United with Israel

“Jewish communities all over the world have come together to meet this crisis and help those in need,” said Israeli President Reuven Rivlin during a videoconference with Jewish leaders from around the world

By TPS

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin spoke on Sunday via videoconference with leaders from around the Jewish world in call ahead of the Passover holiday, which will be celebrated under the shadow of the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Participants in the videocon included Jewish leaders from New York, Italy, South Africa, India, and France, in addition leading members of the clergy, such as Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of the United Kingdom.

Chairman of the Jewish Agency Isaac Herzog also participated in the call.

Rivlin wished the representatives of the communities a “chag sameach” (happy holiday), saying, “The Passover Seder meal is built on the Jewish value of mutual responsibility. We begin the seder by declaring ‘all those in need are invited into our homes.’ Jewish communities all over the world have come together to meet this crisis and help those in need.”

He noted that “this Passover will be very different from all other Passover holidays. Rather than gathering with family and friends, we will all follow the guidelines for social distancing. Despite this, our values of mutual responsibility and of passing on our traditions from generation to generation, will continue. No modern-day plague can break the chain that stretches back to the exodus from Egypt and binds our people together.”

“Now more than ever, I feel that we are one family, with a shared history, shared values and a shared destiny,” said the president.

British Chief Rabbi Mirvis pointed out the “rays of light in the dark clouds above us – mutual responsibility, of each of us for our fellows and concerns about our environment. We must all remember that this, too, will pass.”

Noemi Di Segni of Italy thanked the president and said that “the connection with the State of Israel fills us with strength.”

Robert Ejnes of France shared that “the Jewish community in France has, unfortunately, been hit hard in these days of crisis. We are dealing with the situation with courage and bravery.”

“There is no Jewish community in New York that has not experienced cases,” said Rabbi David Greenfield. “We feel as if we are once again in Egypt, in the spirit of these days. In our communities, there are many Jewish doctors. They are on the front line of developments in the fight against the virus, and we are very proud of them.”

In addition to the medical crisis, anti-Semitic incidents on the streets of New York were also discussed.

Lebana Pankar of India spoke about the great “exodus from India” that has happened with Israeli backpackers leaving and returning home. Speaking of the efforts made to ensure this, she said, “we are full of pride about the flight that left here to return home.”

Chairman of the Jewish Agency Isaac Herzog said, that “this Passover, the Jewish heart will beat in Israel and in the global Jewish community and there is no greater moment to demonstrate the mutual commitment that exemplifies our people.”

According to figures from Israeli embassies and consulates to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 200 members of the French Jewish community have died of coronavirus, 12 members of the Italian Jewish community and four in Brazil. In addition, as of today, 90 members of the British Jewish community have contracted the virus and 25 in South Africa.

以色列总统里夫林（Reuven Rivlin）在与世界各地犹太领导人举行的电视会议上说：“全世界的犹太社区聚集在一起，共同应对这场危机，帮助那些需要帮助的人。”

通过TPS

以色列总统鲁文里夫林周日在逾越节前夕通过视频会议与犹太世界各国领导人进行了通话，逾越节将在全球冠状病毒（COVID-19）大流行的阴影下庆祝。

视频会议的参与者包括来自纽约、意大利、南非、印度和法国的犹太领导人，以及神职人员的主要成员，如联合王国的首席拉比·伊法莲·米尔维斯。

犹太机构主席伊萨克·赫佐格也参加了这次呼吁。

里夫林祝愿社区代表们有一个“chag sameach”（节日快乐），他说，“逾越节的聚餐是建立在犹太人相互负责的价值观上的。我们首先宣布“所有需要帮助的人都被邀请到我们的家里来。”全世界的犹太社区都聚集在一起，共同应对这场危机，帮助那些需要帮助的人。”

他指出，“这一逾越节将与所有其他逾越节假期大不相同。我们都会遵循社交距离的准则，而不是与家人和朋友聚会。尽管如此，我们的共同责任和世代传承传统的价值观将继续下去。任何现代瘟疫都无法打破埃及流亡的枷锁，把我们的人民绑在一起。”

总统说：“现在比以往任何时候都更让我感到，我们是一个家庭，有着共同的历史、共同的价值观和共同的命运。”。

英国首席拉比·米尔维斯指出，“我们头顶乌云中的光芒——我们每个人对自己的伙伴和对环境的关切都负有共同责任。我们都必须记住，这也会过去的。”

意大利的诺埃米·迪塞格尼感谢总统，并说“与以色列国的联系使我们充满力量”

法国的罗伯特·埃金斯（Robert Ejnes）也认为，“不幸的是，法国的犹太人社区在危机的这几天受到了沉重的打击。我们正在以勇气和勇气处理这一局势。”

拉比大卫格林菲尔德说：“在纽约没有一个犹太人社区没有经历过这种情况。“我们感觉好像又回到了埃及，在这几天的精神。在我们的社区里，有许多犹太医生。他们站在抗击病毒发展的第一线，我们为他们感到骄傲。”

除了医疗危机外，还讨论了纽约街头的反犹事件。

印度的Lebana Pankar谈到了以色列背包客离开和返回家园时发生的“印度大逃亡”。谈到为确保这一点所做的努力，她说：“我们对离开这里回国的航班感到非常自豪。”

犹太机构主席艾萨克·赫尔佐格说，“这一逾越节，犹太人的心将在以色列和全球犹太人社区跳动，没有比这更大的时刻来展示我们人民的共同承诺。”

根据以色列驻外交部使领馆的数字，法国犹太人社区有200多名成员死于冠状病毒，意大利犹太人社区有12名成员，巴西有4名成员。此外，截至今天，英国犹太社区已有90名成员感染病毒，25人在南非感染。