SETH EFFRON: In rural N.C., Jews unite to show concern, solidarity and sympathies

EDITOR'S NOTE: Seth Effron is Capitol Broadcasting Company's opinion editor.

GREENVILLE -- It’s big international news. In North Carolina’s urban hubs -- like Charlotte, the Triangle and the Triad – the Jewish communities came together to share their concern for the victims in the wake of the deadly Hamas attacks and the eruption of armed conflict in Gaza that has left hundreds dead and thousands injured and homeless.

The gatherings included major political and community leaders and drew the attention of local news outlets.

But in rural parts of North Carolina where Jewish populations are dwindling and synagogues have been closing, the well-known personalities may have been absent. But the concerns, sympathies and love are nonetheless present.

Such was evident Wednesday evening in Greenville where 40 people, hardly noticed by others in the bustling East Carolina University Campus Center, gathered for prayers of peace, healing and mourning.

The 20-minute vigil, organized by Jack Meltsner, was no less an emotional outpouring than those larger, more noticed, gatherings. Meltsner, a senior communications major from Charlotte, is on the board of the ECU Hillel (the national organization for Jewish college students). He’d spent a portion of the past summer in a leadership training program in Israel – and a few years earlier took a gap-year in Israel before starting college.

“No one around here was talking about it,” Meltsner said of the reactions he was noting on the campus. “No one was saying anything, not the chancellor or others. We needed to be our own advocates.”

With the help from friends at ECU and on other campuses around the nation, he put together a brief program of concern, support and memorial.

A shofar was sounded. Yahrzeit (memorial) candles were lit. A prayer for Israel offered hope at a time when peace seemed to be trampled.

“We pray for the wounded, we pray for the mourners, we pray for our security forces, we pray for the restoration of normality. … Cover us with the shelter of Your peace, may we have the courage to denounce violence and destructiveness, and may we become partners in building that shelter of peace.”

They continued: “Open the hearts and minds of all the leaders of the nation (Israel), her sons and her daughters. Guide them in the paths of peace and justice with true strength and wisdom.”

There were tears and muffled sobs as the 20-minute vigil closed with recitation of the Mourners Kaddish (prayer).

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