AUSTIN (Nexstar) — More than 7,000 miles away from Texas, Israelis grieved the more than 1,200 lives lost and prayed for the return of the hostages still in Gaza. And for many Jewish Texans, the pain is all too close to home.
There are just about 1,600 Israeli families in the Austin area, and nearly all of them know someone personally impacted by the violence one year ago, Shalom Austin’s Rabbi Daniel Septimus said.
“This is personal on a number of levels,” he said. “We’re a small people… so when one thing happens to us, regardless of where it happens, whether it happens here in Austin, Texas and Israel or anywhere around the world, we feel it.”
His community held a memorial service at the Dell Jewish Community Center Monday night. Earlier, Septimus joined Gov. Greg Abbott as he urged Texans to remember the seven Americans still held hostage in Gaza: Edan Alexander, Itay Chen, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Gadi Haggai, Judith Weinstein Haggai, Omer Neutra and Keith Siegel.
“They and their families deserve reunification,” Abbott said. “In this war, Texas stands with Israel and we stand with the Americans whose lives have been harmed by the war started by Hamas.”
The message from state and Jewish leaders on this tragic anniversary: while the war may be a world away, it has real impacts here at home.
The anxiety of war knows no borders. The division and prejudice it fuels has hit Texans across the state.
The Anti-Defamation League reported a 45% spike in anti-Semitic incidents like harassment, vandalism and assault last year.
“It has been a hard year for Palestinian Americans, for Muslim Americans as well,” the ADL’s Jackie Nirenburg said. “I just think everybody’s hurting, and everybody has is filled with outrage, not knowing where to channel it, and so we channel it to one another, and that’s just really destructive.”
In that spirit, Septimus’ message Monday night urges understanding and optimism.
“I hope that one day we can rebuild bridges with the Muslim community,” he said. “When things are so emotional and volatile as they are now, it may be hard to do that, but I hope that we can get back to the table one day in the not so distant future.”