Aussie Jews join CTeen in Times Square

(TIMES OF ISRAEL) Former Hamas hostage Segev Kalfon led thousands of Jews at Times Square in New York in the Shema prayer on Saturday night, alongside former hostages Ilana Gritzewsky and Matan Zangauker, as Jewish teens from Australia watched on in the crowd.

It was one of a series of events for teenagers sponsored by the Chabad Hasidic movement.

The events, called the CTeen International Shabbaton, brought together more than 4500 youths from around 60 countries.

Saturday night’s event highlighted Chabad’s global reach, as well as the trauma inflicted on Jews by anti-Zionist violence thousands of kilometres apart.

Watching the former hostages lead the prayer were teens from Bondi Beach, where two gunmen slaughtered 15 people at a Chanukah event in December.

Priva Schlanger, the daughter of Rabbi Eli Schlanger, who was among the victims, took the stage, saying, “Pain doesn’t paralyse us, it pushes us. It doesn’t erase the pain, but it gives it direction.”

Chida Levitansky, the head of the delegation from Australia, said groups from around the world had been seeking out the Australian teens to show support.

“The teens that we brought in were looking forward to this for a very long time and I think that what’s happening here is really showing them that they’re not just stuck in Australia, in another country, but there are thousands and thousands of teens that care about them,” Levitansky said, adding that the Australia group of around 20, mostly from Sydney, had connected with groups from around 30 other countries.

“It’s really empowering. It really makes me feel like the Jewish community’s coming together as one,” said Yehuda Nothman, one of the teens from Bondi Beach. “Everyone understands the pain, but it’s really good that everyone’s together.”

“Especially after the shooting on December 14, to actually feel safe in a community being Jewish, being happy with 4600 other teenagers, it is the best thing I’ve ever experienced,” said Eden Pryer, another member of the Bondi Beach delegation.

Organisers said in a statement that the CTeen events showed that “Jewish life is alive, vibrant, and not going anywhere.”

“Each teen will return home to their community carrying that message with them, serving as ambassadors of Jewish pride in their schools, their cities, and their countries,” organisers said.

Attendees hailed from 486 cities, organisers said, calling the events the largest gathering of Jewish teens worldwide. Participants at the Saturday night event chatted in an array of languages and waved their countries’ flags, including Israel, Turkey, Brazil and Panama.

The mood was mostly jubilant, with attendees dancing in circles and images of the Chabad movement’s late, revered rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, broadcast on billboards around Times Square, and the Jewish rapper Nissim Black performed on the stage.

In addition to Saturday’s event, the teens met earlier in the week with New York City leaders, including Julie Menin, the City Council Speaker, and Mark Levine, the city comptroller, both Jewish, an event that Levitansky said was particularly meaningful for the youths.