbi David Sirull of Adas Yeshurun.
“We're all in this together. It’s not just the Jewish people. It’s democracy. It’s our greatest ally in the world. People keep saying Israel is our greatest ally in the Middle East,” he said. “It’s super-important for us to have this connection, and I’m not sure we’ve always had this connection like we do now, so we’re very fortunate and very grateful for the support.”
Rabbi Zalmar Fischer of Chabad of Augusta encouraged all Jewish families to light traditional shabbat candles Friday at sunset to “add powerful energy” to Israel’s defenders.
“To those who would try to intimidate us and weaken our resolve, we are here tonight gathered in unity and resolve to remind you that the Jewish people are a single person with a million faces, a single soul breathing within a multitude of diverse bodies, and in each one of us is all of Israel,” he said.
The Palestinian nationalist Hamas is credited with instigating the attack, but look for the current conflict to grow, according to Dr. Craig Albert, a Mideast relations expert and the program director of the Master of Arts in Intelligence and Security Studies at Augusta University.
“We should expect more attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as Hezbollah from Lebanon. This means that there is a serious possibility of a two-front war for Israel as it strikes towards the Gaza Strip near the sea, and more north into Lebanon,” he said. “Concerning the state of Israel, look for a massive air bombardment over the next few days until the conditions on the ground are satisfactory, according to Israeli intelligence, to send in massive ground forces.”
As the solidarity service continued inside the synagogue, a lone protester across the street carried a Palestinian flag. “I’m here for the children of Gaza who are being bombed right now,” said the protester, who would give only his first name, Mahmoud. “They deserve a better life. They don’t deserve to die.”
Mahmoud, a Palestinian from Ramallah who moved to Augusta in 1995, decried media coverage of the armed conflict as “completely one-sided," downplaying supposed Israeli military atrocities and obscuring many Palestinians’ enduring desire to peacefully coexist with Israelis.
“We want to live peacefully side by side with the Jews, which a lot of Palestinians are already doing. If you go to neighborhoods in Jersualem, you have Jews going to Palestinian mechanics,” he said. “We just want to live peacefully. We’ve just got to stop the aggression, stop the violence, stop the killing on both sides.”
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: 'We stand with Israel in her pain': Augusta meeting urges solidarity
