THE BEAUTY OF JEWISH UNITY
By: N. Aaron Troodler, Esq.
It could
have been our child. When 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach, 16-year-old Gilad Shaar and
16-year-old Naftali Frenkel were abducted as they waited for a ride to take
them home to their families for Shabbat after spending a week studying at their
yeshivot, we were all shaken. Every one of us felt that a piece of our heart
and soul had been taken away by the terrorists who snatched the three innocent
teenage students. As we watched the parents of the boys speak out publicly
about their sons’ kidnapping, we all thought the same thing – that could have
been us. And when we learned of the boys’ tragic fate earlier this week, we
grieved alongside their families and felt their pain.
Historically,
in times of crisis, Jews have generally come together. Irrespective of where
any particular person is on the religious spectrum, we as a people band
together when faced with a challenging situation. Religious and political
ideologies are often laid aside when confronted with a trying set of
circumstances, such as the one that we are grappling with now.
We
remember all too well the torment we endured when Gilad Shalit was taken
captive. After he was abducted by Hamas and then spent five years in captivity,
we came together as a people. We prayed for his return and we suffered together
with his parents until he was finally reunited with his family.
The
situation we found ourselves dealing with over the past several weeks is
equally as trying, and perhaps even more so. The boys who were abducted and
then brutally murdered were not soldiers; they were students. They could have
been our students.
Nothing
is more precious to us than our children. We raise them, we nurture them, we
educate them, and we love them. We would do anything to protect them. By
grabbing Eyal, Gilad and Naftali and killing them in a cowardly and barbaric
fashion, Hamas demonstrated the despicable depths to which they will sink to
terrorize the State of Israel and the Jewish nation. The heartless and heinous
kidnapping and murder that was perpetrated by Hamas is a sobering reminder that
the terrorists will do anything in their power to strike at the very essence of
the Jewish people.
And yet,
despite the odious nature of this terrorist act, we refuse to let it break our
spirit. We as Jews respond to a crisis and a tragedy the only way we know how –
together.
Before
we learned of their tragic death, Jews throughout the world took to the various
social media platforms to raise awareness of the boys’ plight and the horrific
act that turned our worlds upside down. #BringBackOurBoys and #EyalGiladNaftali
were trending on Twitter. There was an outpouring of support from people around
the world for the boys and widespread sympathy for the anguish that their families
feel. We all talked about the need to bring back not the boys, but our
boys.
As Jews,
we also did what we should always do when confronted with an urgent situation
such as this – we prayed. People across the globe gathered for prayer vigils
and to recite Psalms in communal gatherings. We joined together to cry out and
appeal for the swift and safe return of our boys.
Eyal,
Gilad and Naftali may not have been our biological children, but they were our
boys. They were young, innocent students who merited our full support and
deserved our unconditional love and concern.
As the
parent of a daughter, who, like Gilad and Naftali is 16-years-old, and who
spent this year studying at a high school in Israel, this episode hit
especially close to home. When she returns to Israel in the fall to begin
another school year there, the abduction and murder of the three boys will be
foremost in my mind.
I will
be thinking about it not because I am in any way worried about my daughter, but
because I understand that the fact that she wants to be in Israel and go to
school there is proof that the terrorists cannot and will not win. There will
always be young men and women, families, and seniors who want to travel to
Israel, to be a part of Israel, and to live in Israel. That unquenchable desire
to be in Israel is a testament to the resiliency that we have as a people and
the undying love that we have for the Jewish State.
The
Jewish unity that has been on full display during this terrible ordeal is a
thing of sheer beauty. The torment that the Yifrach, Shaar, and Frenkel
families have endured is unimaginable. Yet, despite Hamas’ evil intentions and
monstrous actions, they have unintentionally caused Jews from all walks of life
to come together. We tried to do everything in our power to bring our boys
home, and now that they are gone, we continue to stand united with the victims’
families and we voice our collective outrage at the vicious terrorist act that
claimed their lives.
We are
one nation and one family. The tragic loss of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali is felt
by each and every one of us. We will not rest until our boys’ killers are
brought to justice and held accountable for their unspeakable crime.
N. Aaron Troodler is an attorney and
principal of Paul Revere Public Relations, a public relations and political
consulting firm. Visit him on the Web
at TroodlersTake.blogspot.com, www.PaulReverePR.com, or www.JewishWorldPR.com.
You can also follow him on Twitter: @troodler
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