20 | MARCH 21 • 2024 
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n late January, four local 
rabbis — Rabbi Daniel 
Schwartz from Temple 
Shir Shalom, Rabbi Steven 
Rubenstein from Congregation 
Beth Ahm, Rabbi Shalom 
Kantor from Congregation B’nai 
Moshe and Rabbi Harold Loss 
from Temple Israel — visited 
Israel for a brief but impactful 
rabbinic mission on behalf of 
their congregations.
Rabbi Schwartz coordinated 
the trip and said it had a three-
fold mission — to witness the 
atrocities of what happened on 
Oct. 7, to bring Israel a message 
of solidarity and to continue to 
bring awareness back home of 
those still being held hostage. 

Rabbi Kantor, who has spent 
a considerable amount of time 
in Israel throughout his life, says 
what he experienced on this trip 
was different from anything he 
had ever seen there. 
“It was a subdued Israel. Not 
that Israel stopped being Israel, 
people were still honking their 
horns and racing around on 
freeways and going about life, 
but in the overall atmosphere, 
there was a recognition this was 
different,
” he said. 
A few colleagues from out 
of town joined the four local 
rabbis, including Rabbi Benjy 
Bar-Lev from New Albany, 
Ohio; Rabbi Karen Bodney-
Halasz from Dayton, Ohio; 

Rabbi David Weizman from 
Clearwater, Florida; and 
Rabbi Noah Chertkoff from 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
The fairly short trip, only 
three days, had a packed itin-
erary.
The rabbis met with and had 
deep conversations with recov-
ering soldiers at Ichilov Hospital 
in Tel Aviv. Throughout the trip, 
the rabbis made sure to buy sol-
diers lunch and show support 
wherever they could. 
A greatly impactful stop 
took place at Mount Herzl, the 
national cemetery in Jerusalem, 
where they witnessed a funeral 
of a soldier. 
At one point, they walked up 

to the area recently developed 
as a plot for individuals who 
died in the war. The rabbis and 
their tour guide came across a 
woman who was sitting by her 
son’s grave and heard her story. 
“We sat, listened, hugged and 
embraced and let her know that 
in her pain, she was not alone,
” 
Rabbi Kantor said. 
“That is something that will 
stay with me,
” Rabbi Rubenstein 
added.
They spent some time in 

As part of the trip, all the rabbis made a donation to 
those in Israel on behalf of their congregations.

Local Rabbis Visit Israel
on Solidarity Trip

DANNY SCHWARTZ SENIOR STAFF REPORTER

OUR COMMUNITY
The rabbis with the family 
of a fallen soldier

Nova Music Festival 
memorial with a tree 
planted for each of the 
402 individuals murdered.

