Four Connecticut rabbis head for the Jewish state (between rocket attacks and flight bans)

By Cindy Mindell

The Fairfield County Jewish leaders participating in a recent solidarity mission to Israel were: (r to l) Ron Fish of Norwalk, Jeremy Wiederhorn, Larry Kleinman and Orna Stern, all of Westport.

WESTPORT – Four Jewish leaders from Fairfield County stood with Israel by standing in Israel last month, as part of a solidarity mission organized by the Rabbinical Assembly and the Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel. The four-day trip, from July 21 to 24, was sandwiched between a U.S. Department of State travel warning and the Federation Aviation Administration’s 24-hour ban on U.S. carriers to Israel.

Rabbi Ron Fish of Congregation Beth El in Norwalk and Rabbi Jeremy Wiederhorn of The Conservative Synagogue (TCS) in Westport, as well as TCS congregants Larry Kleinman and Orna Stern, both of Westport, were among the 40-member group.

The group was welcomed by Natan Sharansky, head of the Jewish Agency for Israel, a major beneficiary of the “Stop the Sirens” emergency campaign launched by Jewish Federations of North America within a week of Operation Protective Edge.

Participants traveled to southern Israel, where they met with rabbis, community leaders, and yeshiva students. They visited the graves of the three kidnapped and murdered Yeshiva students, Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar, and Naftali Fraenkel, in Modi’in. They paid a shiva call to the family of Lt. Bar Rahav, one of the first IDF soldiers killed while fighting Hamas in Gaza.

The group was briefed by Knesset leaders, including Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni, and Dr. Yuval Steinitz, Minister of Intelligence, International Relations and Strategic Affairs, among others. They also heard from Col. (res.) Elan Lerman, Deputy Director of the National Security Council for Foreign Policy.

While visiting communities within range of Hamas missiles, they spoke with mayors and other town officials and visited local bomb shelters. They met with Masorti Movement leaders and visited the Ramah-NOAM overnight summer camp, which was relocated from the center of the country and out of harm’s way.

“Whether to participate in the solidarity mission was not even a question for me,” says Wiederhorn. “As a pulpit rabbi in the Diaspora, I often find myself supporting Israel through words and prayers. However, during times such as these, my immediate reaction is to physically go to Israel and help however I can.”

Forty Conservative rabbis from all across the country took part in the movement’s recent solidarity mission to Israel.

Wiederhorn says that this trip was different in a fundamental way. “Usually, when visiting Israel, one finds demonstrations of some sort,” he says. “Whether it may be issues of social equality, the peace process, ultra-Orthodox service in the army, etc., there is always plenty to debate in Israel. This time, I was struck by the unity of the people behind the soldiers and the war in Gaza. Instead of witnessing demonstrations of displeasure and disagreement, we saw demonstrations of unity. Israelis of all ages were sharing the message that we are ‘stronger together.’”

For Wiederhorn, the strongest message from the mission was best expressed by Rachel Fraenkel, the mother of Naftali, one of the three kidnapped and murdered Israeli teenagers. “Rachel met with us for over an hour and shared that while her ‘loss is endless, the support is endless too,’” Wiederhorn recalls. “She said, ‘Life is difficult, but it’s also very wonderful.’ She spoke about gratitude and hope and experiencing solidarity in the deepest sense. She succeeded in bringing comfort to all of us who had the privilege of meeting her and taught us that we can indeed continue to celebrate life even after encountering the most horrific of experiences imaginable.”

A second solidarity mission is planned for August 18-21, jointly led by the Rabbinical Assembly, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, and Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism in Israel. For more information visit rabbinicalassembly.org or call (212) 280-6000.

Comments? email cindym@jewishledger.com.