Jewish Leaders Gather Together As Word of the Attack Comes in

It is Thursday night, hours after Israel has been attacked by Iraqi missiles. In the office of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, it is eerily quiet, with only the drone of televisions and the ringing of telephones disturbing the somber mood.

The few people who were still working in the office shortly after 7 p.m., when the first news was heard of the air raid sirens going off in Israel, spent the next few hours anxiously monitoring the news while at the same time juggling phone calls from community leaders, parents worried about their children and answering questions from journalists looking for a quote.

“Will the coalition hold? Does this threaten the coalition?” asked Shoshana Cardin, chairman of the Conference of Presidents, as she finished talking with another reporter.

“Everyone is asking me that, and the answer is no, the attack doesn’t threaten the coalition. Yes, the coalition will hold.”

The Conference of Presidents, the umbrella organization of 46 major religious and secular Jewish organizations, was the center of Jewish fears and hopes late Thursday night as leaders followed the news that always seemed practically unimaginable: an Iraqi attack on Israel.

Cardin observed that this is the price Israel had paid for no pre-emptive strike. “The hope was that because of the distance, the missiles would either fall short or be inaccurate. But we knew it was a risk, and it was quite a price.”

A special phone number installed last week to give Jewish leaders up-to-the-minute news on the Gulf crisis rang non-stop, while Cardin and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive director of the group, hastily arranged a late-night meeting.

In the midst of the turmoil, and the uncertainty of missiles exploding in Israel, Jewish leaders just wanted to be together, to discuss what their next step would be and to show their support for Israel and the U.S. attacks on Iraq.

A STATEMENT AT 2 A.M.

While waiting for some 35 Jewish leaders to arrive for the 10:30 p.m. meeting, Cardin and Hoenlein sat in front of the television set, mapping out their next moves.

To keep up with the constant questions they were facing, they spoke with U.S. administration officials and Israeli officials here.

Finally, shortly after 2 a.m. Friday, the Conference of Presidents issued a statement saying it was “deeply pained” by the Iraqi missile attack aginst Israel, and that the “launching of the missiles was an act of war.”

It further says that “every country has the right and responsibilty to respond to attack, to defend its citizens and protect its borders.”

The statement lauds “the wisdom and courage of the president’s decision to use force against Saddam Hussein,” and salutes the courage of the Israeli government and people “in confronting the great challenges they face.”

Hoenlein said afterward that the Conference of Presidents is calling for an event to be held Sunday at noon local time across the country, to demonstrate solidarity with Israel; support for President Bush’s decision in the Gulf; and to offer prayers for troops fighting in the war.