The Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine joins Jewish communities around the world in welcoming news of a ceasefire agreement that will bring all the remaining hostages home and move toward an end to the war. While this is cautiously being referred to as a “first phase,” it is the most optimistic development since the war began. For two long years, our hearts have ached as we watched this war. We have seen firsthand the pain and grief it has brought to our own community, and the extraordinary resilience and compassion of Jewish people around the world. Hamas’ terrorist attacks on 10/7 started a conflict that swallowed the entire region in blood and fire. Today, we pray, we finally begin to move forward towards lasting peace for all. We especially send our love and prayers to the families of the captives. May G-d comfort the families of the bereaved and support the healing of the wounded. We will remain devoted in our mission to support Maine’s Jewish community. We will continue our steadfast support for our brothers and sisters in Israel. And we will continue to pray for a future in which Israelis and Palestinians can live in safety, hope, and peace. Statement From Israel's President Isaac Herzog: “This is a morning of historic and momentous news. I give my full support for the agreement reached in Egypt. I express my thanks to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the negotiating team, the mediators, and all those involved in this vital effort…This agreement will bring moments of indescribable relief to the dear families who have not slept for 733 days. This agreement offers a chance to mend, to heal, and to open a new horizon of hope for our region. This is a time to honor the heroes among us: our sons and daughters who fought bravely to bring the hostages home; the bereaved families; the wounded in body and spirit; and all who have paid an unbearable price for this historic and vital moment.” What to Know: Israel and Hamas have agreed to a comprehensive end-of-war and hostage release deal, which is set to be signed in Egypt on Thursday afternoon. Israel’s security cabinet is meeting to vote on the prisoner release and a number of other aspects of the agreement, which are expected to pass. Following the government vote, the agreement will go into effect, halting all fighting and triggering the beginning of the 72-hour period during which all hostages must be released. All hostages—both living and deceased—are to be released within 72 hours of the signing. It is understood that the 20 living hostages will return home to Israel by Monday at the latest (and possibly as early as Saturday). Hamas has agreed to release the hostages without the humiliating ceremonies it held with many of the previously released Israelis. Hamas has cautioned that it may take additional time to locate and return the 28 bodies of those hostages who are no longer alive. There is speculation that the location of eight or nine of those bodies is not currently known to Hamas. The deal also includes the full disarmament of Hamas and the demilitarization of Gaza, including the destruction of tunnels, weapons factories, and military infrastructure under international supervision. There will also be amnesty for Hamas fighters who lay down arms or can be given safe passage to third countries. Under the agreement, Israel will maintain temporary security control of a security envelope until Gaza is declared “free of terror.” Later today, IDF forces will begin withdrawing from numerous Gazan population centers, but for now will continue to hold about half of the territory. The deal will also include the release of approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences (mainly for murdering Israelis) and at least 1,700 who were detained since October 7, among them women and minors. Israeli officials have indicated that the deal does not include members of Hamas’s Nukhba Force who took part in the October 7, 2023, massacre, nor the most prominent commanders described as “symbols of terrorist organizations,” such as Marwan Barghouti. As soon as the deal begins, there will be immediate and large humanitarian aid efforts for Gaza, including the restoration of water, electricity, hospital support, and a US- and UN-backed economic development plan. Oseh Shalom: A Jewish Prayer for Peace עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵֽינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן Oseh shalom bimromav hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu v'al kol Yisra’eil v'imru Amen May the one who creates peace on high bring peace to us and to all Israel. And let us say: Amen.

Rosh Hashanah is a time when we reflect on the past year and contemplate the ways in which we have grown, the mistakes we have made, and the opportunities we have yet to seize. As we engage in this sacred process of self-reflection, may we find the strength and courage to make amends, to learn from our experiences, and to grow into our best selves. As we welcome the new year 5786, we do so carrying the weight and wisdom of a year that has tested us in profound ways. This has been a time when our hearts have been stretched between grief and resilience, between fear and hope, between isolation and the deep human need for connection. We have witnessed antisemitism rise in our own communities here in Maine and beyond. We have seen violence and suffering that has shaken us to our core. We have grappled with complex questions about identity, safety, and belonging that have no easy answers. Many of us have felt the particular loneliness that comes from feeling misunderstood or unseen in our pain. Yet here we are, together. We continue to show up for one another. We continue to choose connection over isolation, dialogue over silence, and hope over despair—even when those choices feel impossibly difficult. Together, thanks to the hard work of our tremendously talented development team and the spirit of generosity and cooperation that is a hallmark of our community, the JCA has directly improved the lives of thousands of people locally and globally in the past year. We provided almost $400,000 in allocations to care for the most vulnerable among us, educate our children, strengthen Jewish identities locally, support Jews globally, and foster a thriving Jewish life. We distributed 259,050 diapers, 2,250 diaper wipe packs, and 43,248 menstrual pads through our diaper bank. We are starting a BBYO chapter to foster community and support Jewish identity among our local teens. We resettled 110 refugees from 9 different countries. We provided local school children with 510 pairs of boots through our Winter Warmth Drive. We greatly strengthened our antisemitic response protocol, developing a statewide incident response form and building key relationships with local, state, and national partners. We held our first Mitzvah Day, with 60 volunteers at 7 project sites, and subsequently created a mitzvah corps that comes together monthly to do volunteer work around the Portland area. We brought disparate voices together in dialogue to work toward shared understanding. And held space for our community to come together, to spread joy, to share pain, to remember, to hope for a brighter future, and to work to build a better world. The shofar calls us not to forget this year's trials, but to carry their lessons forward. It reminds us that we are part of an ancient story of perseverance, that we belong to a people who have always found ways to build meaning from brokenness, to plant seeds of justice even in the hardest ground. Every generation has faced its darkness and chosen to kindle light anyway. This is our moment to be ancestors to the future. Each conversation that builds understanding, each time we choose action over inaction and courage over fear—these become the foundation for the world we want our children to inherit. We plant trees whose shade we may never sit in, but whose shelter will comfort generations to come. As we stand at this threshold between years, we acknowledge what we've lost and what we've learned. We commit to continuing the sacred work of repairing our world—tikkun olam—knowing that this work is never finished, never perfect, but always necessary. We do this work not because we are certain of the outcome, but because hope is more than passive waiting—it is active faith in our ability to create change. Too often we are quick to call out the changes other people need to make, and shy away from taking account of the work we need to do internally. Our tradition emphasizes the critical principle of Kol Israel – that each Jew is responsible, one for the other. We can all benefit from reflection on the changes and repairs we need to make as individuals, looking inward before casting outward. We can also all benefit by affording others a little more grace to learn and grow and change, focusing more on building up instead of tearing down, of uniting rather than dividing. Given the host of ills in the world, it’s more important than ever that we stand together to confront the challenges we face as a community, as a nation, as a people, as human beings. May this new year bring healing to our community and our world. May we find strength in our traditions and in each other. And may we remember that even in the darkest times, we are never truly alone. Shanah Tovah u'Metukah. Leslie Kirby, Chief Executive Officer Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine 🍎🍯🍏