Members of the greater North Shore Jewish community filled a ballroom to capacity at the Show Up For Israel gathering on Oct. 9 in Skokie at the Holiday Inn in response to Israel declaring war after Hamas militants launched border attacks.
Over 5,000 miles away in Skokie, while the war’s death toll increases overseas, flags were prevalent in a hotel conference room. One person held a large Israeli flag on a flagpole. Others wore small Israeli flags tucked in shirts or wrapped themselves in large American or Israeli flags.
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Rabbi Meir Moscowitz of Northbrook, regional director of Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois, coordinated the evening of prayer and solidarity in an event hosted by Lubavitch Chabad of Illinois and Chicagoland Chabad centers.
“This is an unfathomable tragedy and crisis,” Moscowitz said. “In my lifetime, I’ve never seen something like this.”
“As a community, we know that we’ve got to come together to encourage each other, to find strength within each other and to find some good actions that we can do from our side to combat all of the negative that we hear coming out from the terrorist side,” Moscowitz said.
Moscowitz’s children Zalman, 13, an eighth-grader and Leibel, 11, a sixth-grader, attended. Leibel said it is important to, “focus on the good.”
Zalman said to youth, “I think that the kids should know that you need kindness.
“Kindness is the only thing that we have to do to help Israel,” Zalman said.
Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein of Evanston, executive director at Lubavitch Chabad of Evanston, was among clergy and served as Evanston Police chaplain for nearly four decades.
“It’s extremely difficult right now,” Klein said. “Israel was attacked indiscriminately by terrorists, people who decided that they wanted to go and kill Jews in the most barbaric type of a way.
“I’ve led over 50 groups to Israel, I’ve been on the border with Gaza, and it’s really a wonderful, wonderful community that lives there who just wants to have peace and tranquillity and to be able to live their lives without having rockets coming down on them,” Klein said, calling the crisis, “beyond horrific.
Klein called the war an attack on the entire Jewish community and the world as a whole should feel violated.
Klein spoke of an Evanston resident and a grown daughter, Judith Tai Raanan and Natalie Raanan, who were on a trip and are missing in Israel and feared to be hostages.
“I can only imagine the type of abuse they must be going through right now,” Klein said. “This touches home because we’re talking about Evanston, an Evanstonian … this is part of Evanston, this is part of who we are here on the North Shore.”
The room became full shortly after the program started. An adjoining room was opened to accommodate the overflow and improve ventilation for the elderly and families with small children.
Police officers had vehicles parked strategically at outdoor access points around the hotel and directed traffic at parking lot exits. One officer was seen holding a rifle outside of the entrance. Security circulated indoors too.
Rabbi Dovid Flinkenstein of Wilmette, co-director of Chabad of Wilmette Center for Jewish Life and Learning, said he, never expected Israeli war in his lifetime.
“This is a very dark time,” Flinkenstein said.
Flinkenstein spoke of overcoming darkness with light and to not to be intimidated by darkness.
“There’s more good in the world than darkness and evil,” he said. “The good has to overcome the darkness, the light has to overcome the darkness. The very nature of light is it overcomes darkness but sometimes we’re afraid to strike the match because we’re so overwhelmed by darkness.”
Rabbi Moshe Teldon, also of Chabad of Wilmette, said, “When it hurts, we get together with family and that’s what we’re doing here.
“It hurts like hell.”
In the audience was Rabbi Sholom Wolberg of Chabad of Glencoe. Wolberg and his wife Deena Wolberg sent a joint statement via email to Chabad of Glencoe subscribers.
“Our thoughts and prayers are deeply rooted in the pain and heartbreak,” the Wolberg’s said. “Innocent lives are being taken and the anguish is immense.
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“Our Torah teaches us the sanctity of just one life, and now, we witness the loss of hundreds of lives in these trying times,” the Wolberg’s wrote.
He called to those living in Glencoe to help the people of Israel spiritually even if it isn’t possible to physically take up arms.
“We must add light, goodness, and kindness in their honor and for their safety,” he said. “Our family is under attack.”