Sinai Temple, LA Leaders Gather for Israel Solidarity Shabbat

Last Friday night in the Sinai Temple sanctuary, Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles Hillel Newman introduced those gathered in the pews to an unfamiliar face in the crowd: Mher Hagopian, an Armenian-Lebanese Christian who stood up and fought with several Los Angeles Jews during a recent antisemitic attack in Los Angeles.

On May 18, Hagopian was enjoying dinner with several of his Jewish friends when a group of pro-Palestinians attacked the Jewish diners. Hagopian, a local wedding photographer, attempted to defend those being attacked and endured a heavy beating as a result. He has since been touted as a hero for defending the Jewish diners.

Hagopian, Newman said at Sinai on May 28, “leapt to the aid of his Jewish friends without thought of his own safety.”

Hagopian was one of several speakers this past Friday night at Sinai Temple’s Israel solidarity Shabbat. Standing on the bimah, appearing shy in front of the crowd of a couple hundred people, Hagopian, 36, said he did not feel like a hero but believed God had placed him at the restaurant the night of the attack for a reason.

Hagopian said he did not feel like a hero but believed God had placed him at the restaurant the night of the attack for a reason.

“I don’t think I was there just to have dinner with my friends; I was there for a purpose—God put me there for a purpose,” he said, eliciting multiple standing ovations from the worshippers in the pews.

Sinai Temple Rabbi Erez Sherman told the crowd how much the Jewish community needed friends like Hagopian and announced that Hagopian would be visiting Israel for the first time this summer.

Additional speakers at the service, held in-person and streamed online, included Sinai Rabbi David Wolpe and Orna Wolens, general campaign chair at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and a lifelong congregant of Sinai.

“It is hard to appreciate how improbable and miraculous it is we have a [Jewish] state because we were not alive when it was impossible,” Wolpe said during an impassioned sermon.

Wolens, meanwhile, highlighted L.A. Federation CEO Jay Sanderson’s recent visit to Israel on a Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) mission, during which Sanderson met with communities and families directly impacted by the more than 4,000 rockets Hamas fired on Israel.

“The trauma and fear from this constant barrage is profound,” Wolens said, speaking about the Federation’s partnership with the Israel Trauma Coalition, a coalition of trauma management NGOS in Israel.

“During these complicated and painful times, we are united by Ahavat Israel—our love of Israel and the Jewish people,” Wolens added. “We stand with Israel, we pray for peace.”

According to the L.A. Federation, the JNFA trip was the first mission to Israel since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pastor John Paul Foster of Faithful Central Bible Church and over 15 partnering organizations, including StandWithUs and UCLA Hillel, participated in the service. During the height of the recent conflict, Foster reached out to Sherman and conveyed his support for the Jewish community at a difficult time.

The musical service blended liturgy and contemporary music and featured Rabbis Sherman and Nicole Guzik’s daughter singing a rendition of “A Million Dreams,” from the film, “The Greatest Showman,” Sinai Cantor Marcus Feldman leading services, and a performance of “Jerusalem of Gold.” The evening concluded with everyone reciting the “Hatikva,” Israel’s national anthem.

Attendees of the in-person service were asked to bring proof of vaccination, and those who had been fully vaccinated were allowed to sit in the Sinai sanctuary without a mask.