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For cancer patients, the High Holidays can bring some unique challenges
At the height of the pandemic in August 2020, Fran Guzy, a retired schoolteacher living in Oradell, New Jersey, was diagnosed with breast cancer.
A month later, she had a lumpectomy to remove her malignant tumor. Then she underwent chemotherapy, followed by radiation treatments. Between her frequent hospital visits and concerns over catching the coronavirus while immunocompromised, Guzy barely got to see her children and grandchildren in Providence, Rhode Island.
But by Rosh Hashanah 2021, she finally had finished all her treatments, and she went to Providence for the holidays. Because of COVID, prayer services at Temple Emanu-El of Providence were held outdoors, in a tent.
Guzy was ready for that, but she wasn’t emotionally prepared for a particularly unique moment during the service.
“The rabbi asked anyone who had faced a really serious obstacle in their lives that year, and were proud of the fact that they were able to get through it, to please come up to the bimah,” she recalled. “I went up with 20 other people. I don’t know why they were there, but I knew what my reason was. And when I sat down, all of us had tears in our eyes.
“It was such a profound moment for me,” Guzy said. “When you face life-threatening diseases like cancer, you truly embrace God.”
For Jewish women struggling with breast or ovarian cancer, the High Holidays — with their focus on matters of life and death and their traditions of family gatherings — can be an emotionally daunting time.
“Words they’ve chanted for years about who shall live and who shall die suddenly take on a new meaning when women are facing their own mortality,” said Shera Dubitsky, a senior adviser to Sharsheret, the national Jewish nonprofit that focuses on cancer education and support.
The challenges can be both spiritual and logistical. Being surrounded by family can serve as an emotional boost, but it may be difficult when relatives offer unsolicited advice. A woman who treasures hosting family gatherings may be forced to forfeit that role because she’s recovering from surgery or undergoing treatment.
“This is obviously a very important time of year in the Jewish calendar, and it’s both reassuring and difficult for people facing an illness like breast cancer,” said Melissa Rosen, director of training and education at Sharsheret. “It could be as simple as a woman not being able to see family or travel, or that she’s immunocompromised and people can’t visit her.”
For others, attending synagogue services may be too strenuous. “Sitting and standing in shul for so many hours can be difficult,” Rosen said. “And for somebody who’s physically worn down by treatment, that might be impossible.”
Sharsheret offers genetic and mental health counseling, critical education, emergency relief funds and financial subsidies for non-medical services to Jewish women facing breast and ovarian cancer. The organization, whose name is Hebrew for “chain,” has staffers or volunteers in all 50 states, many of whom are cancer survivors themselves.
“We offer programs, resources and services to help women at any stage of their journey — whether it’s free phone counseling, caregiver support or toys to distract the kids,” said Bonnie Beckoff, Sharsheret’s director of support services. “We also have 15 social workers on staff who provide ongoing emotional support from the minute of diagnosis through treatment and surgery.”
For Jewish women struggling with breast or ovarian cancer, the High Holidays can be an emotionally daunting time. (AJ Watt/Getty Images)
For Rosh Hashanah, Sharsheret offers a virtual Tashlich program that combines cancer support with the ritual practice in which Jews symbolically cast their sins into a body of water.
“Last year we talked about how when we throw our breadcrumbs into the water, we’re unburdening ourselves,” Rosen said. “Cancer comes with a lot of burdens, so we ask people to write out on water-soluble paper what things they’d like to leave behind in the coming year. It could be the physical pain, or not being able to devote energy to family, or it could be fear. We encourage them to allow the papers to dissolve in water, so they can see it dissipate.”
This year’s virtual Tashlich is set for 12:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 22. The event, called “Letting Go of Cancer-Related Trauma During the High Holidays,” also will feature music by community educator and vocalist Marni Loffman.
One theme the group addressed last year was how to pray for forgiveness when at some level cancer patients may feel they’ve been singled out for ill fortune by being diagnosed with cancer.
“Why did this happen to us? How did my body fail me?” Rosen said. “We spoke about dealing with cancer as Jews, though this is universal enough that others could appreciate it as well. Everyone deals with these things differently.”
Guzy contacted Sharsheret for help after her cancer diagnosis and immediately was connected with a social worker whom Guzy said helped her at critical junctures.
“They sent me all kinds of material. Prior to my first chemo session, I got a package with a book of Sudoku puzzles, candies and warm comfy socks. They thought of everything. They made an awful experience so much easier,” Guzy recalled.
With the High Holidays approaching, Guzy said her cancer experience has given her a new perspective.
“I have a new appreciation for life that I don’t think I had before,” Guzy said. “Every night before I go to bed I write down three things that I love and appreciate. I’m also learning Hebrew online in order to understand all the prayers.”
To register for the virtual Tashlich program or to access Sharsheret’s support care and services, you may contact the organization using this form or call 866 474-2774.
