Rabbi Aaron Goldstein, the Co-Senior Rabbi of the Ark Synagogue, and Nottingham Liberal Synagogue’s Rabbi Gili Zidkiyahu are in Israel to support colleagues and friends in the country.

They took part in the Havdalah organised by MARAM – the body of Progressive/Reform clergy in Israel – at Hostages Square (pictured above), where Rabbi Gili offered a prayer as part of the service.

Hostages Square is the plaza located in front of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art where events are held to call for the release of all those still held by Hamas.

Rabbi Aaron said: “MARAM have been supporting hostage families with almost daily offerings of song, dance and prayer. It was an honour to stand alongside them and close out Shabbat, and important for Gili and I to support the hostage families and our rabbinic colleagues.”

Rabbi Aaron is Chair of the UK Friends of Leo Baeck Education Center Haifa, which provides quality educational programs for students of all racial, religious, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds – including Jewish-Arab shared existence projects.

His time in Israel has also seen him visit the community gardens supported by Leo Baeck Haifa – which promote intercultural encounters between Jews and Arabs in the local area – and attend services at two of The Ark Synagogue’s twinned Progressive communities.