For Jews around the world, it’s been a dark few days.
On Wednesday night, I stood on the south steps of the Utah state Capitol, surrounded by hundreds of humans. Non-Jews and Jews, and within the Jews themselves, those from Israel, the United States and half a dozen countries in between. There were a number of things that happened at the Utah Stands With Israel rally that gave me a reason to be hopeful.
There were many politicians on the program, and many more that confirmed their attendance. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson had not. They showed up anyway. They didn’t need to speak, they didn’t need to be recognized, they just wanted to be there. Just wanted to stand with us.
I’ve seen people get shaken up these past few days. It’s humbling to watch others share in the human reaction. Standing beside Senate President Stuart Adams as he visibly choked up mentioning his own grandkids was so … human. It was deeper than political statements. Here was a man with kids and grandkids seeing the atrocities perpetrated on children and not wanting to live in a world where that was possible.
I stood right beside Gov. Spencer Cox as he read his remarks. He brought up two pages with him. One was typed. The second was mostly handwritten. The governor went off-book and totally from the heart in promising to keep our community safe. I’ll never forget that.
There’s so much speculation out there as to, “what do our Jewish friends need right now?” It may seem like a large question, but the answer is actually abundantly simple. We’d just like to know that our friends and neighbors have our backs. That they realize the gravity of what we’re going through. That they, as Americans, have also had to withstand terror in their lifetimes, and can empathize with the psychological traumas it creates.
There are only 104 seats in the Utah Legislature. Taking into consideration the few vacancies that currently exist, by anyone’s count, over half of Utah’s legislative branch was in attendance on Wednesday. Republican and Democrat. House and Senate.
I’d say that Utah has the back of the Jewish people as they stand against terror.
Israel is our eternal homeland.
But so long as I’m stationed in Utah, I’m truly blessed to call this state home.
God bless the Beehive State!
Rabbi Avremi Zippel is the program director at Chabad Lubavitch of Utah. He founded Young Jewish Professionals Utah with his wife in 2016.