‘I still hold hope for Peace:’ A message from a Jewish Rabbi
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - It has been weeks since the first attacks on Israel, starting a contentious war against terrorist group Hamas.
Although the brunt of the conflict is situated in the Middle East, Jews across Idaho and the United States are experiencing the personal anxiety and fear that come with anti-semitism and the possibility of terrorist attacks.
On Friday, Local News 8 was welcomed into the home of Rabbi Sara Goodman of Southeast Idaho.
She is the first official rabbi for the area, leading Jewish congregations in Shabbat or Sabbath worship.
We met with Rabbi Goodman as she prepared shabbat for the local congregation. She said shabbat is mean to be a time of rest and peace, but, it's difficult to celebrate with the situation as it is.
"Shabbat is a time of joy, but there's also this tempered feeling," Goodman said. "How can you really, truly celebrate when something like this is happening?"
As a religious leader, Rabbi Goodman has seen how fear and discomfort has penetrated the Idaho Jewish community.
"if you think about it, it's not like with Ukraine when everybody had the flags flying and the colors showing in," Goodman said. "Don't get me wrong. Some countries did and it was beautiful. But individually, to fly an Israeli flag marks you. For Jews and non-Jews...And I and we know it. But the fact that everybody else knows it, too, that that tells you something."
She has also noticed an increase in people, both religious and non-religious, seeking her comfort in worship and counsel.
"Even if it's just to talk, get comfort, to know that the world isn't coming to an end," Goodman said. "I think all rabbis are."
And, as if fears at home weren't enough, she tells us that many Jews in the U.S. worry about their friends and family in Israel.
"I have friends who are living there and also friends who are in the army," Goodman told Local News 8. "My husband has family there who are living as well as serving in the Army. So there's a lot of uncertainty and a lot of fear. We want them to be safe."
"When friends of friends or relatives of friends start to post that people have died, you know that the longer it goes on, those connections are going to start to get closer. And it's scary."
While she has seen violent and hateful rhetoric directed at Israel and different points of view on both side, She hopes and prays for peace.
On her wall at home, hangs a sign made by Goodman's mother. It reads shalom -- meaning peace in hebrew.
"I’m hoping that we can find a resolution to this as quickly as possible with the least loss of life," Goodman said. "Hamas must be eliminated from Gaza. That’s the best scenario for the Palestinians and for Israel. And, I think, that is the only hope for a for finding a path towards peace between our peoples."
"There are Jews and Muslims of all different ethnicities all over the country who are friends. Whose children play and grow up together. I don’t see a reason why, if we can do it here, why we can’t live together peacefully over there as well."
