JCC speaker from Israel to share story of surviving Hamas attack

KINGSTON — Guest speaker Elinor Bitton Bariach will visit the Sidney and Pauline Friedman Jewish Community Center, 613 SJ Straus Lane, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, to share her harrowing but inspirational story of narrowly escaping the Hamas massacre one year ago in Israel.

Bariach will be joined by musician Gilad Paz from the band TLV who will share a performance to offer solace and inspire hope.

Elinor Bitton Bariach is an Israeli, born and raised in Tel Aviv, who moved to Kfar Aza 15 years ago. She works at Larger than Life, a non-government organization supporting children with cancer. She used to work at a summer camp in Washington State and has a Master of Arts in Jewish American Studies from Haifa University. She’s been married for 22 years and has three teenagers.

On Oct. 7, 2023, she was home with her whole family, hiding in their safe room. For many hours, terrorists stationed themselves on their roof, shooting her neighbors from on top of her house. For more then 20 hours total, Elinor’s family hid quietly, listening to terrorists break into their friends’ houses, burn them alive, murder and rape and kidnap their neighbors. Elinor is coming to the U.S. to share her story and her pain, while also spreading the strength of community and inspiring audiences with her resilience.

This event, sponsored by The Friedman JCC, Temple B’nai B’rith, Temple Israel, and Congregation Ohav Zedek, is free and open to the public. Bariach’s presentation will be preceded by a brief service led by Rabbis David Kaplan, Larry Kaplan and David Levin in memory of those who were killed and with prayers for peace.

To register for the event, visit https://friedmanjcc.org/events/bear-witness-to-october-7th/ . For information, contact Barbara Sugarman at b.sugarman@nepajca.org or 570-824-4646.

To ensure everyone’s safety, security will be present.