By Ari Plotkin
With Passover a little more than a week away, Jews around the world are thinking of the remaining hostages languishing in Gaza while preparing for the Festival of Freedom and contemplating its themes of liberation and redemption.
But for the past year, scores of Baltimore Jews have gathered every Sunday morning on the front lawn of Pikesville’s Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation to remember those Israelis and others who were abducted by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023.
For the past 50 weeks — rain or shine — they walk from the synagogue to Slade Avenue to Reisterstown Road to Seven Mile Lane and back to HSOSC — all to demonstrate their solidarity with the hostages and keep them in the public eye.
Their statement is one rooted in remembrance, vigilance and hope, said Jay Bernstein, organizer of the walks. A congregant of Ner Tamid Greenspring Valley Synagogue, he said the walks will continue until all the hostages are returned home.
“We’re not just in our community,” he said. “We’re walking across the road so [anyone] can see us.”
Every week, about 40-50 people attend the walks, which are held from 9 to 10 a.m.
“It’s about keeping it in people’s consciousness, making sure we don’t forget that there are men and women still taken hostage,” said Bernstein, a Northwest Baltimore resident and longtime Israel activist.
He said one participant who began attending the walks months ago had a relative who was abducted on Oct. 7. Tragically, the relative died but the local individual keeps coming to the walks because he appreciates the message and purpose of the gatherings.
At the start of each walk, participants stand by a sign on the synagogue lawn to record a short video, stating the number of days since the hostages were kidnapped and demanding, “Bring them home, from Baltimore.”
These videos become part of a global campaign operated by the organization Run4TheirLives. Families of the hostages view the videos and express their gratitude for the ongoing international support.
Bernstein said he looks forward to the day when the weekly walks will no longer be necessary. But until then, he said they will continue to be held, with a sense of purpose and determination.
Har-Sinai Oheb Shalom Congregation is located at 7310 Park Heights Avenue. For information, visit freedom424.org/events.
Ari Plotkin is a Jmore editorial staff intern.
A lifelong Baltimorean, Judge Rosenberg served as a U.S. magistrate judge from 1973 to 1998.
A former resident of Baltimore and central Florida, Ritt was active in the Soviet Jewry movement of the 1970s and 1980s.
For more than four decades, Goldman played a vital role in the supervision of elections in the city.
The 16-year-old sophomore succumbed to injuries sustained in a car crash last week in Cockeysville.