CREVE COEUR, Mo. — On Wednesday, hundreds of people in the St. Louis Jewish community packed the Jewish Community Center for a solidarity gathering to support Israel.
“Israel changed forever, the Middle East changed forever and some would even say the whole world changed forever,” Snir Dagan with the Jewish Community Center said.
They stood together singing and praying for everyone facing the conflict.
“I’m lighting this candle for all the people being held as hostages in Gaza,” one person said as they lit five candles on stage.
“An attack on the state of Israel is an attack on all Jewish people. It is an attack on our souls,” President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis Brian Herstig said.
Meagan Applebaum says this conflict is extremely hard to watch from afar.
“It can be really isolating to be Jewish right now, especially when you're unable to help directly with everything that's going on,” Applebaum said.
Many feel attacked on all fronts.
“We’re not okay and we need your support,” one Israeli woman living in St. Louis said.
As they even fight hate and antisemitism right here at home.
“In the past year in the United States, Antisemitism was at its highest recorded level since we started reporting this. There is always a level of fear and concern that exists,” Herstig said.
Consul General Maor Elbaz Starinsky shared an update from the Israel Defense Forces saying hundreds of reserve soldiers have joined the fight.
“Just as we’ve prevailed over all of these atrocities throughout history we will prevail over this atrocity together,” Starinsky said.
But the love even thousands of miles away, makes a difference.
“Tiny flames of remembrance and hope together we can and must keep those flames burning determined that they will shine brightly once again,” Patty Croughan said.
The Jewish Federation of St. Louis has joined more than a hundred other federations in fundraising efforts to send $500 million to the front lines in Israel.
If you’d like to help, you can donate here.