PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Across the ocean, an unprecedented war continues in Israel.
“The scope of this goes beyond anything in our recent lifetimes," said David Cohen, CEO and president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg.
Meanwhile, terror is being felt by the global Jewish community, including here in central Pennsylvania.
“When something like this happens, we feel like it’s our family," said Cohen. "And for many of us, it is.”
Groups like the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg and the Jewish Community Alliance of Lancaster are reacting to the surprise eruption of hostility over the weekend, as Hamas continues to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel.
Nearly 1,600 people have been killed, including around 900 Israelis, as of Monday evening.
“Some of the kidnappings were literally videotaped and put on the Facebook pages of the victims," said Cohen. "[It's] just actually [an] incomprehensible kind of warfare.”
“Hamas, their priority is the destruction of Israel and that just can’t be allowed," added Miriam Baumgartner, president of the Jewish Community Alliance of Lancaster.
Since the weekend attacks, groups have been in contact with law enforcement, with plans to increase patrols and visibility at local synagogues and Jewish community centers.
“Our focus on security has increased over the past five or six years because it’s had to and then when this happens, we have to be even more vigilant," said Cohen.
It comes as their communities continue to struggle through an ongoing conflict with deep, complex roots.
“I have Palestinian friends. I work with Palestinian colleagues that are trying to find a way toward peace," said Cohen. "They didn’t do this.”
Meanwhile, they are working to support one another, as the brazen attacks continue in the country so many of them love.
“We’re feeling the need to gather together, to be with each other," said Baumgartner.
Both the Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg and the Jewish Community Alliance of Lancaster are planning to hold community gatherings in support of Israel later this week, as is the York JCC.
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