On April 25, during the intermediate days of Passover (Hol Hamoed), the Kotel was host to a moving event: the mass recitation of the Priestly Blessing (Birkat Kohanim) in front of thousands, together with a special prayer for the release of the hostages held in Gaza. For the first time, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation joined forces with Sharon Hazum, a content creator, lecturer, Hasbara activist, and producer of social projects, for this special broadcast.
They spoke to the families of hostages as well as a survivor from the Nova music festival who chose to turn back to save his friends rather than moving forward and thinking solely of his safety.
For the last year and a half, Sharon's focus in her projects has been the unity of the Jewish people and the return of the hostages. An additional factor in the production of the joint event was a personal request from returned hostage Agam Berger to hold "a mass prayer for the return of the hostages." With this moving plea, Sharon moved forward to create this project of international unity that was to be broadcast to the entire world from the holiest place for the Jewish people – the Western Wall.
Beyond prayer, stories illustrating the bravery of the hostages were told through several interviews. Ron Segev, a Nova survivor, shared his story, which went far beyond survival. Rather than turn away from danger, despite the bullets flying everywhere, he turned back to save his friends. Leah Yanai also shared her experiences of her sister Moran Stella Yanai in captivity and how she felt tied to her emotionally, even from such a great distance, exemplifying the connectedness and unity of the Jewish people.
The main goal of the Unity Project was to show the interconnectedness of the people of Israel and their love for each other. Sharon's work through her many projects with different organizations and the Diaspora Jewry serves to highlight that we are "as one man with one heart," diverse, but with common roots and a common destiny.
This article was written in cooperation with Sharon Hazum