PEORIA, Ill. – The head of the Jewish Federation of Peoria says the weekend attacks in Gaza left her “horrified.”
“People were dragged from their homes and murdered in cold blood, and taken back as hostages,” says Susan Katz. “There’s been over 5,000 rockets fired into Israel, and about 2,400 wounded. So it’s just, the scale and the atrocities that took place are unimaginable.”
Katz says there’s local connections to the attacks as well. She says a woman that worked for the federation for a couple years had a brother killed while defending Israel over the weekend, and another former worker who was called into duty.
To show support for the local Jewish community and beyond, a solidarity gathering will take place Tuesday evening at 7:00 at Congregation Agudas Achim Anshai Emeth. Katz will be one of the speakers at the gathering, and says it will show support for a community that is currently deeply wounded.
“It affects all of us. We have a connection to Israel through the people that we know there and through our faith. And I think it helps in times like this who share in your pain and support you,” Katz said.
Katz says other speakers will include a couple ministers and a rabbi, who will also talk about their support for the Jewish community, along with a couple videos to be shown.
She says a campaign is currently in the works to help those in Israel affected by the attacks in Gaza.
