August 3, 2003 - November 17, 2003
During the week of Tisha B'Av, communities across the United States held vigils commemorating victims of terror attacks in Israel.

At AZM's initiative, during the week of Tisha B'Av communities across the United States
held vigils commemorating victims of terror attacks in Israel. 

AZM's New York Vigil was held in Union Square, historically a site of political expression and activism, in cooperation with AZM member organizations, the Conference of Presidents, and a number of local groups.  This is the second year that the Vigil was held nationwide, encompassing communities in Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Toronto. In many communities, state and local officials participated in the commemorations.  AZM is prepared to assist communities and/or institutions that are interested in organzing a similar event with programmatic suggestions as well as readings, poems and other useful materials.

For more information please send an email to krubinstein@azm.org.

What follows below is a description of the 2003 Vigil for Israel held in Boston, Massachusetts.

By Deborah Fineblum Raub

On Tuesday, some 400 people were standing, silently holding candles that flickered in the night when, suddenly, in unison they raised up photographs - of the faces of many of the 826 people murdered in Israel in terrorist attacks in the last three years.  

It was no coincidence that the Memorial for Victims of Terror in Israel was held on the eve of the most somber of all Jewish holidays, Tisha B'Av, when Jews around the world mark the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

The vigil, sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP), the Boston Israel Action Committee (BIAC) and 13 area synagogues, filled the lawn in front of  Newton City Hall's war memorial.

After area teens read victims' names and the dates they died, Don Siegel, Past President of JCRC and Chair of its Israel Strategy Group, remarked that "Tisha B'Av is about marking the tragedies of the past. Now we come together to mark a tragedy that is ongoing. Tonight we remember nearly 1,000 people. We read their names and hold up their pictures and we remember that they are in our hearts and in our minds." 

Israel Consul to New England, Hillel Newman told the crowd that "Israel cares. Israel does not forget. Israel understands the terrible blow to the family, relatives and friends ... for us, there is no such thing as legitimate terror."

Rabbi Gershon Segal of Congregation Beth El-Atereth Israel in Newton Centre observed that Tisha B'Av commands us to remember "and bring the experiences of our ancestors into the forefront of our consciousness. Those killed will not be reduced to statistics. They are individuals with lives, with hopes and dreams -- destroyed. We must take action to save lives."

The emotional touchstone of the evening was the appearance of Dr. Katherine Baker, who came from Harrisburg, PA to share the story of her son Benjamin Blutstein. Along with fellow Pardes education student Marla Bennett, Ben was killed by a bomb in the cafeteria of Hebrew University last summer. Speaking of her son, who was training to be a Jewish educator through Pardes and Hebrew University, Dr. Baker described him to the hundreds of people who were standing before her in rapt attention. She spoke of his penchant for rock music - he was an accomplished drummer who performed around Jerusalem and was described by one newspaper as a "Torah-loving hip-hop DJ" --his joy in learning Torah and his dream to inspire young people. "In Israel, Ben flourished," his mother said quietly. "He told me he was happier than he had ever been."

" Why do people stay on in the face of risk?" Dr. Baker challenged her listeners. "Being there brings joy and completeness to their lives. And what should our response be? We can devote ourselves to Israel and the Jewish people. We can provide support. And, like Ben and Marla, we can do what the Torah commands: we can choose life."

"Dr. Baker, you remind us of everything that is important to us as a Jewish people," said CJP President Barry Shrage. "Besides the enormous personal tragedy, Ben's loss is a tragedy for the Jewish people; we are desperate for passionate, committed young people like Ben.

 "But," he added, "the Romans didn't destroy us, the Babylonians didn't destroy us, the Germans didn't destroy us and Hamas won't destroy us. We will not be frightened away. We will be fearless in our support of Israel ... last year, we took 300 people on our solidarity mission and this year we're going to take more."

As the hundreds of pictures were lifted to the sky, Cantor Alan Brava led the group in Hatikvah - The Hope - a fitting message to end on - and 400 voices filled the night air.

It was a powerful evening for those assembled, including Judi Roth of Newton who called it "a perfect precursor to Tisha B'Av," Gideon Miller of Sharon who described it as "an opportunity to show our support for Israelis and experience Jewish unity" and Sergei Bologov who said, "It reminds us that we are here but our hearts are there - and that the price has always been high for Jews to live in peace."

In the words of JCRC President Susan Calechman: "It was an honor and an inspiration to hear Dr. Baker share her memories of her exceptional son with us. Tonight also reinforces the importance of bringing the community together, in sorrow but also as a renewal of our commitment to standing together with our brothers and sisters in Israel through these senseless tragedies."