A Message from Federation President and CEO Jacob Solomon
A Greater Miami Jewish Federation delegation is currently traveling in Paris and Israel. The original purpose of the trip was to demonstrate solidarity with the Jewish community of France in response to the alarming increase in anti-Semitic incidents. With the current wave of terror attacks in Israel, however, the trip has also provided an opportunity to express the concern, support and love our Jewish community feels for the people and State of Israel. The following is a message from Federation President and CEO Jacob Solomon on behalf of the group:
Boarding the El Al flight from Paris to Israel yesterday, we carried more than the luggage we had loaded onto the plane. Each member of our delegation was also bearing fresh images of heavily armed soldiers guarding Jewish kindergartens, schools and synagogues, along with the voices of hostages we met who were terrorized for hours during the fatal attack in the Hyper Casher kosher supermarket. We left feeling deeply conflicted, torn between tremendous respect for the size and breadth of the Jewish community that has emerged in post-war France and, at the same time, a sense of grave concern and serious doubt about its future.
And then, arriving in Israel, we were greeted with expressions of gratitude from Israelis, members of our extended family who were clearly moved by our presence during these very tense and perilous times. As so often happens during missions to Israel at times of crisis, however, whatever comfort or strength we may provide to our Israeli sisters and brothers is extremely modest compared to the extent to which we are inspired and motivated by their resilience and their strength. We go into Shabbat in a few hours filled with a sense of wonder at the miracle that is the modern State of Israel and also feeling enormous gratitude for the opportunity to visit and to do whatever we can to secure and support our Jewish family wherever they live.
As Tali Levanon, Director of the Federation-supported Israel Trauma Coalition, said to us a few minutes ago: “Your presence here means the world to us. It's what gives us the strength to carry on doing what we do for our people.”
With prayers for peace and our group’s warmest wishes for a Shabbat Shalom.
