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SHEEPSHEAD BAY: Locals rally for missing Israeli boys

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By Vanessa Ogle

Brooklyn Daily

“Our voice for our boys,” they shouted in unison.

Sheepshead Bay’s Holocaust Memorial Park filled with voices June 26 calling for action to free three missing Israeli teenagers — one with relatives in Brooklyn — believed kidnapped the West Bank two weeks earlier.

Dozens turned out with shabbat candles, yellow ribbons, and hand-written signs to the “Bring Back Our Boys” rally hosted by Community Board 15 and the Be Proud Foundation of Sheepshead Bay.

Several elected officials and community leaders addressed the crowd — some in English, some in Russian, some in Hebrew — with emotional anecdotes, calls to action, and pleas for prayers for the missing boys.

“I am really horrified, as a grandson of Holocaust survivors, that still to this day — June 2014 — there are still Jewish people who have to fear where they walk around,” said Councilman Mark Treyger (D-Coney Island). “Clearly there have not been lessons learned from the Holocaust.”

Treyger said the abduction was an attack on every free nation — and called silence surrounding it a betrayal.

“Whether you live in London, whether you live in Paris, whether you live now in Berlin — any nation that claims to be freedom-loving nation should be horrified by what is taking place right now in our world,” said Treyger. “And I’ll tell you something — that the silence from some people is really appalling. Silence in this case is betrayal.”

Rally attendees did their best to break that silence.

“If showing up here will be one more voice, it will be my pleasure,” said Khamida Tillovea.

“We gathered here to give support to all parents, hostages, and all kidnapped children around the world,” said Ruslan Gladkovitser,

One speaker said that speaking out about the abduction was everyone’s obligation.

“This is not just a Jewish issue,” said Michael Miller, the chief executive officer of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, Inc. “This is a human rights issue.”

Supporters of the missing boys have sought to raise awareness of their plight with the Twitter hashtag #bringbackourboys, modeled after the #bringbackourgirls tag that brought worldwide attention — even from the White House — to the abduction of 300 schoolgirls by Muslim extremists in Nigeria in April.

“Mr. President, all we ask of you is to accord all children equal treatment, whether Nigerian or Israeli,” said Thersea Scavo, chairwoman of CB15, reading from a petition she asked the attendees to sign.

Some speakers and rally attendees got sharply political, blaming the Palestinian group Hamas for the boys’ disappearance — which that group has denied — but one speaker took pains to refocus the rally on the safety and wellbeing of the missing teenagers.

“It’s not about the press conferences or press releases. It’s about praying,” said Councilman Chaim Deutch (D–Sheepshead Bay). “This is non-political to me.”

The crowd was mostly Jewish, but included a diversity of people who shared the concerns for the boys.

“People came from different backgrounds, different nationalities, different religions,” said Raisa Chernina, the executive director of the Be Proud Foundation, a Russian heritage group. “This is Brooklyn.”

Reach reporter Vanessa Ogle at vogle@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4507. Follow her attwitter.com/oglevanessa.

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