After years of searching for the right fit, Jackie Goldman was thrilled to finally join a synagogue in Providence, Rhode Island, last August. Goldman, who uses they/them pronouns, grew up in a conservative Jewish household, attended a Jewish private school as a child, and was active with Hillel, the Jewish student group, in college. As an adult, they kept kosher, but missed the rituals that accompanied being part of an organized community. “I was so excited to join,” Goldman said.
Those feelings quickly dissipated following Hamas’s attacks in southern Israel on 7 October and Israeli reprisals in the Gaza Strip. The violence has killed 1,400 Israelis and 9,000 Palestinians – including more than 3,000 Palestinian children – according to officials from both sides.
