On Monday afternoon, hundreds of Jews from the New York and New Jersey area took to the streets to pray for the release of Gil-Ad Sha’ar (16), Eyal Yifrach (19), and Naftali Frankel (16), the Yeshiva students who were abducted by terrorists late Thursday night from a hitchhiking point in Gush Etzion. These Tri-State residents simply could not continue to sit on their hands and allow the episode to unfold without contributing in some way, without doing something proactive to help reunite these innocent young boys with their families.
The prayer gathering and rally, organized and led by Jewish activism giant Rabbi Avi Weiss, took place outside the Israeli Consulate on the east side of Manhattan. Though the crowd of concerned individuals was a true cross section of the greater Jewish community – varied by background, religious observance, and stage of life – their message was united and clear: this is a matter of life and death, and every elected official must stand in solidarity with Israel on this issue, no matter what they think of Israel otherwise.
Several major news organizations, including CNN, CBS and FOX News, were on the scene to capture the moment – great rabbinic leaders, Jewish activists, high school students, and Israeli soldiers all gathered together, raising their voices in unison to advocate on behalf of fellow Jews…simply because they are fellow Jews.
Join the OU at a rally this Sunday at 11am in New York City and stand together with teens and young adults from across the Tri State Area on behalf of #EyalGiladNaftali and kidnapped and mistreated teens worldwide – get the details.
Read the full post at The Times of Israel
The words of this author reflect his/her own opinions and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Orthodox Union.