Emissaries abroad issue letter of solidarity with Israel
Israeli emissaries sent abroad: “Every hour of the day we are closely following how you are so strongly standing up against the enemy.”
Arutz Sheva Staff , May 23 , 2021
Over one hundred Israeli emissaries currently located in communities across the Diaspora and representing a variety of emissary organizations, issued a letter of solidarity to the Israeli people, expressing their support for the country during these times of challenge.
“We, emissaries located all over the world want to tell you, our brothers and sisters in Israel, the land that we so love, that you should be strong and brave,” the letter writes.
“Each and every hour of the day we are closely following how you are so strongly standing up against the enemy. While we are physically located far away our hearts are with you. To our deep regret, even here we are facing our own ‘missiles’, in the form of lies spread across social media and sometimes even journalists who go so far as to accuse Israel of war crimes and condemn Israel while blatantly ignoring the real enemy.
“Our hope is to strengthen your spirit and to make sure you know that we are committed to telling Israel’s story and that of our soldiers. Some of us are working in the very lands that just 70 years ago people tried to physically destroy the Jewish people and sadly we are still forced to defend the very right of our tiny nation to exist and even defend itself against annihilation.
“Here from afar we are deeply worried and send our wishes for a complete recovery to all the injured and our condolences to the families who have lost loved ones. Our warmest wished to all the people of Israel.”
The letter was initiated by Rabbi Aharon and Hodaya Lemberger, emissaries from Ohr Torah Stone’s Straus-Amiel Emissary Training Institute working on behalf of the University Jewish Chaplaincy and World Zionist Organization in Glasgow, Scotland.
Hodaya Lemberger said, “We were sent here into the Diaspora for the purpose of acting as emissaries on behalf of Israel within Jewish communities across the globe. Particularly now, when the Israeli media is so closely following the international pressure being placed on our country, it’s so much more important that we continue to represent Israel within our communities. But even more importantly, it’s vital that our friends and family back in Israel understand how much support they are getting from these communities and how concerned they are for the Israeli people. The reality is that Jews around the world are feeling Israel’s pain and are ready and willing to do whatever is needed to express that warm support. And this was the message that we wanted to convey through our letter.”
Rabbi Eliahu Birnbaum, Director of the Straus-Amiel Institute added, “Even when the Straus-Amiel emissaries are far beyond Israel’s borders they are attached by heart and soul to the people here. The work of our emissaries is firmly committed to strengthening the bond of Jews to their Judaism and their traditions and also to strengthen the national identities of local communities through the connection with the people and nation of Israel. We are deeply appreciative for this important initiative made possible by our emissaries.”
Gael Greenwald, Vice Chair of the World Zionist Organization and Director of the WZO’s Education Department said, “A teacher working as an emissary isn’t just a teacher who has been relocated. These teachers allow Israel to be brought directly to another part of the world. In a country that has so much happening at all times, the role of these educational emissaries is often to serve on the front-lines of Israel’s public diplomacy (hasbara). This in essence allows for hundreds more ambassadors to be out there telling Israel’s story to the world.”
Read this article on the Arutz 7 website
