burlington rally words

Speakers included Rabbi Jan Saltzman, Rabbi Aaron Philmus, Gov Scott, Rabbi David Edleson, Rabbi Eliyahu Junik, Maya Sobel, Beth Liberman, Mayor WWeinberger & City Counselor Karen Paul.

Rabbi Aaron Philmus- Ohavi Zedek

When we feel like giving up –

like the world is against us instead of looking down

esa einai – I lift my eyes to the mountains – the Green Mountains

And I stand in awe of the Creator of Heaven and earth who will be my help.

Meayin yavo ezri? Part of what is so disturbing about having family and friends in Israel right now is that when we see them being pulled out of their homes and music festivals to be gunned down, beheaded, tortured and raped we look around for help and support

It is so hurtful to see the people who are fighting for black lives and LGBTQ+ rights people who have no trouble taking sides on these issues – but when it comes to Israel they don’t want to choose sides.

So we say okay you care about the Gazan people too, but do you know why they are suffering? Because hamas’ sole intention is to murder Israeli civilians and replace Israel with a Muslim califate. Hamas is Isis - they have no regard for human life including their own people who they use as human shields.

But its like so many people are held under some kind of spell that makes them unable to see this – unable to admit that such an evil could exist – or to understand why Israel would need to fight back and defend its citizens.

They still think that somehow these terrorists can be reasoned with – just bring in a UN peacekeeping force – a delegation – I don’t know they say I’m not a political strategist

Ok so then their solution is to blame Israel for this pure evil

So I raise my eyes up to the mountains Esai Einai el heharim and I ask

Me’ayin yavo ezri? – From where will my help come? At least we know that

Ezri me’im Hashem oseh shamayim uvaaretz

But we learned that we have to wait for that help to come to us

Our people have been praying for return to our land for too long we refuse to wait for some miracle to drop out of the sky and save us – we are the change we seek

From where will my help come? I think about Israelis who just two weeks ago were completely divided and now are more unified than ever – how everyone at every age and level of society is taking care of each other.

I think about President Biden and Americas Iron dome that has saved thousands of Israeli lives from the missiles

I think about our friends and allies in the Burlington community who are with us here today- All of you representing Hashem/G-d and bringing G-d’s help and support

Rabbi Jan Saltzman: These are my words from last week's rally:

"I stand here today not just as a Rabbi, daughter of a man who, as an army medic, was the first to enter the camps and was then sent to Hiroshima to be the first landing party there; I stand here as a mother, aunt, sister, grandmother and granddaughter, and friend. I stand here to represent the millions of women who are made to bury their children, mothers, grandmothers, aunts and friends because of the decisions made by their governments. I stand here today to voice and lament the atrocities, the actions of Hamas. Free Palestine. From Hamas. Maybe then will be a chance to bring shalom, wholeness, and be a balm for all the shattered souls, Israelis and citizens of Gaza, alike."

I then led the crowd in singing We Rise, from Batya Levine.

Rabbi Eliyahu Junik: Here is a transcript of my speech at the Sunday rally:

B”h

Thank you all for being here today.

‘GAS THE JEWS’‘GAS THE JEWS’ ‘GAS THE JEWS’

My dear friends, that is the kind of things we’ve been hearing in the last few days in cities across the world, from New York, to Sydney, from London to Los Angeles.

After the most barbaric attacks on Jews in modern times, second only to the pogroms of the Holocaust, instead of unreserved and complete sympathy, instead of the moral clarity needed to call out savage animals for what they are; we see a world confused and ambivalent.

Vague, lukewarm statements condemning abstract concepts; violence, senseless hatred and such.

But my friends, we are here today to make a clear and unequivocal statement

Today we lift the curtain on the monster that is Hamas, and we declare unambiguously:

WE STAND WITH ISRAEL

WE STAND WITH ISRAEL AS IT DEFENDS ITSELF FROM THE ATROCITIES OF HAMAS, AND RIDS ITSELF AND THE WORLD OF THAT CANCER.

What took place only one week ago in southern Israel, is nothing short of a war crime; babies too young to walk or talk were murdered - not by accident as collateral damage - but by deisgn, with unparalleled ferocity and a hatred.

Holocaust survivors - our living witnesses to what happens when human depravity goes unchecked, saw themselves once more in one lifetime hauled off by armed savages and violent mobs.

As Jews, we don’t throw around comparisons to the Nazis easily, but this week I’ve heard many such comparisons. And the reality is that if the Hamas slaughter of last weeks pales in comparison by its breadth and numbers, it is identical in its objective and brutality.

