When my recent blog mentioned worshipping at a High Holiday service at a North Shore congregation at the onset of the Yom Kippur War, I could not foresee or imagine that three weeks later I would be standing in the parking lot of the same synagogue, rallying with my fellow Chicago Jews after the heinous terrorist attack in Israel.

But there we convened, Jews of every branch of our faith, standing together to demonstrate our support for Eretz Yisroel, the Land of Israel, our Jewish homeland. We are not always united. A week ago many of our viewpoints on the direction of the Israeli government clashed. While many have friends and family living there, for some the only connection might be the Birthright trip our children had been on. A few of us may have thought of Israel only as an afterthought in our busy lives.

But the deadly Hamas attack on civilians — men, women, and children — on October 7th, has changed all that. Together we waved Israeli flags as we listened to addresses from Governor JB Pritzker, Congressman Brad Schneider, Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, and others. We sang two national anthems, The Star-Spangled Banner and The Hatikvah, with Israeli and American flags waving together.

What brings us all together is the unshakeable conviction that Israel has a right to exist and a right to exist in peace. It is peace we all seek, and though there must and will be retribution for the violence of the last several days, peace and coexistence is the ultimate goal.

We came to a rally in a temple parking lot to express our support, our unity, and our strength. We pledge those things to Israel and the world.

---

To subscribe to our blog, enter your email address in the box below.