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October 20, 2000/21 Tishri 5761, Vol. 53, No.4
Valley community rallies in solidarity
BARRY COHEN
Community Editor
A cross-section of the Valley Jewish community - young and old, Orthodox and secular, professional and lay - stood in solidarity for Israel, more than 300 strong, at Wesley Bolin Plaza in downtown Phoenix on Oct. 12.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix sponsored the rally, featuring a number of speakers, including Gov. Jane D. Hull.
"We are rightfully outraged, and our resolve to support Israel will never falter," said Hull. "I am very pleased that you have invited me to join with you. Let me again tell you from the deepest of my heart how terribly provoked and saddened I am by what has happened."
"This is hurting, this is really hurting," rally participant Sandra Mantel, told a reporter. "Many times people say, 'Which comes first? Are you an American Jew or a Jewish American?' And I often feel I am an American, but my Jewishness goes with me no matter where I go. This is what I am."
Lanny Lahr, federation president, gave opening remarks and introduced leaders from across the Jewish spectrum: Rabbi Michael Wasserman of Conservative Beth El Congregation; Rabbi David Rebibo of Modern Orthodox Beth Joseph Congregation; Cantor Sharona Feller and Rabbi Bill Berk of Reform Temple Chai; Vicki Cabot, federation campaign chairwoman; and Ruth Storch, a graduate of the Phoenix Hebrew Academy.
Wasserman called for "rationality on the part of the Palestinian people and the nations that support them."
Berk said it is time to sound an alarm "for the sake of peace.
"We pray for peace. We have taken unbelievable risks for peace. We want to live with our brothers and sisters, the children of Ishmael in peace. ... However, at the moment, there is no peace, and we will not buy peace if the price is the destruction of the Jewish nation and the Jewish people."
Rebibo spoke of the value of Jewish peoplehood. "The threat to Israel today, the threat to her existence today ... should remind us that we are one people on this earth," he said "We are all part of the same K'lal Yisrael, responsible for and to one another."
Cabot decried the continuing unrest between Palestinian and Israeli and between Arab and Jew.
"The seeds (of unrest) were planted generations ago, and like the beautiful olive trees that grace Israel's landscape are stubbornly rooted in the arid desert soil, yet I fervently believe that the potential for peace is just as stubbornly rooted in the national consciousness."
Art Paikowsky, federation executive vice president, remarked before the rally that Israel solidarity rallies were taking place all across the nation. "It shows that everywhere in the United States, no matter what community you're from, there is unwavering support for the state of Israel and the Jewish people."
Rabbi Andrew Straus of Reform Temple Emanuel of Tempe told a reporter the rally communicated to the media that strong support for Israel exists in Phoenix, and that it had added significance.
"It was really important for us as the Jewish community to gather for our own sake, to know that we are not standing alone in our offices and homes and synagogues, ... and for the sake of Jewish community as a whole and for Israel," he said.
"Israel is a part of us and our heritage," said Michelle Alpert. A representative of the Young Leadership Division of the federation, she traveled to Israel in January. "Everyone was looking forward to peace, and there was no indication, at least to me, that there would be any violence."
Staff Writer Leisah Namm contributed to this report.
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