The Eternal Light Will Continue to Shine

Ofer Chizik connects an antisemitic attack on a Reform synagogue in Manhattan with vandalism at a liberal synagogue in Jerusalem, arguing that both incidents are part of a broader war against liberal and secular Jews. He emphasizes that violence will not succeed in extinguishing the light of liberal Judaism.

Ofer Chizik, a journalist for Yedioth Ahronoth and a student rabbi, writes an opinion column linking two violent incidents against liberal synagogues over the past weekend. The first incident: a man (apparently an evangelical Christian) broke into Central Synagogue in Manhattan during prayer, shouted, spat, broke candles and candlesticks, called worshippers 'pigs' and 'fake Jews', and attacked two people, including a 63-year-old woman whose lips were cut. The second incident: youths broke into Kol HaNeshama synagogue in the Baka neighborhood of Jerusalem, smashed a window, tore down a pride flag, and damaged a work of art. Chizik argues that both cases are part of the same war against liberal and secular Jews, who seek to express their Judaism outside the conservative path dictated by the establishment. He emphasizes that the Jewish people are not afraid of a long road, and that Jews have been choosing the liberal path for about 200 years. He concludes with optimism: 'The eternal light that will never stop burning – and violence will not succeed in extinguishing our light.'

The Eternal Light Will Continue to Shine