Dozens of Columbia's Jewish residents join nationwide call for Israel-Hamas ceasefire

Charles Dunlap, Columbia Daily Tribune
Updated ·2 min read
23

A nationwide call Thursday for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War was joined by about 80 members of Columbia's Jewish community.

The call occurred on the last night of Hanukkah and closed off a weeklong #ChanukahforCeasefire campaign by the IfNotNowMovement, an American Jewish organization pushing the U.S. to end its support of "Israel's apartheid system and demand equality, justice, and a thriving future for all Palestinians and Israelis."

Community members gathered at the La Colomba statute across from Daniel Boone Regional Library, temporarily transforming the representation of a peace dove, sometimes referred to as flying french fries, into a menorah.

"We know that every day that there isn’t a lasting ceasefire, more people will be killed," said ceremony host Rachel English in a follow-up news release. "So let’s all let our friends, our neighbors, and especially our elected officials know that we don’t need more military aid to Israel. We need an end to the assault on Gaza and freedom for all hostages. If not now, when? If not on this Chanukah, then when?”

The "La Colomba" statue across from Daniel Boone Regional Library was temporarily transformed into a menorah Thursday as a group of Columbia Jewish residents called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The "La Colomba" statue across from Daniel Boone Regional Library was temporarily transformed into a menorah Thursday as a group of Columbia Jewish residents called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Prayers were said, including the traditional Kaddish mourning prayer to honor both Israeli and Palestinian lives lost, songs were sung and candles were lit as part of the ceremony.

One of the event's co-organizers, Cass Donish, shared a photo of their family and how losing relatives in the Holocaust spurred them to speak out Thursday.

"The weaponization, the exploitation, of Jewish grief and trauma to justify the attempted ethnic cleansing of Gaza, when that is exactly what we ourselves know, what our people have been subjected to at the hands of others with more power, is an unacceptable tragedy and a travesty," Donish said. "This violence is supported, and only made possible, by the U.S. government. Not in Our Name."

More than 18,000 people have been killed in the ongoing war. Displacement of Palestinians has led to a humanitarian crisis. A nonbinding vote Tuesday in the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly supports a ceasefire. The vote also happened on the day Israel started flooding Hamas tunnel systems with seawater.

Josh Parnell, a Columbia resident attending Thursday's event, voiced concerns over the financial and munitions support the U.S. has provided Israel.

"Many of our American Jewish institutions remain silent in the face of a growing calamity. Even worse, some seem to cheer it on. And it has to stop. We cannot achieve and sustain Jewish safety in an unjust world," Parnell said.

USA Today reporters John Bacon and Jorge L. Ortiz contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Some Jewish residents of Columbia join call for Israel-Hamas ceasefire