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Jewish congregation in Williamsport holds vigil for Israel with prayers for hostages

By Mark Maroney 4 min read

The night's purpose: to stand for Israel in its war against Hamas and pray for the release of all hostages.

Many Jewish congregants in Greater Williamsport and others recently attended a vigil and showed solidarity for Israel at Ohev Sholom Congregation on Cherry Street in Williamsport.

"It is essential that we come together as a community to support one another," Larissa Simon, the congregation's president, said to the regulars and visitors, including some of different faiths.

Special guest speaker, via Zoom, Yuval Donio-Gideon, the Israel Counsel General, offered a detailed account of where the battle is today -- and brought a warning to the United States.

"The West is next," he said, a statement frequently repeated by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister.

He stated Israel was fighting evil forces of Hamas and Iran-backed military proxies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria and Houthis in Yemen -- not the Palestinians.

Hamas is using civilians as human shields, and health care facilities and schools as ways of protecting themselves, he claimed, then showing the damage done by the Israel Defense Forces as they scour the area for tunnel systems -- and possible hostage hideouts.

The armed guards and surveillance at the synagogue is an ever-present reminder of the sad state of affairs for Jews attending their synagogues, going to protests, educating themselves at schools and visiting their cemeteries.

Simon was glad to see how Lycoming County "has always supported Israel."

Inside the synagogue on a wall just a few inches from where the armed guards walked up and down the hallway, is a photographic display that is a stark reality of why the people gathered -- a wall of the faces and biographies of the hostages.

Beneath each one of the hostages are the words: "On October 7th, 240 innocent civilians were abducted from Israel into the Gaza Strip. Their whereabouts remain unknown. More than 8,500 women, men and children ranging in age from 3 months to 85 were wounded, murdered, beaten, raped and brutally separated from loved ones by Hamas."

Though two elderly women recently were released, bodies continue to be discovered and hostage negotiations are ongoing. The majority of those on the wall remain in captivity, their whereabouts and conditions unknown. One other, an Israeli soldier, was rescued by her fellow troops in Gaza.

As all of this occurs, U.S. colleges and universities, cities and communities are holding marches, with many of those parading perceived as advocating for the destruction of the Jewish State and harm and death to Jewish people alongside calls for Palestinian freedom from apartheid and support of President Joe Biden's reiteration for a two-state solution as a long-term means for possible peace in the Mideast.

One man inside the synagogue said, as an American citizen who happens to be Jewish, he is fearful for his family's well being, the safety of his fellow congregants and the building and its cemetery.

This fear stems from the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, where 11 people were killed for being Jewish.

Having recently attended a concert at Penn State, built as a composition of the human spirit, with musicians playing violins from the Holocaust period, the speaker said: "We cannot allow the falsehoods of any type to remain unchallenged."

He called on individuals with the moral courage and strength to stand with the Jewish people for the long term as they fight for their survival.

The service included songs, such as the national anthems of the U.S. and Israel, a prayer led by Rabbi Herbert Horowitz for the U.S. government and a prayer for the Israel Defense and Police Forces.

Cantor Etan Hindin sang the soul-stirring "Bring Them Home," a tribute to the hostages and all forces trying to get them home safely.

The rabbi also prayed for the hostages -- invoking the "Holy One, blessed be He, to grant mercy upon them, take them out from darkness and gloom, break their chains, redeem them from their ordeals and return them quickly to the comfort of their families," he said.

Starting at /week.