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Australia Cracks Down on Antisemitism Amid Unrelenting Surge in Hate Crimes Targeting Jewish Community
Car in New South Wales, Australia graffitied with antisemitic message. Photo: Screenshot
The government of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has introduced a proposal to criminalize specific protests outside places of worship in response to a recent wave of hate crimes targeting Jews in Australia.
“We have seen disgusting acts of racial hatred and antisemitism,” the NSW premier Chris Minns said in a statement outlining the proposed laws. “These are strong new laws, and they need to be because these attacks have to stop.”
Part of a broader set of measures, the reforms aim to address a recent wave of arson attacks and antisemitic vandalism across Australia over the past two months.
“These laws have been drafted in response to the horrifying antisemitic violence in our community, but it’s important to note that they will apply to anyone, preying on any person, of any religion,” Minns said.
The legislation also followed Israel’s call for the Australian government to take stronger measures against the “epidemic of antisemitism” that has swept across the country. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has maintained that his government is doing everything possible to combat attacks, including acts of domestic terrorism.
The attempted antisemitic terror attack at a synagogue in Sydney is intolerable. This joins a long list of antisemitic attacks in Australia, including setting fire to a childcare center in Sydney, firebombing a synagogue in Melbourne, and many other antisemitic attacks.
The…— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) January 29, 2025
On Sunday, the NSW Jewish Board said that in three weeks they had seen 10 publicly reported antisemitic incidents, primarily in the Sydney area, which included arson and vandalism — including property defaced with messages reading “f—k Jews.” The group said that number “doesn’t include the graffiti appearing in our streets on a daily basis or the abuse and harassment that goes unreported.”
Last month, Australian police said they foiled a potential mass-casualty antisemitic terrorist attack after discovering a caravan in a suburb of Sydney filled with explosives and material containing details about Jewish targets.
Under the new proposed laws, it would be an offense to block access to places of worship or harass, intimidate, or threaten people there, with a maximum penalty of two years in prison. The legislation gives the police heightened powers to enforce he law.
It would also become a crime to display a Nazi symbol near a synagogue, with a maximum two-year prison sentence, and the Graffiti Control Act would be amended to make graffiti on places of worship an aggravated offence.
These potential changes would come after two synagogues in Sydney were vandalized last month with swastikas, and an attempt was made to set one on fire.
Under the new legislation, sentencing could take into account whether an offense was “wholly” or “partially” driven by hatred or prejudice.
“The entire community will be safer as a direct result of these changes. The proposed changes will mean that divisive and hateful behaviors will not succeed in dividing our community,” said Michael Daley, the attorney general.
As authorities work to counter the alarming surge in anti-Jewish incidents, law enforcement has made several arrests across Australia.
On Wednesday, two 27-year-old men were arrested and charged for spray-painting antisemitic symbols and words on walls, bus stops, and signs in several Perth neighborhoods in western Australia.
“The Western Australia Police Force will not allow vile acts of hatred and racism to go unchecked,” a WA Police spokesperson said in a statement. “This swift outcome should send a clear message to anyone engaging in this kind of behavior. We will find you and you will be put before the courts to face the consequences of your actions.”
In Melbourne, a 68-year-old man has been charged with criminal damage, unlawful assault, and offensive graffiti after allegedly vandalizing a family home in a Jewish community and throwing bacon at a passerby who tried to intervene.
In Sydney, a woman was found guilty of sending a threatening message to a Jewish school just 11 days after Hamas’s invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. However, she has escaped conviction.
In the letter, the 21-year-old wrote: “You are the children of Satan … get cancer and die a slow, painful death.”
“Praise Hitler. If only he was here to continue the mass destruction of your bloodline,” the message continued.
Many observers have expressed outrage over the woman escaping conviction. The verdict came as Jewish students were reported to be hiding their school uniform logos and avoiding public transport, in the wake of rising antisemitic attacks on Jewish schools, daycare centers, and synagogues.
AUSTRALIA’S SHAME – ANTISEMITISM EMERGENCY
This pic is the front cover of the Wentworth Courier, the local paper for much of Sydney’s eastern suburbs which is home to much of the Jewish community in NSW.
“Jewish children under police watch” in order to attend school.… pic.twitter.com/L6Itct35L9
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) February 4, 2025
Last month, the NSW government also proposed a new law making it a criminal offense to intentionally incite racial hatred, with a maximum two-year prison sentence.
In their efforts to combat hate speech, this change would make inciting racial hatred a criminal offense, rather than just a civil one under the Anti-Discrimination Act.
The state government also announced an increase of $525,000 in funding for the NSW police engagement and hate crime unit, along with a $500,000 boost to a grants program for social cohesion.
The post Australia Cracks Down on Antisemitism Amid Unrelenting Surge in Hate Crimes Targeting Jewish Community first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Pro-Trump Arab American Group Changes Name After US President Floats Controversial Gaza Plan
Then-US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, DC, US on Nov. 13, 2024. Photo: ALLISON ROBBERT/Pool via REUTERS
A prominent organization that sought to forge strong ties between US President Donald Trump and the Arab American community has changed its name in opposition to Trump’s proposal for the US to “take over” over Gaza.
