- Allentown's Jewish Community Center hosted a prayer vigil in light of the conflict which erupted in Gaza this weekend
- Hundreds attended the vigil with various rabbis, community members and politicians offering their support
- Rabbis led the crowd in a number of Jewish prayers, including Israel's anthem, "Hatikva"
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Hundreds of members of the Jewish community in the Lehigh Valley along with friends, supporters, members of other religions and politicians came together in solidarity at the Jewish Community Center for a prayer vigil held Tuesday evening.
In the wake of an attack on Israel by the Islamist militant group Hamas – noted as one of the deadliest terror attacks in the country’s history – which led to the deaths of at least 900 people, Israelis and Jews across the world have been in a state of shock. Israel has responded with airstrikes on Gaza, the territory currently controlled by Hamas, leaving hundreds dead, thousands wounded, and hundreds of thousands displaced.
Here in the Lehigh Valley, members of the Jewish community congregated on the eve of Oct. 10 to share support and solidarity as both military and civilian casualties grow in a conflict occurring half a world away.
“We need to pray together. The power of our prayers can only work if they come together as one unified whole. And I know that it's also comforting for me and comforting for others to be around our people while we're under threat like this."Rabbi Shoshanah Tornberg of Congregation Keneseth Israel
Every seat at the community center was packed, and even more people lined the walls. Lines stretched out the doors leading up to the start of the vigil, all gathered embracing and sharing in a sense of shock, awe and compassion in troubling times.
Rabbi Shoshanah Tornberg of Congregation Keneseth Israel called the conflict “a trying and terrible time for our people,” and while there are few things that can be done from a community center in Allentown, providing a sense of community and support is paramount.
“We need to pray together. The power of our prayers can only work if they come together as one unified whole. And I know that it's also comforting for me and comforting for others to be around our people while we're under threat like this,” Tornberg said, adding the gathering was “just the bare minimum of what we can do, but it’s so necessary” for all.
Robby Wax, president of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, told the crowd the atrocities spelled out across the news and social media – “stories of innocent men, women and children being murdered, kidnapped and injured” – is “too much to bear individually.”
“Just as we came together as a community during the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago, and during barbaric atrocities against our people beforehand and afterward, we join now, in solidarity with the State of Israel,” Wax said.
“We will mourn. We will cry. We will pray. But we will also demonstrate resilience, and we will overcome this terrible tragedy. That is our story, the story of our people. We have no other choice.”
Wax went on to promote “our call to action,” explaining the Executive Committee of the Jewish Federation had met on Sunday to approve an emergency campaign, calling upon Israel and Valeska Zighelboim, the chairs of the effort, to come speak.
Israel Zighelboim took to the podium to tell the story of his father, who during the 1940s in Venezuela undertook a mission to collect funding to fight “a war that was committed to destroy a new state that had just been founded.”
Zighelboim called on the community to embrace that same mentality to support a community under siege in 2023.
“Today, this is not a threat on Israel. This is a threat on the Jewish people. I think that we have all heard the numbers and the impact that these attacks have had. This is our time to come together, and unprecedented events call for unprecedented responses, and we know that this community will do it. So I just reach out to you, you will have several ways in which to reach out and touch this campaign and support the people from Israel,” Zighelboim said.
Rabbi Moshe Re'em, head of the Lehigh Valley clergy group, offered a prayer written by a fellow rabbi, calling for the protection of the people of Israel.
“Protect the men and women who defend Israel. Let them be safe, and may they be victorious over the Hamas terrorists who attacked our people. Watch over them, hear their prayers. Bring peace. Let it rain down from the heavens like a mighty storm; let it wash away all hatred and bloodshed,” Re’em said.
“Peace, God, please, please. God of the brokenhearted and God of the living, God of the dead, gather the souls of the victims into your eternal shelter. Have them find peace in your presence, God. Their lives had ended, but their lights can never be extinguished.”
Recorded statements from Governor Josh Shapiro, Representative Susan Wild and Senator John Fetterman were presented as well, guaranteeing the support and love of the people of Pennsylvania.
When Fetterman called out his support and his wishes for the people of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces to “break and destroy Hamas,” the crowd erupted into applause.
Rabbi Yaacov Halperin stood before the crowd as a man concerned for his family, both immediate and extended, including two nephews serving in the IDF.
“Watch over the soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand in battle on land, in the air, and the sea, and all the security and rescue forces. Save them, oh God, from every trouble and distress, and bestow blessings and success upon their efforts. Grant them salvation and the crown of victory,” Halperin said.
Halperin concluded his remarks by calling on those in the audience to cover their eyes, saying “Even in times of darkness, in times that we cannot see the future, in times that we do not know what's coming next, we still as Jews have faith in God, with pride and with joy together with the pain and the tears,” before leading the crowd in the prayer of “Shema Yisrael.”
Several other members of the Jewish community offered remarks and prayers as well, including Rabbi Michael Singer of Congregation Brith Sholom, who thanked politicians and practitioners of other faiths for their support.
“I also want to acknowledge fellow clergy from other faiths who have joined us tonight and added your prayers and your community's prayers to ours tonight, and in the coming days, weeks and months, for not only all of those who have been murdered but also your prayers that one day we may indeed live in a world where this doesn't happen anywhere or to anyone,” Singer said.
Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk, who did not address the crowd at large, expressed his support for all those in the community in trying times.
“The violence that is being brought upon people in the Middle East right now is very difficult and particularly difficult for people in our community, so I'm here in support of the members of the Allentown community that are struggling with the violence overseas right now,” Tuerk said.
Jeri Zimmerman, executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley, thanked everyone in attendance, especially the slew of young students in the crowd, prior to engaging in the prayer “Hatikva,” otherwise known as “The Hope,” which also serves as the national anthem of Israel.
“We will all do that well that we can to stand with Israel and to help our brothers and our sisters who are affected by this latest war,” Zimmerman said.
As photos and video clips of IDF soldiers were displayed on the projector screen, the crowd rose up to sing “Hatikva,” imbuing a sense of hope for an end to the fighting and for a time of peace to come. As the crowd dispersed from the hall, shaking hands, hugging and embracing one another, that hope was practically tangible.
