by Debra Rubin
NJJN Bureau Chief/Middlesex

January 20, 2009

A hastily planned rally organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County drew 600 people — including political and religious leaders — to the East Brunswick Jewish Center to offer prayers and strong support for Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza.

At the Jan. 12 demonstration, speeches by U.S. Reps. Rush Holt (D-Dist. 12) and Frank Pallone (D-Dist. 6) and Benjamin Krasna, deputy consul general of Israel in New York, were interrupted numerous times by loud applause.

The crowd was somber as prayers were offered for Israeli troops and Americans fighting elsewhere. EBJC’s Rabbi Aaron Benson led the program as some eight other community rabbis took part. Jewish Agency for Israel emissary Sael Abecassis, a resident of the embattled Israeli community of Sderot, spoke of years of Kassam rocket attacks and the death of his 17-year-old cousin in one such attack (see sidebar).

In voicing staunch support for the Gaza incursion, Holt said Israel “not only had a right but an obligation to ensure the safety of her citizens.”

“More than a right, we need Israel to exist,” he added. “But more than exist, we need Israel to thrive.”

Holt did acknowledge that despite his unfaltering support for Israel, “this was no time for cheering” and said he stood before the crowd “with a heavy heart.”

His concerns centered on the difficulty of attaining a lasting peace while Hamas, Hizbullah, and Iran remain committed to Israel’s destruction — no matter how much of a blow Israel ultimately deals to Hamas militarily. Holt also was troubled about the damage being done to Israel’s image.

“I have to be frank with you,” he said. “The actions in Gaza have not strengthened Israel’s position in the world.” He termed the Bush administration’s relative disengagement from the peace process “an utter failure” and called upon the new administration of Barack Obama to take a lead role in “constructive diplomacy.”

“Despite the dark clouds, this is a time of hope,” said Holt, “and it is part of my hope that the United States will be an active participant in bringing about peace in the region.”

‘A just war’

Pallone also defended Israel’s right to protect itself from the unrelenting rocket attacks from Gaza and to destroy supply tunnels linking Gaza and Egypt. He was optimistic the new administration would initiate peace talks leading to a cease-fire and recognition of Israel by its enemies.

“Ultimately peace is what we all want,” said Pallone. “We’d all like to see peace in Israel and the Mideast, but that will not happen as long as the terrorists refuse Israel’s right to exist.”

He said he was not a proponent of war and voted against the United States’ entering into Iraq. However, Pallone said, he makes a distinction between the two military actions.

“When a country is invaded, as is the case with Israel, it has the right to defend itself,” he said, adding that he was disturbed by demonstrations in Europe and other places in the world where Israel has been painted the villain.

“We have to convince the rest of the world of the righteousness of Israel’s cause,” added Pallone.

Krasna continued that theme, imploring the crowd to inform the media, elected representatives, their neighbors, and the rest of the world of the eight-year reign of terror in southern Israel that prompted the invasion.

He also said rallies such as this one make a statement heard in many corners of the world.

“They are heard here and in Israel,” he said.

Jews have always “gathered in times of danger, concern, and risk,” said Krasna. “Tonight we gather together for the vibrant Israel, the wonderful Israel, the Israel that strives for normalcy and peace.”

Invoking the words “never again” over and over again, he said Israel would never again stand idly by as people in such places as Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Sderot were attacked or when its soldiers were kidnapped.

“We are fighting a war, a just war against terrorists, a war in which we will prevail, no doubt,” said Krasna, sharply criticizing Hamas fighters for hiding behind children and for building command bunkers under hospitals, acts resulting in civilian deaths.

“We are also fighting a war of public opinion,” Krasna said. “We are fighting a war in the press and public relations. We are going to win that war, too.”

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‘They didn’t have time to go’

IN HIS ADDRESS to the pro-Israel rally at the East Brunswick Jewish Center, Sael Abecassis outlined the trauma among children, including his own siblings, who are exposed to daily missile attacks in his native Sderot and the accompanying warning sirens that signal they have 15 seconds to find shelter.

Abecassis, 22, the oldest of four children, completed his military service in February as a sergeant major and is serving a year in New Jersey as an emissary of the Jewish Agency for Israel. His father is the assistant principal of a high school in Sderot.

He recalled six years ago when the siren went off as his cousin, Ela, was walking with a group of young people, including her brother Tamir, then 12.

“They didn’t have time to go” to the shelter, said Abecassis.

“As the Kassam hit, she jumped on her brother to save him,” he said. “She died after a week in the hospital.”

Abecassis lived only 50 yards away and ran to the scene after hearing the blast. The memory of what he saw haunts him to this day.

“Her brother kept screaming, ‘Ela, Ela, wake up,’” Abecassis said. “In three years in the army, I never saw anything like this.”

To drive home the point, Rabbi Bennett Miller of Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple in New Brunswick, a frequent visitor to Sderot, asked the children attending the rally to count to 15 with him.

“Can you imagine there are children who have 15 seconds to get to safety, who can’t go to school, who can’t go outside and play — simply because they are Jews?” he asked.

— DEBRA RUBIN

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