11/08/2024
A Voyage of Solidarity and Support
Michael Haas & Raquel Flatow Haas | SPECIAL TO THE CJN
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
Raquel Flatow Haas and Michael Haas on an Israel mission trip. Submtited photo
We traveled to Israel last month with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland on a Solidarity Mission alongside 16 fellow community members. Although this was Michael’s third visit since Oct. 7, 2023, Raquel wanted to bear witness to this “pogrom” on the ground in Israel as well. We wanted to understand the existing state of affairs in our homeland both physically and figuratively.
Our group visited the Nova Music Festival site where many atrocities took place. Out of the ashes, an organic memorial formed for each victim, slaughtered at the festival, by their families and visitors. It is a gut-wrenching reminder that evil can penetrate anywhere, even at a peace-loving music festival. We took pictures of memorials that had similar birth dates to our son. That made the madness of Oct. 7 even more tangible in our heads.
We spent time in Kibbutz Kissufim, a community in the Gaza envelope that suffered a great deal of carnage on Oct. 7.
The Cleveland Federation has since formed a partnership with Kissufim to aid in their rebuilding and to help repair this beautiful community. The Talmud teaches us, “He who saves a single life, saves the entire world.” Cleveland’s partnership with Kissufim is an example of this quote in its purest form.
We also traveled to Ofakim, a town the terrorists infiltrated. This town was an exposed target to begin with, as many residents must run to public shelters on the streets if there is any threat, making them more vulnerable than residents who have shelters within their buildings or safe rooms in their apartments. We were hosted by a woman whose husband was murdered on her front doorsteps while her children and grandchildren were helpless inside. She and her family suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and said they would feel safer if they had a fence surrounding the home. The Federation is now ensuring a fence is constructed and is absorbing the cost of this fence so she and her family can feel more secure in their own home.
Federation’s grassroots involvement and ongoing support of Israel since 1948 would not be possible without contributions to the annual Campaign for Jewish Needs. For many of our brothers and sisters in Israel, Oct. 7 has not ended. It will not end until every hostage is brought home. Our dollars make a real difference. New chapters of need continue to unfold as this war rages on. We cannot anticipate what will happen next. We can continue to be present for the Israeli people, continue to raise awareness of the situation and raise much-needed funds for all the victims of this war. Am Yisrael Chai.
Make your gift today to Federation’s annual campaign at jewishcleveland.org. The 2025 campaign will conclude on Dec. 11.
The Hasses are residents of Pepper Pike and they are congregants of B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike.
