wfn.org | Union of American Hebrew Congregations Action Alert

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Emily Grotta
UAHC Director of Marketing & Communications
(212) 650-4227
<mailto:EGrotta@uahc.org>EGrotta@uahc.org
http://uahc.org

Contact:   Emily Grotta 212.650.4221      uahc@uahc.org

                                           UAHC NEWS ALERT

                                                                          April 
1, 2002
                                                                         19 
Nisan 5762

                     TO:
                           All UAHC Congregations
                     FR:
                           Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President
                           Union of American Hebrew Congregations
                     RE:
                           Israel

                     We watch in horror as the suicide bombings continue, 
day in and day out. We are in mourning
                     alongside our brothers and sisters in Israel, weeping 
for the innocent lives lost in the violence.
                     And we wonder, "What can we do? What can we say?"

                     Wednesday, as Passover draws to a close, Reform 
synagogues will be holding Yizkor services.

                     I urge you to remember the victims of the violence in 
your worship. You will find at the end of this
                     fax a sample prayer for this purpose.

                     Secondly, I urge you to encourage the members of your 
congregation to tell President Bush that
                     we appreciate the American government's support for 
Israel and the Jewish people. Such
                     communication is especially critical now because we 
know that the President is hearing from
                     those who oppose American policy and make excuses for 
Palestinian terror.

                     Earlier today, I sent the President of the United 
States a letter, which can be used as a guide for
                     your own letters. Please feel free to add words of 
your own when writing to the White House, and
                     circulate this alert to as wide a network as you can.

                     Letters can be e-mailed to both the President and the 
Vice-President at the following addresses.
                     Put the following in the subject line: "Thank you for 
standing with Israel."

                     president@whitehouse.gov
                     vice.president@whitehouse.gov

                     Alternatively, you may send your letter via fax to the 
White House at: 202-456-2461.

                     I wish you and all your families a continued happy 
Passover. Let us continue to pray for the
                     peace of Jerusalem, and for all its inhabitants.

                                IN THE WAKE OF THE VIOLENCE IN ISRAEL
                                              FOR YIZKOR

                     As we gather to observe this last day of Pesach, each 
in our own communities, we are united in
                     our grief and pain over the recent violence in Israel. 
There has been no time to heal from attack
                     to attack. We weep, as our mother Rachel wept:

                             A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and 
bitter weeping!
                             Rachel is weeping for her children, refusing 
to be comforted for them, for they are
                             no more.

                                                                        Jeremiah 
31:15

                     To our personal prayers of yizkor-remembrance we add a 
moment of silent prayer for those
                     whose lives have been taken, for their families and 
friends. We pray for peace to come to them
                     and to the land of Israel..

                                                 * * * * * *

                     We add a prayer for Medinat Yisrael-The State of 
Israel and for her people, our brothers and
                     sisters.

                             Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may those who 
love you prosper!
                             Let there be peace in your homes, safety 
within your borders.
                             For the sake of my people, my friends, I pray 
you find peace.
                             For the sake of the house of the Eternal our 
God, I will seek your good.

                                                                         Psalm 
122:6-9

                     Eternal God, grant blessing to the State of Israel, 
created to fulfill an age-old dream and to be a
                     haven for the oppressed. Protect them with Your grace, 
shelter them with Your peace and grant
                     them deliverance from the violence which surrounds 
them. May they live in harmony with one
                     another and with their neighbors. May the bonds of 
faith and fate which unite the Jews of all
                     lands be a source of strength to Israel and us all.

                                                  # # #

                     The Union of American Hebrew Congregations is the 
central body of Reform Judaism in North
                     America, representing over 1.5 million Reform Jews in 
more than 900 synagogues. UAHC
                     services include camps, music and book publishing, 
outreach to unaffiliated and intermarried
                     Jews, educational programs, and the Religious Action 
Center in Washington, DC.

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