Foundation: The event that sparked the creation of Netzach Yisrael
An historic event quietly unfolded in Flatbush on May 4, 2014. For the first time, Orthodox Jews in Flatbush assembled on the 5th day of Iyur, under the auspices of a Chareidi, Chasidic rebbe, to express hakaras ha-tov to HKB”H for the State of Israel.
Addressing the overflowing crowd gathered at Congregation Bais Moshe Shmiel was Dr. Shlomo Sprecher, a noted doctor, author and lecturer, and Malcolm Hoenlein the Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Emptied of its tables, rows of chairs lined the shul; three-hundred seats squeezed into a modest sized shul. By the time mincha began there was not a single unoccupied seat. As the program began people were standing at the entrance and countless others were turned away for lack of space.
- Dr. Shlomo Sprecher
Dr. Sprecher, the master of ceremonies, welcomed the audience and read statements by leading Ashkenazik Gedolim expressing their excitement in 1948 over the creation the Jewish state. These included Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank and Rav Issur Zalman Meltzer, the father-in-law of Rav Aaron Kutler. What made his presentation especially emotional was Dr. Sprecher informing us that the author of the sefer from which he was reading, Rav Yitzchak Dadon, is the Israeli hero who shot dead the terrorist who massacred eight innocent neshamos in Mercaz Harav.
Delivering the keynote address, Malcolm Hoenlein, spoke dramatically about the need to express hakaras ha-tov. Raising his voice he proclaimed, “We have enough memorials for dead Jews.” We must support Israel even when it is at its economic, energy and technological peak. We must be ever vigilant because even when everything seems calm our enemies are plotting against us.
- Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
Netzach Yisrael was created to carry on this mission: to encourage Orthodox Jews — of all stripes — to advocate politically for the security of the State of Israel.