“Am Y’Israel Chai”. 20,000 watch live streamed event as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addresses peace vigil in north London
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and United Synagogue CEO Jo Grose address packed Finchley United synagogue alongside 1,700 Jews from across the community
A prayer evening at a north London synagogue saw 1,700 come together in solidarity with the people of Israel.
Finchley United shul (Kinloss) filled both its main hall and overflow to capacity, as the event with addresses by Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was live-streamed to more than 16,000 viewers.
Guests included the Israel Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely, Michael Goldstein, President of the United Synagogue, Keith Black, the Chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council and representatives of all major political parties.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said: “Hardly a single Jewish family in the UK doesn’t have a direct connection to Israel at this time. Israel is the very heart, not just of the Jewish people, but the Jewish faith.”
We send, he added, “a strong message” to our “brethren and our friends in Israel this evening. You are not alone. We share your pain. We are crying with you. We share your anguish. We share your fate and your destiny and we will always stand shoulder to shoulder with you.”
He added that he had been “flooded” with messages from “so many treasured friends” since the events in Israel on Saturday. That is because “no civilised person can be unmoved. No civilised person cannot be deeply shocked having seen the sights that have unfolded during the past few days.”
Introducing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Chief Rabbi said: “Thank you for your messages of support. To have seen 10 Downing Street lit up last night in the Israeli flag sent such an extraordinary message” not just throughout the Jewish world but through “the decent world”.
Speaking amidst bouts of applause, the Prime Minister called the murder of at least 900 Israelis, kidnap of 150 and at least two thousand injured, “an ‘abhorrent act of terror.”
He said: “We stand with you in this hour of prayer as we think of those who are hostage and your friends and loved ones taking refuge in bomb shelters or risking their lives. And perhaps above all, I wanted to come here tonight to stand with you in solidarity in Israel’s hour of need.
“As the Prime Minister of this country, I am unequivocal. the people who support Hamas are fully responsible for this appalling attack. They are not militants. They are not freedom fighters. They are terrorists.”
“Their barbaric acts are acts of evil. There is no other word to describe what we have seen. Teenagers at a festival of peace gunned down in cold blood. Innocent men, women and children, abducted, raped and slaughtered. Even a Holocaust survivor taken away. And much of this sickening evidence posted online.
“There are not two sides to these events. There is no question of balance. I stand with Israel. We stand with Israel. The United Kingdom stands with Israel against this terrorism, today, tomorrow and always. Let me also say this to you as the Jewish community here in Britain. I know that in moments like this, when the Jewish people are under attack in their homeland, Jewish people everywhere can feel less safe. We’ve already seen vile words on our streets and attempts to stir up community tensions. I say: Not here. Not in Britain. Not in our country. Not in this century.”
He added: “My first duty is to protect you. We will not tolerate this hate. We will not tolerate this anti-semitism. And I promise you, I will stop at nothing to keep you safe.
“Let me just conclude with this thought. In the last few days we have seen heinous acts, remnant of the worst of humanity. And peace may feel further away than it has in a very long time. But I know this too. The hope of Israel is built on the very best of humanity. This extraordinary land, this democracy, the only one in the Middle East where you can vote, where you can be gay, this technological superpower which delivers breakthroughs in science and medicine that are a gift to the world.
“This promised homeland of the Jewish people. In the words of the Hatikvah, that hope is not lost. Even in these darkest of days, perhaps especially in these darkest of days. Together we hold fast to that hope of 2,000 years.
“When we say we stand with Israel, we mean it. Not just today, not just tomorrow, but always. And I will stand with you, the British Jewish community, not just today, not just tomorrow but always. Am Y’Israel Chai.”
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