On Wednesday, “Arab Americans for Trump” announced a rebrand to “Arab Americans for Peace,” criticizing the president for his failure to hold meetings with “key Arab leaders” and his support for removing “Palestinian inhabitants to other parts of the Arab world.”
“We strongly appreciate the president’s offer to clean and rebuild Gaza. However, the purpose should be to make Gaza habitable for Palestinians and no one else,” the group said in a press release explaining the name change.
The group explained that it supports a separate independent state for Palestinians encompassing Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, expressing disappointment that Trump has not attempted to carve out a “path to a permanent peace process.”
Bishara Bahbah, chairman of the group, told the Associated Press that the organization is “completely opposed” to Trump’s suggestion to transfer Gaza’s civilians out of the coastal enclave.
“The talk about what the president wants to do with Gaza, obviously we’re completely opposed to the idea of the transfer of Palestinians from anywhere in historic Palestine,” Bahbah said. “And so we did not want to be behind the curve in terms of pushing for peace, because that has been our objective from the very beginning.”
On Tuesday night, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was visiting the White House, held a press conference following their private meeting in the Oval Office. Trump asserted that the US would assume control of Gaza and develop it economically into “the Riviera of the Middle East” after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere.
“The US will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too,” Trump told reporters. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site.”
Earlier in the day, Trump referred to Gaza as a “demolition site” and said its residents have “no alternative” but to leave, suggesting Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab states as possible relocation sites.
Trump performed remarkably well with Arab American voters in the 2024 presidential election. In the majority-Arab American city of Dearborn, Michigan, 42 percent of voters backed Trump, compared to 36 percent who supported Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
Other Arab American leaders and organizations slammed Trump’s proposal to vacate Palestinians from Gaza.
Layla Elabed, the co-chair of the Uncommitted National Movement, said she was “sad, angry, and scared for our communities.”
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, called Trump’s comments “dangerous, provocative, illegal, and callously insensitive to Palestinian needs.”
Wa’el Alzayat, leader of EmgageUSA, an organization that advocates on behalf of Muslim Americans, rebuffed Trump’s proposal as a “violation of international law.”
The post Pro-Trump Arab American Group Changes Name After US President Floats Controversial Gaza Plan first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Liri Albag Celebrates 20th Birthday at Hospital With Other Hostages Released From Gaza
Liri Albag, center, standing from a balcony inside Israel’s Rabin Medical Center and watching an orchestra performance for her birthday alongside Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, and Naama Levy. Photo:
American Friends of Rabin Medical Center
Liri Albag, who was recently released from captivity in Gaza as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, celebrated her 20th birthday on Tuesday with other former hostages at Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah, Israel, where she is recovering after returning home 10 days earlier.
An orchestra came to the hospital to perform a small concert for Albag, who celebrated her previous birthday in Hamas captivity. The songs included Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and “Happy Birthday.” She watched from a balcony on one of the upper floors of the hospital alongside other freed hostages Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, and Naama Levy. All five women were serving as surveillance soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces when they were kidnapped from an IDF base in Nahal Oz by Hamas-led terrorists during their deadly rampage in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Albag, Gilboa, Ariev, and Levy returned together after 15 months in Hamas captivity as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Five days later, Berger was also released as part of the ceasefire deal.
Albag uploaded a post on Instagram about her birthday and wrote: “Today I get to celebrate my 20th birthday with my loved ones. The only wish I asked for — is for all the hostages to return.”
Her older sister, Roni Albag, shared a photo from the birthday celebrations on Instagram and wrote in the caption: “Our Lirosh, our number 1. I dreamed of this moment countless times and here you are. Today you celebrate your 20th birthday at home!!! Today you celebrate the life that was given to you again. You are our victory, our heart and the light of our home. I love you and am here for you forever and ever.”
Liri posted on social media on Friday for the first time since returning from captivity. In an Instagram post, she thanked the people of Israel for their “support, love, and help.” She said, “Together, we are strength.” She also thanked the IDF and members of Israel’s security forces “who sacrificed their souls and fought for us and our country! There isn’t a morning that I don’t pray for their safety.”
“Finally got to reunite with my family! But our fight isn’t over and I won’t stop fighting until everyone is home!” she added. “I want us to continue to stay united, because together nothing can break us. The unity and hope we have in us scares all our enemies, amazes all our lovers, and comforts the people among us. A sentence that used to accompany me was ‘at the end of every night, darkness disappears.’ And I wish that everyone can see the light.”
Seven surveillance soldiers were abducted from the Nahal Oz base on Oct. 7, 2023, including Noa Marciano, who was killed in Hamas captivity, and Ori Megidish, who was rescued by the IDF in October 2023.
The post Liri Albag Celebrates 20th Birthday at Hospital With Other Hostages Released From Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.