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Mosby

(16,168 posts)
Tue Jun 17, 2014, 03:53 PM Jun 2014

At prayer vigils, Israelis gather in moment of unity over kidnapping

GIVAT SHMUEL, Israel (JTA) — On the rolling green fields of a suburban Tel Aviv park, hundreds gathered to pray for the imminent rescue of three kidnapped Israeli teenagers.

Rabbis delivered speeches, singer Yonatan Razel performed two pieces based on liturgical invocations of God’s mercy, and a prayer was recited for the safe return of Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Yifrach, who were kidnapped last week while hitchhiking from the West Bank settlement of Kfar Etzion.

Nearby, the calm warmth of summer in Israel seemed to take the edge off the anxiety a little. Children played and babies cried. Adults snapped pictures on their smartphones.

Such a beautiful day, such a terrible thing.

Last week’s kidnapping brought Israelis together as few things do in this divided nation. Thousands joined prayer vigils across the country, including a massive one Sunday at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

News — or lack thereof — about the kidnapped teens is dominating life here, from news reports to conversations among friends in cafes, prompting a rare thaw in the political and religious debates that typically overshadow Israeli discourse.

http://www.jta.org/2014/06/16/news-opinion/politics/at-prayer-vigils-israelis-gather-in-moment-of-unity-over-kidnapping

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