Praying for a Peaceful Shabbat

Dear Friends,

For the past two weeks, as part of the incredible JCC Maccabi Games that did so much to bring our community together, we have had the privilege of hosting teen athletes from our sister communities of Sofia, Bulgaria, and Sha’ar HaNegev, Israel. These teens, along with those from San Diego, learned about each other’s cultures and communities, made lifelong friends, and competed as one delegation in the games. 

This morning, our guests from Sha’ar HaNegev, along with all of us, awoke to the news that Israel had launched a military operation in Gaza against targets threatening Israeli civilians. In return, Islamic Jihad has fired rockets at Israel and targeted the Sha’ar HaNegev region on the Gaza Border, always on the front line when conflicts arise. We are keeping all of our Sha’ar HaNegev family in our thoughts, and pray that the situation calms down quickly. We hope that when our outstanding young athletes fly home on Sunday, they will return to a safe and more peaceful situation. 

In the meantime, we are in close touch with our partners in Sha’ar HaNegev and will continue to share updates with you as they become available. 

Praying for a Peaceful Shabbat, 

Heidi Gantwerk
President & Chief Executive Officer