Saratoga News

Local Jews remember Israeli bombing victims

By Tim Persyn

At Congregation Beth David in Saratoga, 600 people gathered March 7 for a memorial service remembering those killed in four recent terrorist bombings in Israel.

"People had a need to express solidarity with the people of Israel. It was comforting for people to come together and express sorrow," said Ruthellen Harris, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, a co-sponsor of the event.

At the service, participants read the names of the people who died in the attacks, recited the Kaddish prayer of memoriam, sang songs for peace, and heard remarks from Shlomo Shalev, of the Consul of Economic Affairs for Israel.

The service was sponsored by Congregation Beth David, Congregation Shir Hadash, Congregation Sinai, Temple Emanu-El, Addison-Penzak Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation of Greater San Jose, and the JCRC.

Harris said the service did not express political opinions. "It was a time to mourn and a time to show solidarity," she said.

Rabbi Daniel Pressman of Beth David said many who gathered for the service felt a personal connection to the victims of the attacks. "This is not some abstract political event. Many of us have family there."

Pressman said he knew a child whose grandmother living in Tel Aviv saw one of the bombs go off. "This was very personal and very near," he said. "People were listening to the list of names and hoping it was nobody they knew."

Although the memorial service was not organized to express political opinions on the increasingly strained peace process under way between the Palestinians and the Israelis, Pressman commented that many in the Jewish community hold distinct opinions regarding the possibility for peace with the Palestinians, whom Israel holds responsible for stopping the bombings.

"We have a spectrum of opinions on the peace process," he said. "Most people are feeling that this doesn't look like peace. We're waiting for the Palestinians to get their house in order."