Solidarity By Lary Hankin IJN Assistant Editor http://www.ijn.com April 26, 2002 Sunday in Denver belonged to Israel. From early in the morning to late in the afternoon, friends of Israel from all segments of the Jewish community -- and from the non-Jewish community -- walked, shopped, learned and donated funds. Sunday wasn't intended as a day for loud protests or lamenting Israel's dire situation. Rather, it was a day of solidarity, respect, prayer and support, as well as restrained, tempered celebration of Israel's 54th Independence Day. Allied Jewish Federation raised over $525,000 for the Israel Now campaign and announced a $2 million second line campaign for Israel, said Elaine Asarach, Israel, National and Overseas board chair. The sunny, yet windy and cool day started with "Walk the Walk" a four-mile solidarity hike through heavily Jewish neighborhoods of East Denver. The walk drew 4,000 participants, more than double the anticipated crowd, according to organizers. The walk was sponsored by the Allied Jewish Federation Israel Center, and attracted walkers under the banners of many Jewish organizations, as well as individuals. All ages and religious denominations were represented: infants in backpacks and strollers, children from religious schools, teenagers from youth groups, couples of all ages walking hand in hand, senior citizens, Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform and unaffiliated Jews, Christians, African-Americans, people in wheelchairs, pet-lovers with their four legged friends on leashes. And the walk drew Israel supporters from the entire Rocky Mountain region. AJF Israel Center Director Marsha Gardenswartz told the IJN that her office received phone calls from people in Colorado Springs, Ft. Collins, Greeley, Longmont, New Mexico, Wyoming and on the Western Slope of Colorado, asking directions to the Loup JCC. The event began with registration and check-in at 8:30 a.m. at the JCC. By 9 a.m., the 1,200 tee-shirts on hand were gone, and by 9:30 a.m., the hot pink wristbands had been depleted. The south parking lot of the JCC was completely packed with people standing, waiting for the walk to begin. S brief rally kicked off the hike. Speakers included Mayor Wellington E. Webb; Robert E. Loup, former national UJA leader, former president of the Allied Jewish Federation and eponym of the JCC; City Council President Joyce Foster and Rabbi Joel Schwartzman, spiritual leader of B'nai Chaim, representing the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council. Mayor Webb said: "I am here today to commemorate the miracle of the reestablishment of a sovereign Jewish commonwealth after 2,000 years of exile." "The US support for Israel," Webb said, "is based not merely on mutual strategic interest, but is grounded in our common Judeo-Christian heritage and an appreciation of the shared values and principles that are the foundation of American and Israeli societies." His message was one of peace. "How many more lives of innocent men, women and children have to be taken before the violence comes to an end? . . . I pray that all guns and bombs will be put aside so that the peacemakers will be able to come together and work together. I pray that next year at this time we can all truly celebrate the occasion of Israel's 55th anniversary in tranquility and peace." City Council President Foster spoke of her prayer to see her grandchildren grow up in a world in which Israel is safe and secure, thus enabling the security of Jews to live in freedom and safety in all other parts of the world. "I'm here to show my love, respect and admiration and share my voice so all will know in Israel that they are not alone," Foster said. "I will continue to e-mail and call my friends in Israel to tell them we are with them." Rabbi Schwartzman said that although the members of the Rocky Mountain Rabbinical Council have different approaches to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, "we all unite in one clear, simple and unequivocal message: Israel we are with you! Israel we stand by you! Israel, we are dedicated to your survival, your welfare and to your right to live in peace among your neighbors within secure borders." The rabbi stated, "No country can live under the threat of annihilation. Israel should not be condemned for defending herself against suicide-homicide bombers. If anything, the world should praise her -- for we Jews are the miners' canary for the rest of the world." With Bob Loup's charge, the throng of Israel supporters began their trek, filing out of the JCC parking lot and up Dahlia Street to Alameda Avenue, then east on Alameda where church-going traffic could see hundreds of Israeli and American flags and placards. When the crowd was finally out of the parking lot and on route, the queue stretched a mile and a half. Walk organizers planned the route to pass the area's synagogues and institutions. From the JCC-Federation complex, the march went to Rodef Shalom, where welcomed bottles of water