CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Rabbi Adam Berman says he and other members of the Congregation B’nai Jacob in Charleston have been hoping and praying for what happened Monday when 20 Israeli hostages were released by Hamas as the part of the new peace deal.
“Every single day as I’ve been leading services at B’nai Jacob we’ve been counting the days that our hostages have been held and every day I say, ‘we hope that by this time tomorrow they will be home,’ I’m thrilled to be able to stop the count at day 738,” Berman said Monday MetroNews Midday.
Berman and others watched with joy as the hostages were reunited with their family members.
“This is all very personal. We’ve shed way too many tears of mourning, pain and grief and now we have the opportunity to shed tears of joy as well,” Berman said.
Berman lived in Israel when Oct. 7, 2023 occurred.
“I personally was a couple hundred kilometers away from the attacks themselves, of course, we are all interconnected,” Berman said. “The area that I lived became a place of refuge where thousands of evacuees from the Gaza border region came within hours of the attack.”
Berman moved back to the U.S. this summer with his wife, who he met during his 12 years in Israel, and their two small children to pastor B’nai Jacob. His family had to exit the Middle East through Jordan because it was during the time of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran that happened within the war with Hamas.
Berman said he had personal acquaintances that were killed on Oct. 7 including Vivian Silver who was the aunt of a close friend.
“She was a well-known peace activist. She founded the inter-faith peace organization called ‘Women Wage Peace’ and she was murdered in her home on Oct. 7,” Berman said.
He said everyone has had heaviness in their hearts for two years.
“Today we finally have some relief but a bittersweet relief to be sure,” Berman said. “We certainly don’t forget all we’ve lost, all of our service members who were injured, killed and impacted in ways that are not necessarily readily apparent.”
Berman replaced Rabbi Victor Urecki at B’nai Jacob after Urecki’s retirement earlier this year.