The war in Israel is a developing story; please consult the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Jewish News Syndicate for updated information.
Donations to Federation's Israel Emergency Fund can be done here: jewishkansascity.org/israel
Hundreds of members of the Kansas City Jewish community gathered in support of Israel and peace on Monday evening, two days after terrorists from the Gaza Strip began murdering hundreds of Israeli civilians and taking more than 150 hostage. More than 600 people attended in person in the social hall of The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah, and more than 500 watched via livestream.
The terror attack in Israel was launched on Simchat Torah, 50 years and one day since the beginning of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Israel declared war on Hamas after the attack; the death count is still rising, thousands are injured and more than 150 Israelis are being held hostage in the Gaza Strip as of publication.
Oct. 7 was the deadliest single day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
The community quickly arranged a gathering in support of Israel and peace with only two days’ notice, both of which were Jewish holidays (Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah). The event was presented by Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Jewish Community Relations Bureau|AJC, and community organizations, congregations and clergy.
B’nai Jehudah Senior Rabbi Stephanie Kramer and Federation President and CEO Jay Lewis introduced the event.
“Tonight we come together to try and use words of the Jewish tradition for this unspeakable tragedy… We stand together, we stand in solidarity, we stand as one,” Rabbi Kramer said.
“This is what community looks like. This is who Kansas City is,” Lewis said. “It’s so important that we’re here, together, shoulder-to-shoulder, for each other, for our friends, for our family in Israel, and for our global Jewish community. It’s no surprise that so many of us have come here this evening and the hundreds more that have joined us online. This is what our Kansas City community does; this is our strength.”
Prayers and poems were read by Rabbis Doug Alpert, Elizabeth Bonney-Cohen, Mark Glass, David Glickman, Larry Karol, Stephanie Kramer, Mark Levin, Alan Londy, Rachel Rothstein, Jonathan Rudnick, Linda Steigman, Sam Stern and Michael Zedek. Hazzan Tahl Ben-Yehuda, Cantor Aron Hayoun, Laura Payne and Lara Steinel led attendees in song and prayer. Mika Kislanski, Kansas City’s community shalicha (Israeli emissary), also spoke.
“Over the past month since my arrival, and even more so over the past few days, I’ve been touched by the increasing support and interest in my and my family's well-being,” Kislanski said. “These acts of kindness and outreach have truly strengthened my belief that I’m in the right place during these troubling times. The war ahead of us will not be easy or short, but being here today and seeing the community come together in solidarity only strengthens what I know about the continuity and prosperity of Israel.”
Before the evening ended with a recitation of “Hatikvah,” the Israeli national anthem, there were closing words from Jewish Community Relations Bureau|AJC Executive Director Gavriela Geller.
Geller addressed the community’s response and how organizations have set up various support systems. Jewish Family Services is hosting a community support group; Jewish Federation is collecting funds for Israel; and JCRB|AJC is reaching out to educational partners to provide them with resources to support Jewish students, as well as reaching out to members of Congress to urge them to support pro-Israel legislation and support Israel against terrorism.
“We are all working lockstep as a community to address the challenges that are before us, and we will continue to do so in the coming days and weeks,” she said.
“While we continue to mourn each of the lives lost over the last few days… we must also keep in mind… the joy and the reasons to celebrate our identity and our community. It is when we are scared to do that, that terror wins. But we will not cower.
“Let’s remember that our very existence as a Jewish people is an act of resistance to all of the forces that seek to harm and destroy us,” she continued, “and try as they might… they have never succeeded, and they will not now.”
With both in-person attendance at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah and virtual attendance via livestream, more than 1,000 people watched the community gathering in support of Israel and peace.
