RICHMOND, Va. -- Hundreds of Richmonders gathered Monday night to stand with Israel in the wake of a deadly Hamas surprise attack on Israel.
The Jewish Community Federation of Richmond held a solidarity gathering where people prayed and shared their experiences of what is happening to friends and family in Israel.
Their goal was to help be a voice for Israel and give people a space of support.
“This attack against Israeli citizens is incomparable and unprecedented and the magnitude of this tragedy is still unknown,” said CEO Daniel Staffenberg.
Attendees prayed, cried, and sang in unity for the country and culture they care deeply for. Natali Bollie was one of the attendees and shared that her family is in Israel seeking refuge in bomb shelters.
She also has friends who are missing.
“I can’t sleep or think of anything it’s just crazy. I am angry and sad and I feel horrible that my people are going through that,” she said.
Bollie brought a sign to the event. She pasted pictures of some of the hundreds that are currently missing onto the sign and wrote “Let them go.”
She shared how she is struggling knowing there are babies, women, and elderly people who have been kidnapped and tortured. She believes people need to see their faces
“They are mean they are animals they are monsters. I want the world to know what we are going through,” Bollie said.
The Jewish Community Federation of Richmond has created an emergency fund to send money directly to help people in Israel
They said the funds will go immediately to support the Jewish Agency Victims of Terror Fund to the families of people killed and injured.
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