SHOW UP FOR SHABBAT — One year after Pittsburgh, the JCRB|AJC is urging the community to gather, remember and act.
Following the murder of 11 worshipping Jews at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue last October, millions of people of all faiths rallied around AJC’s #ShowUpForShabbat initiative, packing synagogues in what became the largest-ever expression of solidarity with the American Jewish community. The outpouring of love and support offered American Jews a glimmer of light in the darkness of that terrible week.
On the one-year commemoration of this tragedy, AJC is again calling on all people of good conscience to Show Up For Shabbat on Oct. 25 and 26, as synagogues across the country open their doors to the entire community. The New Reform Temple, Kehilath Israel Synagogue and Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka will officially participate in the initiative, welcoming all communities to join them at services that weekend.
“So many American Jews felt their sense of safety shattered after this horrific anti-Semitic attack,” said Gavriela Geller, JCRB|AJC’s executive director. “Yet the Show Up For Shabbat campaign managed to create hope, community and solidarity amidst a terrible moment in history. We will gather this year to mourn together, but also to feel supported and proud in our Jewish identities. We honor their memories by refusing to give in to fear and terror.”
JCRB|AJC, The New Reform Temple, Kehilath Israel Synagogue and Temple Beth Sholom invite members of the Jewish community, along with friends and allies from all faiths, to join them at synagogue to reaffirm our commitment to unity in the face of hate.
ISRAEL’S POPULATION HITS 9 MILLION (JTA) — There are now 9.092 million people living in Israel.
The country’s Central Bureau of Statistics released the number last week in its annual report ahead of the Jewish new year.
The total represents an increase of 184,00 people, or 2.1 percent, since last Rosh Hashanah. That growth is similar to that of previous years, the report said.
The current total population includes 6.744 million Jews, 1.907 million Arabs and 441,000 people who identify with neither group.
This Jewish year, 196,000 babies were born and 50,000 people died. Thirty-eight thousand people immigrated to the country, including 35,000 people who were new immigrants under the Law of Return, which guarantees Israeli citizens to those with at least one Jewish grandparents, converts or people married to Jews.
Israel’s population is expected to grow to 10 million people by 2024, according to the report.