Dear all,
Last week, as the terrifying yet heroic FlyDubai hijacking attempt unfolded, I found myself thinking about Entebbe.
In 1976, terrorists hijacked an Air France flight carrying Israelis and Jews and diverted it to Uganda. Israel responded with the nearly unthinkable: a daring nighttime rescue mission that brought more than 100 hostages home.
Israel fought back. Israel rescued its people.
I think about Entebbe on this third anniversary of October 7, 2023.
Perhaps that is part of why October 7 wounded us so deeply. We had come to believe that, when threatened, we could protect our people.
But on October 7, we were wounded. We were murdered. We were violated.
And when Israel fought back, much of the world turned against us.
We felt terribly alone.
But in this moment in time, let us remember:
We are not alone.
We stand with one another.
We hold hope in our hearts.
We will never forget.
And we will not allow our loss to become our defining moment.
We will mourn.
We will build.
With love and shalom,
Rabbi Zachary R. Shapiro
