Grieving and on edge, US Jews, Muslims seek solace as Hamas-Israel war rages

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By Sharon Bernstein

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) — Jewish and Palestinian Muslim communities in the United States remain on edge a week after the brutal attack by Hamas militants on Israeli civilians and Israel's subsequent reprisals in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Friday services, highlighted by the main weekly prayers for Muslims and the start of the Jewish Sabbath at sundown, were the first since the massacre. Mosques and synagogues beefed up security as tension ran high in both communities.

As people gathered in grief and worry, synagogues invited trauma experts to speak to congregants shaken by the unexpected attacks and war in the Middle East, said Richard Priem, a security expert who works with Jewish organizations.

«This is a Shabbos when we all need to come together as one big family that suffered a tremendous, horrific loss,» said Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesman for the Chabad movement of Hasidic Jews, using the Yiddish word for the Jewish Sabbath.

Larry Mead, vice president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, said, «We are seeing the Jewish community is very apprehensive.

»They feel upset and they feel helpless. They are on edge."

Synagogues expected turnout on Friday night to be higher than usual as worshippers sought spiritual and emotional connection.

«We're not going to cancel Shabbat,» said Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, executive vice president of the New York Board of Rabbis. «We're not going to cancel Jewish life.»

In Brooklyn Heights, the Orthodox Congregation B'nai Avraham and Chabad planned a Sabbath dinner for 120 people to pray in spiritual solidarity, Rabbi Aaron Raskin said.

Also in Brooklyn, Reform Congregation Beth Elohim planned programs over the weekend for children and