This afternoon there were simultaneous rallies in front of Israel's New York consulate for the three Israeli teenagers apparently kidnapped by a terrorist group, and for the hundreds of Nigerian girls kidnapped by a different terrorist group. Incredibly, a merger took place. Details below the fold.
The detailed account is from Jordan David Soffer, a rabbinical student at Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, a modern Orthodox rabbinical school in my neighborhood. After the rally and prayer service for the Israeli boys, some of the participants there happened to notice that there was a nearby rally for the Nigerian girls. They went back and got the organizer for the rally for the Israelis, Rabbi Avi Weiss, the founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, the senior rabbi of my synagogue, the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, and the founder of Yeshivat Maharat, which just ordained two orthodox Jewish women yesterday (and about which I hope to post a diary soon), to come to the rally for the girls. The organizer of the rally for the girls welcomed Rabbi Weiss and invited him to be the concluding speaker!
Jordan David Soffer reports on his Facebook page:
He spoke about our commitment to stand up for each other. The girls in Nigeria and the boys in Israel, he said, will never be found, unless every person in the world sees them as their brother, sister, daughter or son. G-d created man singularly, he preached in the name of the Talmud, so that no person can claim superiority over another human being.
We closed by singing a Carlebach niggun [song] together. "Because of my brothers and friends, Because of my sisters and friends, Please let me ask, please let me sing, peace to you. This is the house, the house of the Lord, I wish the best for you"
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Photo here, courtesy of Richard Langer:
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We are all one people in the world. We must unite against terrorism no matter whom it affects. #bringbackourboys #bringbackourgirls