“Israel did not seek this war, but she will finish it!” exclaimed Congressman Josh Gottheimer in a message recorded between emergency sessions in Washington, DC, played to rousing applause by the gathering of 5,000 supporters held at the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly on Tuesday night, with approximately 1,400 more people watching the livestream from 26 states and six countries.
In swift response to the horrific situation in Israel, the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey (JFNNJ) collaborated with the JCC and numerous other agencies to create a space for the Jewish community at large to “grieve together, work to process the most horrible attack the State of Israel has ever seen, and to show our Israel family that we are there for them,” said Daniel M. Shlufman, JFNNJ president.
New Jersey Attorney General Platkin spoke briefly thanking all law enforcement agencies who have stepped their vigilance, and was clear in defining the action of Hamas. “Let’s call it what it is: terrorism.” Jason Shames, CEO and executive vice president, JFNNJ, closed the event by saying, “Message boards and social media have become a cesspool of antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiment. I say the hell with that! Fight back and stand up!”
Additionally, local communities have organized to rise to the aid and needs of the IDF, and multiple supply collection sites opened to gather much needed equipment to support our brave soldiers. Charter flights were established to ship the supplies, and volunteers streamed to the donor sites to help in every way they could. The response was indescribable. Am Yisrael Chai!
