Israel & Our Community Edition

Shalom CT!

There was a large crowd at the Bridgeport City Council meeting this week. Many members of the community attended, but we were outnumbered 2:1 and they had been allotted 8 out of 10 speaker slots. We stood stronger together, but the mob mentality was loud and scary. You can read my remarks here.

I've probably given thousands of speeches over the span of my career, but this one stands out -- for all the wrong reasons.

The speakers who preceded me wound up the crowd with loud, hateful rhetoric, and they were received with cheers and applause.

When it was my turn to speak, the council stopped me from talking four times in an attempt to quiet the crowd that was yelling so loud that I couldn't hear myself. It's one thing to see the protests on TV; it's quite another to be in the middle of it in a public building. It was surreal and scary to be in the middle of all that hate, and we thank the Bridgeport Police Department for their calm protection.

Clearly, we have a lot of work to do in Greater Fairfield County if we are to live peacefully. We've started a WhatsApp group (read about it further down) where you can get the latest information on how to help.

I wish you a safe, calm, and loving Shabbos.

Carin Savel, CEO

910-818-3311

carin@shalomct.org

CIVIL RIGHTS MISSION - DAY THREE THOUGHTS

Many of us have had the opportunity to travel around the world to many exciting and historical locations.

These trips are designed more as cultural experiences. These vacations are not designed as missions to absorb history with a goal of impacting current societal conduct.

This three-day trip interfacing with the discriminatory history of the deep south was not a vacation. It was an eye-opening lesson into the depths of depravity of mankind, the prolonged struggle for equal rights, and the exultation of freedom.

It appeared that those of us on the mission were hoping that the lessons learned on this trip would highlight the parallels of slavery with the Holocaust and would create 40 emissaries to promote building bridges between blacks and Jews.

It was impossible not to have been moved and inspired by the personal stories shared with us.

So, how do we utilize the historical education and emotional experiences of our mission to motivate blacks and Jews to see the needs and benefits of mutual support?

In order to achieve those benefits , it will require our community to reach out to the local black community on joint projects to build trust, understanding and support.

For us, the trip served as a motivator to do more with our general community in order to build relationships that will stand with us in times of need and vice versa.

Tears of sorrow and lament can become tears of joy with time and effort.

Thank you to the entire Federation staff for providing us with this necessary and exhilarating experience to the south and its history.

-Anita & Hal Rosnick

We struggled with joining this trip. At a time when our people are under attack and when many of our so-called allies are silent at best and abusive and libelous at worst.

This trip could wait, now was not the right time to learn the lessons of racism in the USA, we thought. But as MLK wrote in his letter from a Birmingham jail: 'Wait' has almost always meant 'Never'”. There is never a perfect time to address inequality, persecution and forgiveness…. The struggle continues.

We started our last day with Bishop Woods whose testimony along with Miss Martha and Miss Linda and the sermon we heard at Ebenezer Baptist Church reflected the positive power of faith. So much of the use of religion in our world today and especially in the Middle East is negative, vitriolic and frankly racist that their forward-looking message of inclusion and positive activity was so timely and inspiring. The struggle continues.

We feared that given the advanced age of those giving testimony that their message was from another time and era and that our trip was an exercise in nostalgia rather than a mission.

We would have welcomed a conversation with contemporary social activists but suspect that they would see us as self-serving privileged white/Jewish apologists engaged in feel-good social action…. In short, we feared that the current generation of social activists would judge us by the color of our skin …. and not the content of our character. The struggle continues.

Hearing that our concerns were shared by many others in the group gave us strength.

On the bus ride back to the airport we learnt of all the amazing programs that our Jewish Federation does in and for our neighboring Black and low-income communities.

We were reminded of the critical role that we can and must play and that all the naysayers can’t turn us around.

We are so grateful to all of the staff and our fellow travelers for making this trip so meaningful and for continuing the struggle. The Struggle continues.

Orna and Geoffrey Stern

SEE YOU AT HOSTAGE SQUARE

Join Federation and local synagogues for a week on the ground in Israel, March 16-22, to volunteer and support soldiers, evacuees, survivors and their families. For details and registration, click here*

As a community, we will:

Meet with residents of Kibbutz Kfar Aza
Volunteer at an IDF base and provide a BBQ dinner for 125 soldiers
Volunteer to sort and pack supplies at a distribution center
Volunteer picking fruit or vegetables on a farm
Volunteer in our Partnership2Gether region in Afula
Hear from scheduled speakers Micah Goodman and Amir Tibon
Share lunch with Ofek’s friends just released from military service

*Includes security personnel for the entire trip.

Mission Details and Sign-Up

FEDERATION ADVOCATES AT BRIDGEPORT CITY COUNCIL

Bridgeport Resolution update:

Come out and support Israel!

The Bridgeport City Council will meet next on February 20th and March 4th at 6:15pm. It is vital that our community is there to show the council what the greater community wants!

Please click on the link below to sign up to speak February 20 or March 4 if you are a Bridgeport resident or represent a Bridgeport synagogue or entity. As many as would like can use the Jewish Federation's Bridgeport address (4200 Park Ave.).

Bring signs, wear blue and white -- show them we care about Israel!

Contact Debbie if you have questions. You can sign up to speak here.

Seen on I-95, Exit 26 northbound. Thanks for letting us know!

