“Enough is enough”
Posted by Richard on July 17, 2006
Earlier this evening, I attended the the Denver Jewish community gathering to show solidarity with the people of Israel. I’m happy to say that support for Israel is strong in Denver. The sanctuary at the BMH-BJ Synagogue looks like it normally seats maybe 250-300. They brought in all the extra chairs that could be squeezed in. Then they took down a partition to an adjoining room.
All the local news media were there, and the two reports I saw later both said over a thousand attended. Sounds about right to me. And although it was a predominantly Jewish crowd, there seemed to be a pretty good number of us gentiles, too. We were the folks looking a bit lost and awkward during the Hebrew parts, not sure when it was OK to applaud or what to do during the prayers and singing.
The program had some moving moments. Someone read a letter from former Denverites living in Israel describing the rocket attacks on their town. A young woman read a poem, partly in English, partly in Hebrew, about what life has been like for far too long in Israel. It began:
Was it anyone I know?
How can life go on this way?
Two Israeli soldiers were there — they’re part of some exchange program or something; I didn’t catch the details. They seemed so terribly young! I want to say "a boy and a girl," but that wouldn’t be right — I’m pretty certain that everyone wearing the uniform of the IDF is a man or a woman.
One of the speakers was Dr. Shaul Gabbay, a professor at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies. Dr. Gabbay has written books, scholarly papers, and op-ed pieces about peace in the Middle East, and he reminded the crowd that he’s always been a "glass half full" person, someone who thought peace was possible and negotiations worthwhile. This is no "neo-con" or warmonger. He said he feels for the innocents on both sides, and he’s saddened by the death and suffering among the Palestinians and Lebanese. Then he said quietly, "But tonight I say — enough is enough."
I’m proud to say that I began what soon became a long, loud standing ovation.
Enough is enough. I stand with Israel.
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