Israel: Updates & Resources
A time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes, 3, 7-8)
Updates
Send Chesed to Israel with the Mission
Romemu is going to Israel to bear witness, to support the Israeli people, and to volunteer to help as we can. We going from Wednesday, March 13 – Saturday, March 16.
View Itinerary & Register to Join Us: https://viasabra.com/trip/romemu-and-92nd-street-y-solidarity-trip-2024/
Whether or not you are able to join the Mission, you can participate in acts of chesed (loving kindness) that will be part of the Mission. Participants on the mission will be hosting a BBQ for soldiers, inviting Israelis to join them for Shabbat meals, and performing other acts of chesed to support those impacted by the War.
Your donation is a way for you to participate in this Mission and send love and support from the whole Romemu community to Israel.
Rabbi Cohler Esses' Reflections on her Solidarity Trip to Israel
Rabbi Cohler Esses spoke about her experience on a recent solidarity mission to Israel.
Rabbi Ingber's Reflections on his Solidarity Trip to Israel
Rabbi Ingber spoke about his experience on a recent solidarity mission to Israel.
Rabbi Ingber and Shimon Smith participated in “A Night of Light: A Concert to Bring Communities of Faith Together” on December 12. Rabbi Ingber spoke and sang with Shimon starting about 1 hour into this video.
Thomas Hand, the father of Emily Hand who was kidnapped from her home on October 7 by Hamas and is being held hostage in Gaza, spoke about Emily at Romemu Kabbalat Shabbat services on November 17. Following Thomas’ remarks, a representative from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum spoke about how we can all help #bringthemhomenow
Havdallah Service & Benefit Concert to Support Families of Hostages
On Saturday night, November 5, the Romemu community and people from throughout the NY area came together to help the families of the hostages kidnapped on October 7 and to support each other in community with the power of beautiful music.
Thanks to the singers and musicians who dedicated their time and talents, our many co-sponsors, and most importantly each and every person who came to the concert and donated, we raised over $30,000 to help the families.
A Prayer for Those Being Held Hostage
Let There Be Light: Rabbi Ingber’s Sermon on Shabbat, October 13
Rabbi Cohler Esses on Parshat Noah
Rabbi Ingber on Parshat Lech Lecha
Vigils, Rallies and Community Gatherings
Israeli Robi Damelin and Palestinian Mohamed Abu Jafar share a painful bond: the loss of loved ones to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They are members of The Parents Circle-Families Forum, an extraordinary joint initiative uniting over 700 bereaved families from Israeli and Palestinian backgrounds who have collectively chosen the path of reconciliation. Moderated by Rabbi Sarah Berman, Damelin and Jafar will share their stories and discuss why fostering relationship-building and mutual understanding is crucial to achieving lasting peace.
Learn more and register here.
Shared Grief, Shared Hope: Bereaved Palestinians and Israelis for Peace
Saturday, February 3 @ 1:00 PM–2:00 PM
As the war between Israel and Hamas continues, hear from bereaved Israelis and Palestinians who remain committed to peace, reconciliation, and a path forward based on empathy and honoring the humanity of all. Robi Damelin and Mohamed Abu Jafar, bereaved members of The Parents Circle–Families Forum (PCFF), share the devastating common bond of having lost a close family member to the long-standing conflict and choosing a path of reconciliation. They will share their own stories that transcend history and politics to shed light on the human cost of violence. They will talk about how we heal and recover from the violence.
No registration is required. In person at Bnei Jeshurun or Join online.
Join these weekly protest in front of the UN Secretary-General’s residence. This and Every Friday, 9:00 AM at 3 Sutton Place, NY.
Shabbat Services
Friday, 6 PM @ The Romemu Center & Online
Saturday, Open Book Torah Study at 8:45 AM and Shabbat Morning Services at 10 AM @ The Romemu Center & Online
The weight of the moment is overwhelming. In the midst of so much tragedy, we need community more than ever. Whether you are a regular at Shabbat services or among the many who drop in occasionally, we encourage everyone to come for Shabbat services filled with prayers for our brothers and sisters in Israel and the comfort of community.
Click Here for Zoom Link or join on Facebook or YouTube
If you have loved ones who are missing or injured, please add them to our Refuah Shleimah (healing prayers) list here. If, G-d forbid you have lost loved ones, please add them to our communal Mourners Kaddish list here
Connect Daily with Morning Minyan and Meditation
Join fellow Romemu congregants and lay leaders every morning online.
