Temple Sinai in Sumter hosts Interfaith Service to encourage solidarity amid Israel-Hamas war

Solidarity.

A feeling that rabbis around the world, including Sumter's own Rabbi Josef Germaine, strove to elicit amid the Israel-Hamas war that ignited last week.

On Saturday, Oct. 7, The Associated Press reported at least 250 people were killed in the initial attack and more than 1,500 people were wounded. In the days that followed, it was confirmed that thousands had died since the surprise attack - the death toll for U.S. citizens on either side of the conflict was last reported at 27, with 14 citizens remaining unaccounted for.

With the grief being felt by Sumter's Jewish community miles away from Israel, Temple Sinai held an Interfaith Service on Friday, Oct. 13, inviting residents and religious leaders throughout the county to take part in a night of prayer, peace and understanding.

Germaine expressed that the current warfare is fortunate, as "it's clear we're dealing with monsters" and highlights potential enemies as well as unfortunate, as "the retaliation brings negative attention" to the country and forces millions of innocent lives to become collateral damage which "is always going to be a problem."

Attendees lit candles before the service began in honor of the lives lost. Those flames would flicker throughout the entire service and even after, their memories being honored as prayers, scriptures and songs filled the synagogue. This was the same for synagogues across the country and abroad as Shabbat services were held for local Jewish communities, and emotions - and security - were heightened. When asked if distance plays a part in local emotional response to international conflict, Germaine explained there was a tendency to overlook conflict oceans away until the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"Prior to 9/11, we were kind of arrogant about our existence because we were separated by two major oceans, right? In the north, we had friends, and in the South, Mexico, who never attacked us so we felt secure. But 9/11 has proved otherwise," Germaine, who is also a veteran of the U.S. armed forces, explained. "There's no country in the world with modern technology that's absolutely secure. You can be threatened at any time because these missiles, especially in the hands of terrorists - unbelievable."

The service began with a selection of "America, the Beautiful," all sung in harmony, a selection Germaine said spoke to his and many people's appreciation for the freedom the country is allotted. However, in the back of his mind, Germaine wondered about the safety of his relatives, descendants of relatives who came to the United States in the 1920s after escaping the Pogroms in Poland, people who live only miles from where the initial attack happened.

"I remember I did visit with them a number of years ago," he reminisced. "Three boys that escaped the Holocaust and have the same name as my grandmother from my grandmother's side made their way to Palestine. We were able to locate them. We made contact."

Their visit was one of love and laughter, long overdue but not lost. He spoke highly of his cousin, an educator, stating he was nothing short of "amazing."

"I don't know how families always lose contact with each other, but I tried to find him, and I couldn't find him. I do know that he had a home there, and there's another branch of the family that's living in Bat Yam, which is near Tel Aviv. Now with the missiles, they're attacking Tel Aviv and even Jerusalem."

His statement came before a U.S. Secretary of State spokesperson reported that Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sheltered in a bunker for five minutes as air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv on Monday afternoon.

While Germaine hopes for peace and safety to all affected by the ongoing conflict, on a Friday night, as he metaphorically - and literally - broke bread with community members of different backgrounds and beliefs, he only sought one thing.

"One word: solidarity," he said. "I invited people of other faiths because I want to show solidarity, show that we have something in common, which is the respect and the longevity and protection of human life."

"I could say I have a prayer just for Jews, but it's not a Jewish problem. It's a world problem. If my neighbor is in trouble, I don't care if he's Jewish; I'm gonna help him," he expressed. "The main message is that all faiths, all countries who are of the free world should maintain solidarity when it comes to terrorism. That we shouldn't have just singular people to fight this; we all need to fight this."