A Message from Rabbi Scott Rosenberg

Dear Friends,
 
On October 17th I shared with you 7 things that each of us can do for Israel during this time of crisis: stay informed, be an advocate, show up, give, put politics aside, reach out and pray. My message then and now is Israel is family and we need to be there for our family.
 
Since publishing that message, I have heard from several members of the Jewish community here in El Paso, member of the Congregation B’nai Zion community and others, that as Jews, we should also be supporting Palestinians who are suffering because of the current crisis and not just Israel; there are victims in Gaza, too.
 
It is important to differentiate between Hamas and innocent Palestinians, who are suffering at the hands of Hamas. Hamas’ goal has never been a two-state solution or the freedom of the Palestinian people. It aims for the destruction of the Jewish state and whatever it takes to achieve that.
 
Without diminishing or dismissing the suffering that is taking place in Gaza, our interest, right now is in supporting the Jewish people. There will be a time and place to mourn the broader losses this war may bring, but given the overwhelming connections so many of us have to Israel, this is where we are now.
 
This is a moment when we need all people of good conscience to stand with Israel, stand against the terrorism of Hamas.
 
Tonight, as we mark the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass that served as an opening act of the Holocaust, we, as Jews need to demonstrate our strength and commitment to each other in support of Israel.
 
In Israel, the slogan Yachad N’natzeach, together we will claim victory, has united our people. Yachad N’nateach, when we unite and show the world that Israel is family and we support her, we demonstrate our strength as a people and our commitment to fight antisemitism and hate in our day.
 
As Jews living in El Paso, there are three things that we can do in the coming days that will make a difference.
 
1.Attend the Vigil for the Hostages, on Sunday, November 12, between 4-5pm – San Jacinto Plaza. It is extremely important that we all unite in a show of solidarity as a community to keep the world’s attention on the innocent hostages Hamas still holds. The focus of Sunday’s rally will be the hostages and their timely release.
 
2. Join Rabbi Zeidman, who will be attending the March for Israel rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C on Tuesday, November 14th. https://www.marchforisrael.org He and hopefully others from our community will represent El Paso in demonstrating our support for Israel.
 
3.  Continue to advocate for Israel with our elected officials and thank them for their support. Elected officials are hearing from pro-Hamas/Anti-Israel advocates regularly. This week, at the El Paso City Council meeting there was public comment advocating for El Paso to terminate its sister city relationship with Hadera, Israel. At this meeting, members of the El Paso community attempted to blame Israel alone for the current crisis. Fortunately, members of the Jewish community were also present and advocating for Israel. We each need to reach out to our city council representatives and let them know we appreciate their continued support of Israel.
 
The same holds true with our representatives in Washington. Please reach out particularly to our elected representative, Veronica Escobar, to let her know how you are feeling about the current situation in Israel. We know that she hearing from those who support Hamas and she needs to be able to say she has heard from us as well. Call her office (678-254-2633) and leaving a message. The words should be easy:
 
Hello, my name is [NAME], and I am a member of the Jewish Community in your district.
I want to thank Rep. Escobar for supporting Israel and the Jewish people... 
 
Representative Escobar needs to know how we feel and how appreciative we are of her support for Israel.

We have influence. We need to share our feelings and show unified support for our family, for Israel. We all need to do what we can to help free the hostages and to make sure the world is aware that Israel is worthy of support and anti-semitism has no place or voice in our day.
 
On this, the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, we can shatter complacency and make a difference in our world and in the life of our people.
 

Rabbi Scott Rosenberg