Utah rabbi heads to Israel with delegation of rabbis from across United States
11/12/2023 09:31:25 PM
SALT LAKE CITY — A delegation of rabbis called "Amplify Israel" is headed to Israel as the country's war with Hamas continues.
In all, the group is made up of 13 rabbis from all over the United States who will be in Israel this week, including one from right here in Utah.
Rabbi Sam Spector has been the rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in Salt Lake City since 2018.
"Several months ago, a fellowship was put together of young rabbis, progressive rabbis who support Israel," he said.
Spector says the delegation is made up of rabbis in the first 15 years of their career. He says discussions were had on whether to even make the trip once the war broke out between Israel and Hamas last month.
"We figured that there's never been a more important time for us to express and show our solidarity with Israel," he said.
For the next week, Spector and the delegation will be focused on helping in a variety of capacities.
"Helping people who have been directly affected by this war who have family members who are currently held hostage, who have family members that were killed, to people who've been displaced from their homes," Spector said.
He says they will also be visiting the injured in the hospitals and meeting with organizations on the ground to try and help. They will be primarily in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
"The challenge too for us is that when you're in Israel, you need to be 20 seconds from a bomb shelter at all times," Spector said.
On Sunday, FOX 13 News spoke with Ron Zamir, the vice president of community relations for the United Jewish Federation of Utah.
"You know, these have been hard times and are hard times for our community," said Zamir.
That's why Zamir says it's so important to have a member of the clergy here in Utah on the ground in Israel.
"He represents a pathway to understanding and peace," Zamir said of Spector. "I think he's going to bring back that first-hand experience that's going to help us process our own feelings, but also help us build bridges."
And what is Spector hoping to accomplish over the next week?
"That we see that we're together in good times and bad times, and that we can do some good over there and help some people," he said.
Spector said he was flying out Sunday afternoon. After a long layover in Paris, France, he says he expects to be in Israel Tuesday morning or late Monday night, Utah time.
He says he will be keeping Congregation Kol Ami updated every day via Zoom, letting them know what he experienced on that particular day.
Utah Palestinian, Jewish communities grieve loss of civilians killed, kidnapped in war
10/31/2023 11:23:08 AM
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Palestinian and Jewish communities in Utah are grieving the loss of the civilians who have been killed or kidnapped since the war between Israel and Hamas started at the beginning of October.
As of Sunday, 200 Israelis are being held captive and nearly 8,000 Palestinians have been killed.
On Sunday afternoon, the Jewish community met at the Utah State Capitol for a vigil and to pass out fliers for the hundreds of Israeli civilians being held hostage.
“I think the world is focusing a lot on what is happening in terms of violence and is already forgetting why this war began, which was because Hamas savagely attacked Israel and killed 1,400 innocent civilians,” Congregation Kol Ami Rabbi Sam Spector said.
They laid out shoes on top of the fliers to visually represent those who have been kidnapped.
“When you see an actual visualization and see a teddy bear for every child or a pair of shoes for every person, a table set up on Shabbat with empty seats including highchairs for each one of these individuals, it brings it home that each of these is a unique person,” Rabbi Spector said.
He said he hopes that the end result of the war will be a more peaceful future for everyone in the region.
“It's important for everyone out there to remember that, on both sides, there are everyday innocent people who are good people,” he said.
Officials provide update on state of Salt Lake Jewish, Muslim community safety following bomb threats
10/13/2023 10:46:31 AM
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Five days after reports of threats towards Jewish centers in Salt Lake were publicized, officials are continuing to take steps to ensure the safety of the city's Jewish and Muslim communities.
Officers of the Salt Lake City Police Department said that they initiated enhanced surveillance of three Salt Lake City Jewish centers beginning Saturday, Oct. 7, following the decrement of war in Israel.