COMMUNITY ACTION:

CITY & TOWN MOBILIZATION

On Wednesday evening, Federation hosted its first Community Mobilization Training session at Federation Headquarters.

Community members from throughout our catchment area attended to learn how to begin positive relationships with our elected officials and school boards and police departments.

The session was led by Evan Bernstein, VP for Community Relations at The Jewish Federations of North America, who provided strategies for developing relationships with local leadership and monitoring the activities of their committees. A Federation Community Action WhatsApp group (QR is above) is active for volunteers to post local information on city councils, school boards and other meetings where Federation needs to mobilize and provide support.

For more information, please join the Federation Community Action WhatsApp group or contact Carin.

Mini & Me is growing! Join us at the Federation on Thursdays at 11 AM for songs, games and fun. Thank you to Rabbi Josh Ratner and Cantor Sarah Metzger (dressed as a dinosaur) from Or Hadash for joining our Mini & Me today with songs and stories.

Enjoy the Superbowl weekend even more -- knowing that football fans will hear about the hostages during the game. 'I have a dream' speechwriter Clarence Jones to be face of Patriots owner Robert Kraft's anti-antisemitism campaign.

https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-785749

Suggested actions to support Israel in your local community:

Learn about the latest updates on aid to Israel, the significant congressional developments of the past week, and the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition to protect communities and colleges so that you can be an effective advocate. Register for this special briefing for advocacy leaders on February 9 at 12 ET.
Read this Ynet article examining the history of Hamas’s extensive tunnel system and the IDF strategy in maneuvering this complex network.
Share this social media clip on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook calling for the immediate release of all the hostages being held by Hamas.
Raise awareness for the remaining hostages by printing these signs with their faces and stories.
Listen to and share the music of 26-year-old Shaul Greenglick, a talented singer from Ra’anana who auditioned on “The Next Star” to represent Israel at the Eurovision competition just weeks before he was killed while fighting Hamas. Greenglick, who comes from a family of talented musicians, dropped out of the competition due to his military duties. This week, his siblings performed a song in his memory on the season finale of the show.

Issue:

There are 136 hostages still being held captive by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Hostages that have been released are sharing harrowing details of inhumane treatment and physical and psychological abuse. According to a report in the New York Times, Israel believes that 32 of the remaining 136 hostages have been killed. Below are stories of some of the hostages that are still being held in captivity, 125 days on:

Background:

Daniel Perez was last seen and heard from on the morning of October 7. The 22-year-old resident of the community of Yad Binyamin in central Israel is the son of Rabbi Doron Perez, the head of the World Mizrachi movement. Daniel is an active runner, athlete and ardent supporter of the Liverpool soccer team. His family has organized a weekly run where supporters show their solidarity with the family and urge for Daniel’s release.
Amiram Cooper, an 85-year-old grandfather of nine, is one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz. His wife Nurit was one of the first hostages released in a deal. He is a poet and composer and is described as a lover of peace and a man of ideas. On the 25th anniversary of the kibbutz’s founding in 1980 he composed a poem entitled Love Song.
Kaid Farhan Elkadi lives in a Bedouin community in southern Israel. On the morning of October 7 he was abducted from Kibbutz Magen where he was guarding a packaging facility. The 53-year-old is married and is the father of 11 children.
Edan Alexander is a 19-year-old lone soldier who was born in Tel Aviv but grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey. After high school he returned to Israel to join the Golani Brigade of the IDF. He is a swimmer and loves Thai and Japanese foods. His mother says that he is “a great all-American kid." He had plans to attend college in the United States and study business.
Noa Argamani is a dual Israeli and Chinese citizen who was kidnapped while attending the Supernova music festival with her boyfriend Avinatan Or, who was also taken captive. She is a student at Ben Gurion University. A video taken in the immediate aftermath of her kidnapping has been widely circulated and shows Noa yelling, “Don’t kill me!” Noa’s mother Liora is suffering from terminal brain cancer and has pleaded to allow for her daughter’s release. She wrote to President Biden in December saying, “I am terminally ill with stage 4 brain cancer. All that’s running through my mind before I part ways with my family forever is the chance to hug my daughter, my only child, one last time.”
Alex Danzig (Dancyg) is a 75-year-old father and grandfather. Born in Warsaw after the Holocaust, he is a dual citizen of Poland and Israel. He was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. A Holocaust scholar and historian at Yad Vashem, he has won awards from the government of Poland for his educational work bringing together Israeli and Polish children to learn about the Holocaust. A campaign called “StandwithAlex” calling attention to his captivity has been spray-painted in public spaces in Warsaw. Danzig requires medication for a heart condition for which he had surgery several years ago.
Doron Steinbrecher is a 30-year-old veterinary nurse who was kidnapped from her apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. At 10:30 in the morning of October 7 she sent a message to friends saying, “They’ve arrived. They have me.” Doron has a wide smile that radiates warmth and love. She requires daily medication.
Orión Hernández Radoux is a 31-year-old Mexican and French citizen who was attending the music festival with his girlfriend Shani Louk, who was later found dead. He was in Israel as a tourist at the time he was taken captive. He is described as “a man of music and festivals, love and family, adventure and peace.” He is the father of a young girl who is eagerly awaiting her father’s return.

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