Approximately 250 attendees rallied Sunday afternoon at the Jewish Community Campus in Overland Park to stand behind Israel after the country endured days of rocket fire from Gaza during the recent conflict with Hamas.
“We gather today to express and demonstrate our support and unity with our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael — those who over the last few weeks bore the onslaught of more than 4,000 missiles fired from Gaza and endured civil unrest and violence in their streets,” said Michael Abrams, immediate past board chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City.
“Many of us in the Jewish community have felt under attack and isolated this week — but as we can see here today, we are not alone,” said Gary Wolf, board president of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee (JCRB|AJC). “We stand united, together, as a people who desperately desire peace for Israel and her neighbors, yet who remain crystal clear about the realities on the ground.”
The roughly 45-minute rally included songs and prayers — and several minutes of the hora at the end — mixed in with the remarks. The persistent rain that had drenched the region during the past week largely held off, save for a few sprinkles.
Jewish Federation organized the event in partnership with the JCRB|AJC and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City.
Israelis living in the local community participated in the event, including Gil Nevat, a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces. He offered a prayer for the IDF.
In addition, another Israeli, Nissim Mina, led the musical accompaniment for the rally. Joining him were brothers Yoni and Daniel Israeli.
The show of support for Israel came as a fragile ceasefire took hold May 20, with clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police reported just hours after announcement of the agreement.
About 230 Gazans and 12 Israelis died in the exchange of fire that began on May 9 with Hamas launching rockets into Israel, toward Jerusalem.
The fighting in Gaza and Israel, and the unrest, followed weeks of protests in eastern Jerusalem and Jerusalem’s Old City. Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli police multiple times on the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, which Muslims revere as the Noble Sanctuary, and which is the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
There were also protests in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, which some Jews refer to as Shimon Hatzaddik, over the pending eviction of Palestinian families from homes owned by Jews.
Jewish leaders, both in Kansas City and nationally, have decried a spike in antisemitic incidents in the U.S. in the wake of the hostilities.
A pro-Palestininan rally on the Country Club Plaza May 15 angered members of the Kansas City Jewish community when protestors tore down an Israeli flag along Ward Parkway. The Kansas City Star reported that about 250 marchers took part in another pro-Palestinian gathering on Saturday.
Speakers at the JCC Sunday denounced accounts of the conflict in the media and online as biased against Israel.
“The demonization and double standards, the lack of context, the outright falsehoods, the calls for Israel’s destruction have been disheartening at best — dangerous at worst,” Wolf said.
Israel and Hamas are in no way comparable, he said.
“There is no moral equivalency between a group that uses their own people as human shields,” Wolf said, “and one that calls residents of buildings in advance of air strikes to avoid civilian casualties.”
Strong support for Israel does not equal anti-Palestinian sentiment, Wolf said. “We grieve for the people of Gaza who are held hostage by this genocidal terrorist organization.”
Jasamine Hodge, an Overland Park resident and a member of Congregation Beth Israel Abraham and Voliner, said the violence against Israel spurred her to urge members of the community to rally on behalf of the country.
Her initial goal was modest, maybe a gathering of 100 people or so. But the response to her entreaties was tremendous.
“The Jewish people and supporters of Israel on every level came forward and showed exactly who we are. They came to offer help, new ideas, abilities and resources to create the event before you,” Hodge said. “A safe place for all of us to mourn the lives lost in this tragic event, a place to stand to show support for Israel, and a place to change the portrayal of Israel.”
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency contributed to this report.
