Our Israel Committee helps nurture our connection to Israel by fostering education and promoting meaningful engagement with the Jewish homeland through programs, activities, and fundraising.
If you have a question about Israel and our congregation, or if you’re interested in getting involved in the committee, please reach out to israel(at)societyhillsynagogue.org.
Joint Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Ceremony — Streaming of the Ceremony with Dinner
Monday, Apr. 20 @ 5:30 pm
Click here to RSVP (Advance registration required)
You are invited to join fellow congregants in the Social Hall for a streaming of the 21st annual Israeli-Palestinian Joint Memorial Day Ceremony. Held on the eve of Yom HaZikaron in Israel, this powerful gathering brings together bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families to mourn their loved ones and affirm a shared commitment to peace.
At 5:30 pm, we’ll gather in the Social Hall for dinner and schmoozing. The streaming will begin promptly at 6:00 pm and will include testimonies, musical performances, and messages of peace from human rights leaders. Organized by Combatants for Peace and the Parents Circle – Families Forum, this ceremony offers an annual reminder that, even in the face of loss, we can still choose humanity and hope.
Resilience and Return: Segev Kalfon’s Survival of Captivity in Gaza
Sunday, April 26 @ 3:00 pm at Society Hill Synagogue
Segev Kalfon was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023, and survived 738 days of captivity in Gaza before his return home. Join us as Segev shares his remarkable story of the resilience, determination, and faith which sustained him in captivity. He will discuss the strength, purpose, and hope that can emerge even in the darkest of circumstances.
After Segev‘s talk, we will have a brief commemoration of Yom HaZikaron, Remembrance Day for Israel‘s Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism, which this year is just a few days before Segev‘s visit.
The entire program, with Segev’s talk and the brief ceremony, will be held in Society Hill Synagogue’s Sanctuary, with a reception and Israeli hors d’oeuvres to follow in the Social Hall.
$18 Members of Society Hill Synagogue and/or Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel • $36 General Public • $180 Sponsorship • Free for Students with ID
* All Proceeds Support Segev’s Recovery
This program is presented by Society Hill Synagogue’s Israel Connections Subcommittee in partnership with Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel and the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
Read some of Rabbi Kamesar's Divrei Torah (words of Torah) about Israel:
A Reverberation Between Soul and Source
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar It’s been a head-spinning time in world events. Last week we witnessed the capture of Venezuela’s President in a US military raid and his subsequent arraignment on drugs and weapons charges, as well as the killing
Hope and Healing
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar It’s hard to put to words the experience of relief many of us are feeling in response to the release of the living Israeli hostages this week, and an apparent end to the war —
Relief, Joy, and Peace
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar It is with great relief that I write reflecting on an agreement reached between Israel and Hamas, brokered by the United States, that seeks to bring an end to this two-year war launched by Hamas
Tishah B’Av: Commemorating Exile, Embracing Wholeness
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar Tishah B’Av is nearly upon us. Tishah B’Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, is the date on which the destructions of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem are commemorated. It
War, Peace, and Sacrifice
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar I write on Day 657 of the war that started on October 7, 2023, a war that feels more interminable and heartbreaking by the day. At this point, nearly 75% of Israelis, “including 60% of people
What I’m Wrestling With — Israel, Gaza, and Antisemitism
by Rabbi Nathan Kamesar When I have the time and space, I try to share with you my own personal wrestlings regarding two interrelated dynamics that have weighed heavily on our hearts for almost 21 months now: (1) war in