The carnage in Israel has escalated to a virtual bloodbath. The Jewish community in Florida joins Jews from around the world in anguish and concern. We watch and read news reports with heavy hearts. We feel so helpless. What can we do?
South Florida synagogues have organized special services where tefillot and Tehillim are recited and tzedakah is given in the merit of our brethren in Eretz Yisrael. A local Chabad congregation has initiated a candle lighting campaign for women and a tefillin campaign for men. Yes, prayer, charity, and mitzvot are fundamental tenets of our faith, but the community wanted to do more and show some hands-on manifestation of solidarity with Israel.
Florida based-men’s clothing designer Joseph Waks came up with an innovative way to do so. Last week, Waks posted a video online describing his proposal. His mission is to display 1,000 Israeli flags across South Florida. The video went viral. Over 350,000 views were registered by the next day. The response has been phenomenal.
Waks came up with the idea after a friend told him she would not fly an Israeli flag on her car because she feared it would be vandalized. “I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” said Waks, who was born in Australia. “That in 2015, in Miami Beach, somebody would be worried about expressing her identity totally shook me up.”
Waks said that by displaying the Israeli flag “we demonstrate our unequivocal support for and solidarity with Israel; show that Americans support Israel’s right to defend its citizens against acts of terror; and give strength and hope to the people of Israel.”
The idea is catching on all around the United States. “We need to stand up for our rights and anyone who believes in freedom should join,” he said. “The terrorists hate America and the West the same way they hate Israel.”
The current atmosphere is redolent with anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Media outlets spin the Israeli-Arab conflict to reinforce a skewed narrative. The BDS movement is strong. Jewish students on college campuses find themselves in a precarious position. The current trend is for Jews to keep their heads down and their activities low key.
There are some who belittle the flag project. They say it won’t make any difference in the lives of Israelis who are dealing with this latest wave of savagery. They may be correct, but that is not the point. The change will come from those who participate. It will change their mindset. They will come out of the closet as proud Jews. They will take a public stand. They will risk putting themselves in an uncomfortable position, but certainly not as uncomfortable as their brothers and sisters in Israel.
Flags are flying in Florida. American flags and Israeli flags fly side by side. Flags wave from car windows and in front of houses and businesses. What about your community?
For further information, contact Joseph Waks at [email protected].