Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon welcomed local Rabbi Nechemia Gurevitz to open Tuesday night’s City Council meeting in prayer and also expressed his support for Israel against its ongoing conflict with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Rabbi Gurevitz opened his prayer asking for the safe return of the thousands of hostages to Israel.
“Almighty God masterfully universe, we stand here in your beautiful city of Gainesville, that our hearts and minds with your people in the Holy Land,” he said, “The venerated members of this body believe this welcoming and diverse city is called upon today to pray. We pray they should ensure that the hostages are returned home safely, that the thousands of wounded have a speedy recovery and the deaths of thousands of people should not be in vain.”
Rabbi Gurevitz then went on to remind all that in times of war, the Jewish Community carries a message of kindness.
“Although we are all physically distant from the battles raging in Israel, we are all called upon to participate in the spiritual battle against the darkness is chased away by light,” he prayed. “Love extinguishes hate. When our enemies commit atrocities and despicable acts, we increase in acts of love, goodness, and kindness. When we stand in solidarity with Israel as natural as our presence and our words, we also stand in solidarity through our actions. We find ways to intentionally be more kind… Because every act of kindness is a powerful light that vanishes much darkness and most certainly vanishes despicable darkness we find ourselves amidst of. Almighty God, the merit of our prayer, grant this great and beautiful city, sweetness and overflowing bless.”
Mayor Couvllion followed the prayer emphasizing the importance of speaking of the tragedy in Israel.
“When a pebble is thrown into a pond the ripple effect the pebble will have downstream is never fully understood at that moment,” Couvllion said. “This is why so many more neighbors have condemned this attack that we joined. We joined them so that we are heard to show our Jewish friends here that they are loved and they have our support. We joined the condemnation of the events on October 7, to show that we stand in solidarity with the people of Israel, who have endured so much tragedy in the last week and a half.”
