Dear friends,
Just two days ago I wrote you about the death of Yousef Maudi, the 1st Israeli soldier from Haifa to die in the war against Hamas in Gaza. I want to now commend board member Dr. Jesse Lachter, who attended Yousef’s funeral, which took place outside of the city in a Druze village on behalf of the Or Hadash community. We hope that the rest of our soldiers fighting in Gaza will stay safe throughout the duration of the war.
On a different note, as you may already know, the North woke up this morning to find that for the first time during this war, 5 rockets were thrown onto the North of Israel from Southern Lebanon, reaching the coastal city of Nahariyah and the Western Galilee. There, regrettably, a nursing home was hit, but no one was hurt as the residents were at that time eating their breakfast in another part of the home. The IDF retaliated by sending mortar fire into the sites from where they believe that the rockets were launched. As of now, the citizens of Israel do not know yet whether the North will become a new front in this war, therefore deeming the next 24 hours very crucial in determining this.
While, it remains quiet for the time being in Haifa, this has brought flashbacks of 2006 back to reality, and has brought the North into a newly heightened state of preparedness and worry. Luckily at Or Hadash, we are very prepared for such an attack, and have learned a lesson from the last war, when we had to renovate our shelter amidst the rocket barrages. Now, thanks to our friends and donors from abroad, (including the URJ, WUPJ, ARZA, and the AJC) have one of the best equipped bomb shelters that will protect us against the most horrifying of scenarios. I want to thank you for all of your letters of support that we have received, especially in these past few days. It is a good feeling when more than 380 friends, rabbi, and their congregants show such an outpouring of caring support. I promise to get back to all personally, as I always try to do, as soon as possible!
We hope that the situation will not open up into a Northern front, but as you have seen, this war is an unpredictable and not easy one. For the moment, know that we are safe in Haifa, and that we will of course update you if the situation changes in the near future. Until then, I wish you an upcoming Shabbat shalom.
In Friendship,
Edgar