* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
The headlines about what occurred last week in Los Angeles sound horrific: a violent attack against a synagogue; the mayor, governor and President Biden all issuing strong condemnations.
But maybe we need another perspective on this event. Gidon Katz, CEO of IMP (International Marketing & Promotion) company, provided me with another version of this story.
Katz organizes real estate fairs in the diaspora for people interested in making Aliyah, along with his partner, Emanuel Vatari. Since Simchat Torah, the demand for these fairs has reached its peak, and he’s been involved in producing these events in New Jersey, Montreal, New York, and now in Los Angeles.
Without minimizing the severity of this attack, Katz believes that the main story is the event itself. We need to pay attention to the focus of these angry protests, says Katz:
“While a violent crowd was screaming outside, more than 350 Jews were gathered inside the synagogue; young people, adults, families, a throng of Jews who came to find apartments in Israel. They are seeking to purchase homes throughout Israel, and in this way, they are reinforcing what was said in last week’s parasha: ’The Land is very, very good.’ They are repairing the sin of the Meraglim (spies), and thousands of years after leaving Egypt, they have chosen to leave the U.S. and to make Aliyah.
Some participants in this event had to make their way through this ugly demonstration, as they were cursed and physically assaulted by the protesters; others entered through the back door.
The Hamas demonstrators were very clear about their intent, shouting: ‘From the River to the Sea,’ in other words, that Jews have no right to live in Israel. And what happened outside the synagogue is precisely the reason why so many people have decided to move to Israel. I witnessed how this alarming rise in anti-Semitism has yielded an unintentional result: it is strengthening our presence in the Land of Israel.”