Morning Minyan | Mondays – Fridays @ 7:50 AM | Join on Zoom or Facebook
Daily Meditation | Mondays – Fridays @ 8:35 AM | Join on Zoom or Facebook
Ways to Support Israel
Support Small Businesses in Israel
Support Israel as you shop for Chanukah. Check out the many wonderful gifts available from small businesses in Israel to find gifts your friends and family will love while supporting business that are struggling due to the war.
2 Website to Check Out
Call Your Elected Officials
We all have a responsibility to call our elected officials and encourage them to stand with Israel, to work to bring the hostages home, and to stand against the rise in Antisemitism in the US. If you live in Romemu’s district, please call Rep. Adriano Espaillat at (202) 639-5199 and Rep. Jerry Nadler at (424) 253-1994 to thank them for their stand to date and encourage them to continue. If you live elsewhere, you can find your representatives and their contact information here.
Support the Families of the Hostages and Missing & Work to Bring Them Home Now
Join the mailing list of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum to stay up to date on events, advocacy opportunities and other ways to help bring them home now. Subscribe here.
You may also join the Whats App group for the Forum for additional alerts and to stay current on opportunities to help. Subscribe here.
Take one minute a day to call your elected officials to demand they do everything in their power to push for the immediate release of the hostages. Find contact information for you elected officials here.
Donations to the Forum are always welcome. Donate here.
Every Sunday at 11 AM, join other to “Run for Their Lives” – a global initiative calling for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The run starts at Central Park West and 90th Street. Join this Whats App group to learn more: https://chat.whatsapp.com/FUa8C9dOQ4HJNTuDov6X5w
Support Families Living Along the Gaza Border
The Association for the Commemoration of the Fifth President Yitzhak Nav Is assisting in the rehabilitation of those living along the Gaza border who were most directly affected by the savagery of Hamas. The needs of the children and adults whose loved ones have been murdered or captured, who have been wounded and traumatized, who have had their homes destroyed and have been left with nothing know no bounds. Donate here.
Hasbara on LinkedIn
Our mission is to use LinkedIn to explain the realities of Israel to a global audience, including top decision-makers. We ask you to join our “Hasbara on LinkedIn” WhatsApp group, one of five parallel groups. (The other four are oriented to Hebrew-speaking Israelis. Each time a group nears 1000 members, our admins open an additional group.)
WHY LinkedIn?
LinkedIn’s network of over one billion members provides an unparalleled platform to make a significant impact. The effect of thousands commenting on a post favorably and movingly is to stimulate virality. During the past three months, our posts have achieved over 11,000,000 views and 260,00 responses. If you join our effort, our posts will reach even more people world-wide.
OUR ROLE
Each day, our curators post 2-3 times/day. We write short comments to their posts.
SAFETY FIRST
Please click the link below only if you have a LinkedIn profile. Then, one of our admins will contact you, examine your profile, and invite you to connect on LinkedIn. (This step protects all of us from the bad things that can happen on the Internet.)
WE NEED YOU
Without volunteers from abroad, our posts tend to stay mostly within Israel. Here’s the link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/
Donate Through UJA
UJA-Federation of New York has launched an Israel Emergency Fund to offer the crucial support that will be needed in the days and weeks to come. Access here.
Message From UJA
Supplies to Israel: Many of you have asked about how to donate supplies to Israelis and the IDF. Our partners in Israel tell us that there is not a problem with getting supplies to individuals or to the army. Most supplies can be purchased in Israel and the greatest need is for funding and mobilization of supplies. The best action people can take right now is to donate to our Israel at War Fund.
Donate to Hospitals
The hospitals are overwhelmed trying to attend to all those who are injured. They need our help. Project Rozana is an organization without much overhead and with a long standing relationship of direct contact with the hospitals in Israel. All of the proceeds raised will go directly to the hospitals in dire need. Donate here.
Donate to Magen David Adom
Donate here.
Donate to Assist Soldiers and Civilians Near the Gaza Front
The Democracy HQ and all the member organizations of the Protest Movement are uniting to support the people of Israel during this war. Learn more and donate here.
Mental Health Care for Pregnant and Post Partpartum Women
Sheba hospital’s Chava Center for Reproductive Psychiatry cares for women’s mental health, mainly for pregnant and postpartum women. Due to our expertise in virtual treatment, all Israeli women anywhere can receive our treatment. Our primary goal is to assist women in emotional distress during pregnancy and after childbirth, now in heightened distress due to the war. For this we need to increase our therapeutic staff and train teams in identification and intervention. All donations are welcome. Please send all donations to: Chava Center Friends of Sheba Medical Center Tel-Hashomer Guild R.A. Bank – Bank Leumi Le Israel B.M. Branch – Main Branch #800 Address – 3 Abba Hillel Silver, Lod Swift (bic) code – LUMIILITXXX IL84 0108 0000 0005 1943 863 IBAN Account No. 51943883 Thank you for your support, Dr. Vered Bar Head of Chava Center Sheba Medical Center, Israel
Physicians Needed
If you know of any REHABILITATION MEDICINE physicians, PHYSIATRI
Apartments in Israel Needed
Two tri-state educators, Tamar Lindenfeld and Jamie Meltsner, are gathering together teachers and tutors to help Israeli children who are currently unable to go to school. They are seeking volunteers able to donate time in the early morning.. They have received so many offers from help already, but do expect more students in need over time so, if you want to help, you can email chalkdustinc@gmail.com or jamiemeltsnertutoring@gmail.com. People can also reach out if they need help whether in the U.S. or in Israel.