On Sunday, Oct. 8, reports surfaced of multiple bomb threats targeting Jewish institutions across Utah, including at least three Salt Lake City locations. Rabbi Sam Spector of Congregation Kol Ami located at 2425 Heritage Way told 2News that he was holing a service that morning when the institution received an email stating that "there had been a bomb placed in the building" and that they "were all going to die." The synagogue, along with two others in Salt Lake City, were evacuated and swept, all of which resulted in the determination of no suspicious evidence.
Following this event, police announced Thursday, Oct. 12, that they had increased patrol efforts of the three Jewish centers, adding that they were also taking steps to protect the Muslim community and their institutions.
The agency's Intelligence Center has reportedly been collaborating with state, regional, national and federal law enforcement officials to continue to manage the situation. The department as a whole is working in conjunction with agencies across the nation in preventing any further criminal activity and establishing the safety of these communities.
Salt Lake City police said they have been and plan to keep in contact with Jewish and Muslim leaders throughout the city to provide updates on the state of affairs.
France bans pro-Palestinian protests in wake of Hamas terrorist invasion, report says
10/12/2023 10:50:05 AM
PARIS (TND) — France has placed a ban on all pro-Palestinian protests in the wake of the Hamas terrorist invasion of Israel.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin made the announcement Thursday, according to Politico. In a document initially seen by the Agence France-Presse, a French international news agency, Darmanin gave "strict instructions" to ban any "demonstrations" considered to be in support of Palestine.
Darmanin wrote that such protests are "likely to generate public order disturbances" and the organization of any will lead to arrests, according to Politico.
While speaking on radio station France Inter Thursday, Darmanin shared that more than 100 "antisemitic acts" have been reported in France since the Hamas attacks.
"Tags, swastikas, 'death to the Jews', calls for an intifada ... and then of course even more serious acts," he said. "People arrested at the entrance to a school or a synagogue with a bladed weapon, a drone that was seen flying inside a Jewish place of worship."
Public displays of support for Palestine have taken place in major U.S. cities and universities this week. In Salt Lake City, local synagogues were forced to evacuate amid various pro-Palestinian rallies., with many saying they are now on "heightened alert."
"We stay vigilant against antisemitism, but also dedicated to the work we are doing," Sam Spector, a rabbi of a Jewish congregation in Salt Lake City, told KUTV. "And we are not going to let them stop us from Judaism and from continuing to make the world a better place."
Israeli, Jewish community joined by supporters in solemn vigil
10/11/2023 09:38:47 AM
SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday night, Utah's Jewish and Israeli communities and supporters stood in solidarity on the front patio of Congregation Kol Ami to mourn the thousands of lives lost in the Hamas attack on Israel.
"Innocent people who aren't soldiers could be just taken away from this world are being held against their will and a lot of them don't know where they are. This feels different," said Gabrielle Larsen, a local Israeli who served her country years ago.
Zoe Wood, another local Israeli, says when she first saw the news from Israel, she didn't believe it was real.
"As the time passing by, we understand the massive, massive, massive slaughter, human slaughter that happened there. It's beyond comprehension," Wood said.
Both Larsen and Wood have spent the last few days praying for peace in their home country. Tuesday night, they were joined by dozens in prayer, song, and loving support to help mend those broken hearts.
"It's more than knowing singing — it's knowing one another, it's knowing you have a community you can rely on. Even if you don't know the person standing next to you, you can rely on them," Wood said.
Rabbi Sam Spector says the past few days have been a whirlwind for the Israeli and Jewish communities, but the support they've seen since Saturday has shown them they are not alone
"We're all here together for freedom and for peace, and there's no amount of terrorism or violence that's going to scare us or stop us from that," said Rock Larsen, Gabrielle Larsen's husband.
State and local leaders like Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall attended in solidarity. Members of the Israeli and Jewish communities took the podium, pleading leaders and supporters to not let their communities face this heartache alone.
"This is a concern to anyone who cares about human rights," said one podium speaker. "I'm asking you this as a big sister who wants to hug her little sister in fear and take some of her pain away. I'm asking you this as a daughter who wishes she could relieve her parents of unimaginable concern."
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