A Parkland rabbi talks about his numerous missions to the Nova Music Festival site as Monday marks Israel’s independence day. NBC6’s Lena Salzbank reports
Rabbi Shuey Biston of the Chabad of Parkland is on his sixth mission to Israel since the war between Israel and Hamas first broke out.
This week he took 26 people from Parkland and Brickell to see what now stands at the site of the Nova Music Festival where Hamas launched an attack that killed more than 300 people.
“This year there are an additional 1,516 Jews that are being remembered that were killed from October 7 until today,” Biston said.
Monday is Yom HaZikaron, also known as Israel’s day of remembrance. It is a day Biston says is bringing up a lot of emotion.
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The day of remembrance segues into a day of celebration at sundown. On Monday night, the Jewish community will turn their focus from mourning to celebrating, as the evening marks Israel’s Independence Day. It's Israel's 76th anniversary.
“Undoubtedly it is a difficult time to celebrate, there is an ongoing war, tens of thousands of soldiers are not home with their families, there are hostages still being held in captivity,” Biston said. “But we also have to lift our heads up high and be proud of what we have.”
Biston says as tensions continue to rise in the Middle East and across America, it is as important that the Jewish people have a place they can call home.