were distributed. Then, it was on to BMH-BJ, DAT, Mikveh of East Denver, EDOS and Emanuel. Each of the checkpoints represented different cities and tourist attractions in Israel, including the Dead Sea, Massada, Tel Aviv, Karmiel and Jerusalem. Refreshments such as oranges, ice cream and lollypops were given at the stops along the way. The nearly two-hour walk wound its way back to the JCC, where most walkers continued their day of support for Israel by participating in "Make a Difference for Israel." The JCC was transformed into a shopper's paradise -- with Jewish ritual objects and art, jewelry and food items direct from Israeli merchants, including the Etzion Judaica Center. Denver consumers were able to pick up gifts -- for others for themselves -- while pumping desperately needed revenue into the merchants' and artisans' families' pockets. Terrorism has caused a dramatic drop in tourism and domestic Israeli spending, forcing many small businesses to collapse. Coloradans also were able to help Israel by volunteering for various organizations and projects. One example was a drive to raise funds for an ambulance for Magen David Adom. The project, when started five months ago, needed $55,000 to purchase a fully equipped standard ambulance to add the Red Star of David fleet in Israel. The goal was reached Sunday at Make a Difference for Israel. Jewish National Fund ran out of tzedakah boxes it was giving away. Smaller charities did very well too. "People came in a giving mood," said Susan Heitler, one of the co-chairs of Make a Difference for Israel. The Intermountain Jewish News signed up many new subscribers at its booth in the main lobby of the JCC. The new readers cited their increased thirst for knowledge about Israel. People wanting to learn more about the situation in Israel attended workshops and lectures. Speakers and topics included: * Micky Wasserteil of Israel, the founder of Arutz 7 and Israelnationalnews.com, "The World According to the Idiot Box"; * Cy Finnerty, "Christian Zionists: Why We Love Israel"; * Rabbi Shmuel Goldstein, "Celebrating Israel's Accomplishments"; * Ellyn Hutt, "A Spiritual Response to the Current Crisis"; * Don Jacobson, "Jewish Claim to the Land of Israel"; * David Segal, "Behind the Scenes"; * Seth Ward, "Israel Declaration of Independence: Our Hopes and Dreams." A scheduled featured speaker, Meir Schijveschuurder, the young man whose parents two sisters and a brother were killed in last summer's Sbarro pizzeria suicide-homicide bombing, did not speak. He had returned to Israel prematurely, after being in the metro area part of the previous week and speaking about his loss time after time. He just couldn't do it one more time. Schijveschuurder's story, featured in last week's (April 19) IJN, is posted on the IJN's website, www.ijn.com. Food also played a role in the day's activities. The JCC's kitchen cooked up Israeli staples such as felafel, salad and hummus, and sold them along with snack foods, bagels and desserts. This year, Israel Independence Day needed to have a decidedly different tone than in years past. How could Jews celebrate -- sing and dance and get their faces painted -- while their brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael have been killed at the hands of terrorist bombers? How could they celebrate when Israel's young soldiers have put their lives on the line? In Denver, it's been a year-and- a-half punctuated by grassroots and formal activism, with large rallies at the State Capitol, prayer gatherings at synagogues, symposia and debates, the appearance of Benjamin Netanyahu before 2,800 people, and the first Ben Yehudah mall last January, which has become a model for Jewish communities throughout the US. Therefore, the organizers of this year's events -- the Federation, JCC and ActionIsrael -- knew they had a concerned and active community to draw upon as they worked to create an appropriate commemoration that conveyed celebration and solemnity at the same time. Israel 54 in Denver was just that. Celebratory, yet subdued. Proud, yet concerned. Pluralistic, yet unified. Even though it hasn't been a "feel-good" year, April 21, 2002 in Denver, Colorado ended up being a "feel-good" day for local Jewry. It appears it will be a feel-good experience for Israelis too. Micky Wasserteil, who came to Denver for the event said, "In Israel, we feel like American Jews have abandoned us because we didn't know what was going on. "I never dreamed that in a place so far away as Denver, Colorado, that there would be so many people so committed to Israel." Wasserteil instructed his staff to immediately put out a news story about the people of Denver so that the people of Israel will, indeed, know that they are not abandoned, but supported and loved. SIDEBAR: In the spirit of the impassioned fundraising days of yesteryear, 14 Allied Jewish Federation campaign leaders, met immediately after the walk for Israel Sunday, and raised more than $525,000 for the emergency Israel Now campaign.