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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