At times like this we all look for answers, we want to know why.

I wish I had those answers for you today.

For generations, whenever Jews came under attack – and it was frequently – we relied on our two most powerful recourses to get us through

Our faith and our community.

Our rock solid, unwavering, unshakable faith in the G-d of Israel, who neither sleeps nor slumbers, and who will surely watch over our brethren this time as He has in the past.

And our Jewish community that spans the globe and traverses the seven seas. This beautiful family of which we are proud to be a part.

At times like this, we must summon the strength of our global Jewish family and lean on one another for support, strength and courage. We must never forget that we are part of a larger Jewish family, and when one part of the family suffers, we all suffer.

Our family is under attack, and it is our responsibility to stand by them in every way we can.

If I can leave you with one brief message today, among the many worth sharing, this would be it:

It may seem counterintuitive, but if the recent tragedy in our homeland has you second-guessing the wisdom of wearing your star of David pendant around your neck, or if you’re considering participating less in Jewish life, at shabbat or whatever.

REMEMBER THIS

Never once in history – I repeat – not a single time, has hiding our Judaism worked in our favor, and brought us safety.

The opposite is true, only by being proud Jews, by building our Jewish community, by engaging, participating, and brining others to do the same, can we hope to defeat the menace of terrorism, and hatred.

So do this, take your pendant, take your kippah, and display them proudly, put on tefillin, go to shabbat dinner, SHOW UP and May Almighty G-d protect our brothers and sisters, and bring them home safely.

Beth Lieberman: JCOGS

My beloved Jewish community in Vermont and our allies— אני אמריקאית-ישראלית גאה ... I am a proud American-Israeli Born in the U.S., I married an Israeli and made aliyah. We raised a child and built a life in Israel. I taught in Israel’s schools and joined movements for peace and dialogue, bringing together Palestinian and Israeli women and youth. When it was time to move back to the states We chose our other beloved home Vermont Because here there is a special kind of Jewish community And because time and again our brave little state shows up with lovingkindness for each other. I stand before you today as director of education of JCOGS, the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe, a synagogue and cultural center serving Jews and their families throughout north and central Vermont. In our shock and horror, grief and fear, anger and deep sadness, We, the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe, stand here together with our Jewish community in Vermont and our allies to mourn for the Israelis so brutally slaughtered in the Hamas attack on innocent life.

We stand with those taken hostage into Gaza and their families who wait in fear. We stand with the soldiers on the front lines, and their families waiting anxiously for them at home. We stand, too, with the multitude of innocent Gazans caught in the crossfire may they be spared, and with all those who seek peace and justice and a better way forward, we stand with you. My heart breaks for my dear friend in Israel who sent two children off to the front while mourning her co-worker who never came home. for my nieces and nephews who are holed up in safe rooms trying to shield their children from the horrors, for my 90 year-old mother-in-law who survived the atrocities of the Holocaust to now be hiding at home Alone watching this pogrom unfold. And for the father who listened on the phone while his two daughters, cradling each other in fear, were gunned down. Is this the legacy we want to leave our children? Where you can wake up in the morning to be forced to witness your children being murdered? For me the answer is a clear: no and that is why I’m standing here.

My heart breaks for the agonizing reality that so many in this world see Am Yisrael, the people Israel, all of us Jews, as somehow inhumane. And my heart breaks for our Vermont Jewish youth, who with every conflict in Israel face the specter of antisemitism here. Suffering, at times, a desolating apathy by peers who can’t or won’t understand. And I cry together with the Vermont mom who is afraid that her Jewish children may grow up in a world without Israel as a safe haven for all Jews. The Jewish Community of Greater Stowe named our education center, Olam chesed, a world of lovingkindness. Because we believe that davka through education, we stand a chance. We can empower our children to build Olam Chesed. Lovingkindness may feel like a distant dream right now when terror attacks invade the homes of our loved ones. And yet, As our hearts ache for those suffering in Israel, We offer chesed-compassion-in countless ways: by standing in solidarity with the people of Israel, by bearing witness to the unfathomable suffering on both sides, by reaching out to friends and family in Israel, by donating funds to Israeli relief efforts, and by supporting Jewish youth here in Vermont. Acts of chesed like gathering here today give us hope That even if difficult to imagine today,

Our tradition teaches: Olam chesed yibaneh Our world may yet be built with lovingkindness that will, bimheira beyameinu, speedily and soon, G-d willing, lead to a lasting peace.