Henderson congregation celebrates release of Israeli hostages — PHOTOS
Liz Breier isn’t a member at Congregation Ner Tamid, but she was sure to be at the congregation’s Henderson synagogue near Valle Verde Drive and the 215 Beltway Tuesday evening.
Because of a recent medical procedure, Breier, 75, was using a walker, but she said nothing was going to stop her from celebrating Monday’s announced release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages that had been held by Hamas.
“I felt the need to be here tonight with my fellow Jews for this moment,” Breier said. “It’s a celebration to honor those released and mourn those who will never be released.”
The hostage release was part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Brokered by the United States, the agreement comes just over two years since the conflict began.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 people were taken captive in Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, Israel’s military response has killed more than 67,000 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count.
The release of the hostages led to Jewish celebrations around the world.
‘Moments like this should be spent together’
At Congregation Ner Tamid on Tuesday, the celebration coincided with the congregation’s Simchat Torah service, and included prayer, traditional Jewish song, the singing of the Israeli national anthem, dancing and acknowledgement of the 20 freed hostages and four bodies that were returned by Hamas.
Another two dozen bodies, Israeli victims of the war, were yet to be returned as of Tuesday evening.
“One of the most important things about Judaism, certainly if you would ask my own mother, is finding your community,” said Congregation Ner Tamid Rabbi-Cantor Jessica Hutchings. “Moments like this should be spent together so that our children can see these are the moments that are the most meaningful.”
During the service, Hutchings removed a wrist band that she had worn for the past two years in honor of one of the hostages.
Breier did the same with a set of dog tags and a yellow ribbon that she wore in solidarity with the hostages.
“It was time to let it go,” Breier said. “For over a year, I wore it every single day. Never left my house without it. It was emotional for me.”
Inside Congregation Ner Tamid’s sanctuary, laminated posters that listed the names of the hostages were seen Tuesday afternoon. During the service, 24, posters of those who were released alive or posthumously were taken down as part of the ceremony.
Rabbi Cookie Lea Olshein, resident rabbinic scholar at Congregation Ner Tamid, said before the service that she viewed the events of the past few days as reason to hope, though she said she knows the ceasefire will continue to be a complicated process.
She’s among many who hope the peace deal can lead to a permanent end to the war that has ravaged the Palestinian territory.
“For me, there’s a little bit of apprehension,” Olshein said. “I want to have hope that every party to this agreement will actually do what they say they’re going to do and follow through to provide support for the Gazan people. They need that support so that they’ll never again feel so threatened that terrorism continues.”
The next step, Olshein said, is for the bodies of the remaining dead hostages to be returned. To be buried after death, she said, is an important part of the Jewish tradition.
“Those are beautiful souls who need to be returned to their families so that we can have a proper goodbye for them,” Olshein said. “Those families need closure. What just happened is one step in creating, God willing and humans willing, true peace.”
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X. The Associated Press contributed to this story.
