As We Pray for Peace, We Prepare to Rebuild

In our tradition, the high holiday season is the time of year when the future is held in the balance. The news of the developing ceasefire and potential release of the hostages held captive in Gaza surely qualifies as such a moment.

We join with every Jewish community and with all people of good will in praying for the ceasefire agreement to be fully implemented, for the hostages to be returned to the embrace of their families, for those who are no longer living to be buried with dignity and love, and for the brave soldiers of Israel to enjoy a respite from their hard and committed service to the Jewish people.

We thank President Trump and his administration for their dedicated work in achieving this breakthrough. Through the president’s many meetings with the hostage families and Israeli government leaders, he has shown his compassion and concern for the fate of the hostages and the security of the State of Israel. He has taken personal and political risks to achieve this result and deserves the gratitude of our community. We look forward to his address to the Knesset in the coming days and to what will surely be a warm welcome by the Israeli people.

If, as we all hope, this agreement is fully implemented, our next steps as leaders of our Jewish communities are clear. First, we must rebuild what has been damaged, both in Israel and here at home. Through longstanding partnerships and newly formed coalitions, every one of the 141 Jewish Federations across North America are engaged in the work of helping Israelis recover and rebuild. Just last week, in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel, Bank Leumi, and generous anonymous donors in North America, we helped launch an easily accessible loan fund available to all reservists and their families. More such efforts will shortly follow.

Here at home, rebuilding also means strengthening and restoring where necessary the connections between our Jewish communities in North America and Israel. On one hand, the vast majority of Jews in North America have remained deeply connected to Israel and our Israeli brothers and sisters throughout the war. On the other hand, we know that Israel has come under withering attack in our communities and that these attacks have had an impact. The experience of our students in schools, on campus and on social media, and the experience of too many of our community members in their jobs and civic lives, has surely taken a toll. We will do everything necessary to repair the damage that these campaigns of falsehoods and vitriol have achieved. We are particularly excited by the development of a comprehensive Volunteer in Israel program, being built by the Jewish Federation system in partnership with Birthright Israel that will allow community members of all ages to help rebuild Israel not just with our funds and our prayers but with our hands and our talents. Nothing works more effectively to deepen ties and build lasting relationships than helping others.

Second, we must use these coming months to strengthen our protections at home. Today, 135 Federations have full time security programs serving every Jewish institution in their community, and the remainder will be completed soon. It is impossible to overstate how important this effort has been to protecting our communities during these past two years. These programs need to be sustained and strengthened in the coming months to keep our communities safe and meet the growing threat levels.

But physical security is not enough. We must take proactive steps in each of our communities to reduce the incitement to violence and the normalization of antisemitism. The role that Federations play in engaging local government, business, religious and education leaders is essential in combating the rise of antisemitism. Federations are truly on the frontline in protecting our communities. To succeed we must be prepared to raise the level of our government and community relations work as aggressively we have in our physical security.

Third, there is no longer any doubt that the events of the past two years have inspired more people to seek out deep, meaningful engagements with Jewish life. Our own Jewish Federations of North America survey research has confirmed the surge in Jewish interest, giving us the opportunity to build the welcoming, inclusive, educated and engaged communities that will enable our people to flourish now and for generations to come.

Our Hillels, Chabads and other organizations on campus are thriving, our JCCs are full, our Jewish pre-schools and camps are growing, and most of all our Jewish day schools are bursting at the seams. And our communities are responding. Federation supported initiatives across North America are helping make Jewish day schools affordable and accessible. This is the moment to invest for our future.

As we approach Simchat Torah, the holiday on which Jews complete the yearly cycle of Torah readings and begin the cycle anew, we have hope that there will also be a new beginning for the hostages and their families, the State of Israel and the Jewish people. As we watch the events of the next few days unfold, we will increase our prayers and hope for the best, but we will also roll up our sleeves and get to work on the important tasks that are ahead of us.

May G-d grant healing to those who will return from captivity, comfort to those who will be in mourning, and inspiration to our community to enable us to respond fully and comprehensively to this moment of opportunity.

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Co-authored by Gary Torgow, Chair of Jewish Federations of North America