Dear BWC Community, 

I am writing to you heartbroken over the immense and continuing loss of life in Israel and Palestine.

I know I have spent the last few days worried for friends, family and loved ones in the region. My Israeli relatives who live near the border with Gaza are continuing to share news of many in their community who have been killed. Palestinian friends and comrades, who have been living with the violence of occupation their entire lives, are also terrified for what’s to come, especially for Gazans with nowhere to go as bombardment and siege continue. I know many of you have been anxiously waiting for news of those close to you on the ground as well. We fear for them, and are with them in their grief and anger. 

Now more than ever, we cannot lose sight of a vision for the future where all people, both Palestinians and Israelis, are able to live in freedom, equality and safety. The events of the last days emphasize that there is no such thing as safety for some unless there is safety for everyone.

There’s a tendency I know I have when it comes to the kind of news we’ve gotten over the last few days—to avoid the pain when it gets to be too much, to turn away from the violence, suffering, and oppression that has been happening so far away and for so many decades, and to turn away from the complexity that this moment brings to us as a Jewish community that believes in justice and freedom for all people. 

As a community I hope we can open our hearts big enough to hold all the complicated emotions we may be feeling, big enough for our grief, heartbreak, rage, despair, uncertainty, confusion, fear, so we can be present to all of it. In doing so, we can help each other stay present to each other and to the work this moment calls us to do. 

We will be holding virtual space to come together and process this moment as a community this Thursday, October 12th from 6-7 pm. Here is the zoom link to register.

BWC’s Israel Palestine Committee (IPC) listserv is also a great place to get news from many sources and local opportunities to take action. Here are a few upcoming opportunities to get involved. 

•  The IPC is also holding a processing space tonight (10/10) at 7 for IPC members. 
• Wednesday Oct 18 at 7 pm with featured speaker, Alice Rothchild, who will talk on “Israel/Palestine: A report from the Ground” about her recent trip. Register for Zoom: https://bit.ly/IPCKickoff

Email IPC co-chairs, Helen Raizen (raizen@earthlink.net), Carrie Pollack (cmpollack@comcast.net) and Jordan Pollack (pollack@brandeis.edu),  if you’d like to be added to the IPC listserv and get involved with the IPC’s crucial work. 

I am also here to listen to what you are thinking and feeling in this moment, please feel free to reach out.

With love and solidarity,

Rebecca