CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Israel-Hamas war is being fought 6,821 miles away from Cheyenne, but its impact is felt deeply by locals.
On Oct. 7, Israel declared war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas after it carried out an unprecedented attack on the country. The fighting so far has left 900 dead in Israel and at least 765 people dead in Gaza, according to CNN. Roughly 150 Israeli hostages have also been taken by the militant group. During a speech today, President Joe Biden condemned Hamas’s attacks and pledged U.S support for Israel. At least 14 Americans have already been killed in the fighting.
Wyoming has taken its own steps to show solidarity. On Monday, Gov. Mark Gordon ordered all state government flags to be flown at half-staff to honor those who lost their lives in the attacks.
Roughly 50 Cheyenne community members gathered outside the capitol building Monday night to show solidarity with Israel. The vigil was organized the day of by Mt. Sinai Congregation members, who came bearing posters with the blue Star of David and the Wyoming, U.S. and Israeli flags.
Matani Ravenna, a member of the congregation and one of the vigil’s organizers, moved to the capital city seven months ago from Ashdod, a city in southern Israel. The 29-year-old has already lost 11 friends from his Israeli Defense Force, or IDF, basic training days to the war. His grandmother, who lives in the nearby city of Ashkelon, was almost kidnapped by Hamas militants.
“We all know someone who fell,” he said. “The images coming out [of Israel], are atrocities that never in our deepest fears we imagined.”
Ravenna told attendees that serving in the IDF taught him to defend people, including “Jews, Christians and Muslims.” The attacks against Israel are not for the protection of anyone, he said.
“What happened was an atrocious attack against the helpless, victims who were just waking up in their beds,” he said, holding a poster with several of his dead friends’ photos. “They were taken into terror tunnels to be leveraged against the state of Israel, the one place for Jews in this world.”
Ravenna is not the only one in Cheyenne who is concerned for their loved ones. Noam Mantaka, owner of the Isreali food truck Noam’s Table told attendees that his 24-year-old son, Or-raz, is serving in the IDF as a medic. Mantaka said he wants his son, along with other soldiers and families in Israel, to make it out safely.
“To all the soldiers, to all who fight, to all the families who have lost their kids, to whole families who got lost and killed … from all my heart I’m with you, please come back in one piece,” he said during the vigil.
While Ravenna and Mantaka shared their stories, Mt. Sinai Rabbi Moshe Halfon encouraged attendees to research ways to support Israel and congregation member Jason Bloomberg read encouraging passages from their prayer book. Other community leaders who spoke at the vigil pleaded for peace.
“People are always what we should value most highly,” said Rev. Elizabeth Mount from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cheyenne. “People are made in the image of God; we are representations of creation.”
The event moved attendees, including Carol Fischer. The 35-year Mt. Sinai member is constantly reading about the war and heard about the vigil from her husband a few hours before it started.
“It’s been such a shock to all of us,” she said. “We’re just trying to come together to figure out what people might need. The next couple of weeks we’re going to figure it out.”
Mantaka said he felt emotional seeing the Cheyenne community come out on such short notice to support Israel. It reminded the entrepreneur of when he first opened Noam’s Table in 2016 and wanted to include the Star of David on his logo. People were afraid for him, but Mantaka wasn’t worried.
“A lot of people said don’t do it, that it would be dangerous,” he said, “but we did it and we just got love and more love.”
A livestream of Monday’s vigil can be viewed below:
