Baltimore-area Jewish leaders comforting communities during deadly attacks in Israel
BALTIMORE -- Sirens blare in Baltimore's sister city Ashkelon, a coastal city in Israel, hit hard by violent attacks.
The death toll in the Israel-Hamas war continued to climb on Tuesday, four days after the Hamas militant group launched a surprise assault on Israel from Gaza — leading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare "we are at war."
More than 1,000 civilians have been killed by the attacks in Israel.
The horrors of war hit close to home for Baltimore Rabbi Yaakov Kaplan.
Rabbi Kaplan is staying in close contact with loved ones in the war zone and trying to comfort those in his congregation.
"I have many members of my congregation who spent the holidays in Israel and they can't get out now, but they're not staying in shelters hiding," Rabbi Kaplan said. "They're out there digging graves to bury their loved ones."
Blue and white ribbons and prayer cards are on display at the Jewish Community Center in Owings Mills where Chief Executive Officer Barak Hermann is also in touch with friends and family in Israel.
He's asking for prayers and support for the Jewish community.
"Many of us have very close contacts there," Hermann said. "We're in touch with them around the clock, and people are in safe houses and bomb shelters."
Both leaders also spoke about critical security measures in the Baltimore area with anti-semitic incidents and tensions on the rise.
"Just really pray," Hermann said. "Just pray that there won't be any more loss of innocent lives. Unfortunately, it seems to be getting worse before it is getting better."
Many elected leaders in Maryland have expressed shock over the terror attack, including Gov. Wes Moore.
"The level of brutality and inhumanity we saw from Hamas this weekend is not just heartbreaking," Moore told WJZ on Tuesday. "It's intolerable. We're talking about going after innocents. Women and children. "We stand with the victims. We stand with Israel."
In the wake of the war, security measures have been stepped up at synagogues in other facilities in the Baltimore area.
"They want us to be fearful as that's the point of terror. We are careful, and we going to take steps to make people safe," Rabbi Kaplan said.
Hermann said they have close relationships with local police.
"We're in constant contact any time there's a rise in antisemitism or real explicit hatred of Israel," he said.
Both community leaders asked that people educate themselves about the conflict and pray for peace.
"You see today a tremendous unity among all segments of the Jewish community," Kaplan said. "Even now as we go through this challenging time, the message is not to be despondent. It's not to be broken. It's to hold our heads up high."
