OUR COMMUNITY
I
t was a night of sorrow and deter-
mination, grief and unity at the
“Community Vigil for the Hostages”
organized by Jewish Federation of
Detroit on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
As 1,000 individuals entered Adat
Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills,
each was offered a handout with the
name and photograph of one of 242
individuals captured by Hamas terrorists
during their attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
The condition and location of these hos-
tages has not been revealed by Hamas,
even to the Red Cross.
During the program, the name of each
of the 242 hostages was read out loud by
one of five Detroit Shinshinim — young
Israelis who spend a year of service in
the U.S. helping Jewish communities
learn about and connect with Israel.
Audience members were asked to stand
when their individual’s name was read.
It was a somber group who rose in rec-
ognition of these hostages from 33 coun-
tries and multiple ethnic and religious
backgrounds who were kidnapped by
Hamas. Two hundred forty-two empty
chairs were set aside in the sanctuary to
symbolize them; each chair had a flyer
depicting an individual’s name, age and
nationality. Prayers were said on behalf
of them and their grieving families.
The vigil provided an opportunity
for Jewish community members to be
together at a difficult time and to visibly
support Israel.
“I support the State of Israel. We
want to show unity and strength — this
should never happen again,” said Jeff
Tackel, president Great Lakes Region,
B’nai B’rith.
Some in the audience mentioned a
need to connect with fellow Jews. “This
is an outlet for all kinds of feelings. This
hits home for moms,” said Julie Warheit.
Detroit Jewish community gathers 1,000
strong to support hostages and Israel.
Emotional Vigil
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN HARDWICK
22 | NOVEMBER 16 • 2023
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