As the leader of the only synagogue in Denton County, Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis of Congregation Kol Ami in Flower Mound doesn’t wish to get into the gritty details of the Israel-Hamas war. He also won’t tell anyone how or what to think, spark debates, or instigate harmful protests. What he will say with absolute conviction is that this war directly impacts your Jewish neighbors more than you might think.
Unfortunately, there is perhaps no better local example of this than the 144 grieving families in his small but welcoming shul.
“You’ll occasionally see these clips where someone is talking to people on the street and asks, ‘How many Jews are there worldwide?’ Some might think 50 million or 100 million, but the reality is that there are only 16 million,” Rabbi Dennis said. “As a result, the typical six degrees of separation doesn’t operate at more than three or four degrees for Jews.”
He added, “The Jewish community is interconnected, and we take this war personally. In this case, the war has reached into our congregation. It’s hard to avoid finding yourself so intimately connected.”
The Israel-Hamas war has been a massive topic of conversation worldwide since a series of coordinated surprise attacks conducted by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas commenced on October 7. Though reports differ and numbers continue to climb as of the publication of this article, it is estimated that more than 11,000 people have died in Gaza since the conflict began.
This includes soldiers as well as innocent individuals, families, and even children. There are also more than 200 hostages.
At Kol Ami, which formed at the University of North Texas in the mid-1970s before moving into its current synagogue in 1996, at least one family had two cousins murdered in the initial October 7 attacks. Two of Rabbi Dennis’ teachers also lost family members — their daughter, son-in-law, and grandson.
Even if a Kol Ami family hasn’t suffered a significant loss, they know soldiers who are being thrust into war.
“These are people [in Gaza] that I don’t know, but you’re connected because of the people here who grieve. It’s sobering to hear stories such as these, and I find myself counseling these families daily,” Rabbi Dennis said. “Some are grieving a loss. Others may not be grieving, but they are angry and filled with anxiety as they fear for the people who have been kidnapped. Emotions are high.”
Rabbi Dennis said Jews have always been self-organizing and work hard to ensure their community can move confidently in Jewish spaces and has access to organizations that provide help in war-torn areas. One organization is the Friends of the IDF, which is similar to the USO in that it accepts money and provides support to soldiers. There is also the American Friends of Magen David Adom (AFMDA), which is the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross and serves anyone who needs help.
“If you want to help Palestinians in Gaza, it’s difficult to find a charitable organization that hasn’t been compromised by Hamas. That said, I know of one fantastic organization known as Oxfam,” Rabbi Dennis said. “They have a long and sterling history, and as far as I can tell, they haven’t been compromised.”
He added, “I can’t speak for all Jews, but the fact that many are pro-Israel doesn’t mean they are anti-Palestinian. We want the best for them as much as we want the best for our own brothers and sisters. We fervently hope that this conflict ends sooner rather than later, and I hope this currently invisible path toward co-existence may appear from the ashes of all of this.”
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