Friday, Nov. 1, was no ordinary erev Shabbat. Shalva, an organization dedicated to supporting individuals with disabilities and their families in Israel and around the world, sent a team of 260 Israeli runners to participate in the New York City Marathon on Sunday, Nov. 3. Early Friday morning, as the sun was rising, those 260 runners gathered for a pre-marathon run in Central Park.
To bystanders watching, the purpose of the pre-marathon event seemed to be for teams to partake in group photos at the marathon finish line. But Team Shalva’s pre-marathon run was much more than just a photo op.
At the finish line, the Shalva runners emotionally greeted “Nice Jewish Runners” (NJR), a group which “was created after Oct. 7 to provide a safe, supportive space for Jewish runners [which has] grown across 20 cities worldwide,” said Ezra Feig, head of NJR.
As Feig excitedly exclaimed to Team Shalva as the two groups met: “When you look at the news, it may seem like we don’t support you. America supports you! The Jewish people support you! We love Israel! We support Israel! We’re not going anywhere! We’re stronger than ever! Am Yisrael Chai!”
From a visual perspective, the Shalva runners who all approached the finish line together appeared as a bright sea of gold as they donned yellow T-shirts as a symbol calling for the return of the hostages held by Hamas.
Explained Itamar Shevach, deputy director of Shalva, to Feig and NJR: “I hope that all of you, when you run, you remember to remember the hostages and to pray for all the soldiers that are wounded and are still fighting in the battle that we can continue our lives together.” The overwhelming emotional element of the morning was the joy, pride and hope of Team Shalva as they exuberantly belted out Am Yisrael Chai and heartfully sang Hativkah.
As to the heroism represented on Team Shalva, Kalman Samuels, founder and president of Shalva, stated: “Among our runners is a hero who defended his entire community from Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, a father running in honor of his son who was tragically murdered while serving in the army, and a doctor running alongside the patient whose life she saved after a drive-by shooting.”
Speaking to The Jewish Link, Samuels stated: “Many of these runners have just been released from Lebanon, from Gaza, full service, and it’s incredible. Their dedication, they continue to run and to train, and we’re running for those in captivity, we’re running to be a presence of Israel in this marathon.”
The Jewish Link also spoke with Yossi Hamani, running with his 22-year-old daughter, Chaya, who was in a specially adapted wheelchair. As Yossi explained, Chaya is suffering from a rare disease and cannot move her muscles. “Two years ago Chaya asked to start running with me, so I started to run in a special stroller with her.”
Explaining that he loves to run and to do good for the community of people with disabilities, Yossi stated that his and Chaya’s dream “was to come to New York to do the best marathon in the world.”
The Jewish Link spoke with one Shalva runner who was particularly uplifted by her time in New York. As explained by Michali Samuels: “It was so hard leaving Israel. Last week I lost a friend who is a soldier in Lebanon; he left four kids, and leaving at these times was hard. And I felt like maybe the Jewish community in New York or in America won’t feel our pain, will be disconnected and that would be hard to see. But all we felt here was love and support and it’s really been heartwarming. We feel like you’re with us and you feel our pain.”
When asked about his message to the world on marathon Sunday, Samuels stated: “We’re here. You can do whatever you want, we’re resilient, we’re still here. We’re still choosing life, in spite of the situation where everyone is choosing something else. And we’re going to be running with Israeli flags, proudly, as Israelis, running for a country that is God’s gift to the Jewish people and to the world.”
For obvious reasons, the gatherings New Yorkers have had in support of Israel since Oct. 7 have generally been somber. At least for just a few moments at this early morning pre-marathon gathering, there were moments of unbridled joy.
The morning gave hope that we will one day be joyful again.
Judith Falk is the creator of the Upper West Side Shtetl Facebook group. You can follow her on instagram @upperwestsideshtetl. She is a lawyer by day and a former legal reporter.