Opportunities to Bring Lovingkindness into the World
Sign Up to Volunteer at Romemu Community Food Pantry
The Romemu Community Kitchen is transforming into a food pantry. Learn about the Food Pantry, view upcoming dates, and find out how you can volunteer here.
Become a Chesed Volunteer
Learn about Romemu’s Chesed Committee here and sign up to be a Chesed Volunteer here.
Join Romemu’s Chevra Kadisha
Join the Romemu Chevra Kadisha, led by Nili Weissman as we sit in silence, in prayer, in gentle song to companion the souls who lost their lives this week in the Holy Land. On Zoom from 9 -10 PM Wednesday nights. To receive the Zoom link, please email support@romemu.org.
Join Members of the Social Action Committee in Volunteering
Supporting Asylum Seekers with HIAS
HIAS, an international Jewish organization that supports and advocates for refugees and asylum seekers, is holding its annual onboarding for volunteers looking to support our clients through one-on-one work or interpretation & translation. If you are interested in volunteering with HIAS, please join us on October 26 at 6PM ET or on November 1 at 12:00PM ET for a volunteer informational webinar, a mandatory first step toward onboarding for our direct service program.
HIAS supports over 800 asylum seekers in the Greater Washington and New York areas with free legal representation and access to wraparound services. Our volunteers take that work a step further by providing access to support that helps our clients thrive and build community. We offer direct service opportunities to work with our clients and other opportunities as well – hear all about them in our webinar!
We are recruiting for several volunteer opportunities in the DMV and NYC areas, including: 1) Mentors, 2) English Language Partners, 3) Interpreters and Translators, and 4) Accompaniment Volunteers. For more information on what these roles entail, click here.
Foreign language speakers are our most needed volunteers. If you speak Spanish, Amharic, Dari, Pashto, Russian, Ukrainian, or another language, please consider applying!
Feel free to reach out to lilly.sandberg@hias.org with any questions.
Helping Resettle Refugees
The Social Action Committee works with Ruth Refugees to resettle immigrant families. Contact Rev. Lauren Jacobs at lauren.aj@gmail.com to learn about volunteer opportunities.
Help for Formerly Incarcerated People
The Social Action Committee works with Exodus Transition Community. They are seeking artists, musicians, therapists, healers, yogis & meditation leaders, as well as business people – or anyone who’s ever been on job interviews – to volunteer with formerly incarcerated individuals. To learn more or volunteer, please email Lauren Jacobs at laurenaj@gmail.com.
Ensure We May Continue to Gather Safely | Volunteer to Help with Security at Romemu
As Rabbi Ingber stated in an article in the Wall Street Journal shortly after the War began, “Our number one responsibility is to protect our people at this moment.” (If you have a subscription to the Wall Street Journal, you can read the article here.) Sadly, the need for increased security is unlikely to diminish anytime soon.
We are seeking to expand our security volunteer team in 2 ways:
- Anyone available to help on upcoming Shabbatot with increased security measures. If you plan to be at services in the coming weeks and are willing to help (no advanced training required), please contact Executive Director, Jeffrey Cahn at jeff@romemu.org
- Anyone with professional experience in security or military or has had any type of advanced security training such as that offered through Community Security Services. please contact Executive Director, Jeffrey Cahn at jeff@romemu.org to support our ongoing security initiatives.
You can scan the letters and send them to: letter4israel@gmail.com
Wellness Resources
Community of Healing
Through our partnership with the Jewish Board, everyone at Romemu is invited to participate in this group facilitated by a licensed mental health professional.
Scan the QR Codes in the image to register.
Learn more here.
Podcast with Rabbi Ingber on coping with Trauma and Grief
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The Blue Dove Foundation has compiled wellness resources here to help manage the complex emotions many of us are feeling now.
It can be especially challenging to help our children cope with the situation. Family & Children’s Services has collated resources here on how to approach this conversation with your child, based on their age and level of interest.